"Thanks for putting on such a great event! I truly enjoyed being
a part of the competition and hearing the different ideas out there."
~ Brad Milius, Sustainable Water Pump Team, 2008



2007 Green Battery Box Winning Team

Learn how you can participate

The Environmental Entrepreneurship Initiative (EEI) is a partnership between the Center for the Environment and the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue's Discovery Park. This initiative is designed to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to learn about environmental entrepreneurship by developing new ideas into services or products that benefit the environment and society. Prize money awards will be provided to the teams with the best environmental service and product ideas. The EEI is held in conjunction with the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative (http://innovate.ecn.purdue.edu) as part of the National Idea-to-Product® event coordinated by Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue's Discovery Park.

Involving undergraduate & graduate students
Empowering students to develop their ideas into commercial products or services
that benefit the environment and society
Educating on entrepreneurship & intellectual property
Awards totaling $10,000 to the winning teams in 2008
National competition opportunities and additional prize money

Many services and product ideas can be developed and distributed locally or globally in ways that benefit local economies and communities, prevent or address pollution, raise awareness about environmental problems, and solve critical human and ecosystems needs. For instance, one past student team developed a low-cost, clay-based water-purification system for developing countries and other regions in need of potable water. Another team developed a zero emission clean energy vehicle concept for marketing in China. A Purdue team from 2006-2007 developed the concept of the “Green Battery Box” that streamlines used battery recycling with the potential to prevent thousands of pounds of battery toxins from ending up in landfills.

Have an idea and want to join in on the action to help solve and prevent environmental problems? Read more about participation
Contact us at environment@purdue.edu, use our FaceBook discussion board to find or form a team.



Important Dates (from 2007-2008, TBD for 2008-2009):
October 30 – notify us of your interest in participating (not mandatory, but requested)
December 7 – submit a signed notice of intent from your team to participate
February 4 – submit a draft feasibility plan for your team’s service or product idea
February 8 – final team selection announced
February 15 - submit final feasibility plan (if changes/updates to your draft plan are necessary)
March 1 – EEI teams present at Purdue during the Social & Environmental Entrepreneurship 2008 Idea-to-Product® Competition





Idea-to-Product®  (I2P™) is a registered trademark of the University of Texas