Innovation for climate change solutions will not happen unless we design institutions that foster creative thinking and the development of new clean businesses. It is with this core ambition in mind that South Pole Group has joined a distinctive selection of public and private entities to establish the Australian Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (Climate-KIC Australia), a public-private innovation partnership. Climate-KIC Australia will be based on the successful European Climate-KIC model, which was established six years ago by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
"We are thrilled to continue our longstanding work with the EIT and Climate-KIC community," says Thomas Schroder, Director Marketing Communications, South Pole Group, and Board Member, Climate-KIC Australia. "South Pole Group has been spearheading major projects for the past two years in the field of climate adaptation and mitigation under the Climate-KIC - notably the flagship programme Low Carbon City Lab (LoCaL). We look forward to leveraging this experience and driving the next generation of innovative climate change solutions 'down under' with the newly launched Australian Climate-KIC."
The other founding partners of Climate-KIC Australia include major public and private stakeholders such as the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, the South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Suncorp Group, EnergyLab, WWF Australia, the University of Adelaide, Curtin University, the University of Melbourne and the University of Technology Sydney.
Christopher Lee, CEO of Climate-KIC Australia is excited: “No single company, government, university or entrepreneur can solve climate change by themselves. The partners have helped to establish Climate-KIC Australia since they believe that it allows us and others to come together in a pre-competitive space to co-create innovative solutions, which will have a positive impact on the people in the communities we serve."
Helping to launch the Australian Climate-KIC is in line with South Pole Group's vision to shape a sustainable economy with positive impacts on climate, ecosystems and communities. The company has worked on and brought to fruition a plethora of innovative Climate-KIC-funded sustainability projects focused on, among many others, low-carbon cities, green finance, deforestation-free supply chains, and climate-smart agriculture, proving that public-private partnerships can tackle climate change through a market-led and impact-driven approach. Inspired by the activities of its European counterpart, Climate-KIC Australia is now piloting cleantech accelerator activities in NSW which will roll-out nationally in 2018.
“Similar to its European counterpart, Climate-KIC Australia will form a key part of a structured, cohesive and effective response to climate change in Australia - bringing together the best to enable climate innovation to form the foundation of the future Australian economy," emphasises Christopher Lee.
