GreenScent is a European Commission project created to support the Green Deal which aims for Europe to be climate neutral by 2050. The consortium in charge of the GreenScent project has partnered with Agorize to launch innovation programs in order to educate through experimentation, get in direct contact with its ecosystem, and accelerate the ecological transition in Europe.
GreenScent is an educational initiative that aims to increase awareness of environmental issues and encourage people to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. Its goal is to help European citizens understand the impact of their actions on the environment and to motivate them to make choices that will help protect and preserve the planet for future generations.
This initiative is structured through a set of tools and skills modules across different themes, such as fair trade food production.
Agorize was chosen for its technology and experience in organizing Student Challenges for the world’s largest companies.
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The stakes
The program aims to raise awareness among European citizens about impact actions and climate and sustainability issues, by developing training paths for both individuals and professionals.
The EU wants every young citizen to be aware of the environmental impact of their actions within the next twenty years. To achieve this, it was necessary to find a new way to organize and address all the individuals concerned through powerful communication.
The method
The GreenScent consortium created a training course centered around learning and experimentation that evolves throughout young people’s lives.
From the outset, it was important to design with an open approach. This is why a co-construction model with young people was the preferred method. It allows for continuous enrichment of the program and makes it more applicable as well as engaging.
To accomplish this co-construction, GreenScent needed a centralized tool to support calls for ideas, suggestions, and issues. This is to evaluate them in order to enable their deployment in the training plan.
The contribution of the Agorize platform
The GreenScent consortium naturally turned to Agorize, the recognized leader in idea management software. The Agorize team shares the same belief as GreenScent: value is created collectively. Their software allows large organizations to transform themselves by leveraging collective intelligence, as it assembles all stakeholders in a continuous improvement model.
Agorize’s platform makes it possible to (simultaneously) run several innovation programs, with gamification features similar to hackathons to boost participant engagement.
Agorize platform, the only non-academic actor in the project, allows GreenScent to be in direct contact with students. This then provides researchers with ideas and best practices for the design of training plans.
The first competition that was launched, Farm to Fork, is devoted to food circuits. It tackles the problem statement: How to produce more sustainably and consume more sensibly? It was launched in January of 2023. Proposals can be submitted until April and the final will be held in June during an offline event.
Then, the inventors of the five winning proposals will be invited to a European city to meet the consortium and benefit from its connections for networking.
More innovation competitions have already been discussed and will be centered around themes such as construction.
Emphasizing learning through experimentation
For the consortium, it is crucial to emphasize learning through experimentation. Therefore, the training plan consists of both theoretical and practical elements for each level.
For example, one of the ideas that were proposed inspired teachers to experiment with their primary or secondary school students on how to detect areas of high pollution. Equipped with pollution detectors, 10-year pupils measured air quality in different places. The aim of the exercise is to instill awareness about the need for (local) climate action and the development of vegetation in cities.
Learn more about Agorize
Agorize’s software helps large organizations accelerate their innovation process, from concept to full-scale implementation. Since 2011, Agorize customers have been transforming and creating value using the most comprehensive innovation management platform connected to a community of 5 million innovators and startups, supported by a team of experts.
Founded in Paris, Agorize serves more than 300 large corporations around the world.
Learn more about Greenscent multiple objectives:
- Develop and test the GreenComp Competence Framework with a fully participatory multi-stakeholder approach.
- Break stereotypes, change skeptical attitudes, and increase awareness among pupils, students, and society through inclusive and accessible citizen science and co-creation approaches.
- Incorporate digital competencies into the GreenComp Competency Framework, demonstrating the link between the green and digital transition.
- Co-create training kits, user guides, and use cases with experts, teachers, and students that can apply to develop courses, define curriculum, and create Green Deal certification programs.
- Demonstrate the value of the GreenComp Framework by piloting a set of digital and analog activities in real-life scenarios through a network of schools and civic organizations
- Utilize outreach, dissemination, clustering, and exploitation activities to maximize the reach and impact of GreenComp.
- Guarantee the overall short-medium-term impact of the project.
Visit the program platform here.
