The competition was judged by a panel of expert climate innovators - Dr Lara Allen, Shelley Arora-Tailby, Dr Nicky Dee, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon13, Chris Gibbs, Investment Director (Physical Sciences) of Cambridge Enterprise, and Sam Goodall, CEO of Cambridge Cleantech.

Canopy stood out in Track 1 for its focus on behaviour and social values. The team highlighted that ‘Muslim charitable donations total around £1 billion annually, yet hardly any of that reaches sustainability action. Even redirecting 1% of that towards climate action could be transformative.’

Their aim is to build a website that channels a portion of this funding toward environmental causes by addressing key barriers such as trust and visibility. Users can track donations and measure their impact, connecting donors with verified charity partners.

Syeda Hanniya Kamran from Canopy said feedback from the judges has been invaluable. "Our venture is built on bringing people together. They’ve really helped point us in the right direction and connected us with others in the space."

Syeda Hanniya Kamran and teammates Daniyal Ashraf and Sarim Gillani were awarded a prize of £1500, which they plan to use to develop the website further.

 "It’s a fantastic project. We love the way it reminds people of values beyond money and turning that into impact," judge Dr Lara Allen, Director, Centre for Global Equality said.

Track 1 runner-up was Smokeless Stubble Initiative, which aims to tackle open field burning in North India by converting crop waste into biochar, a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal produced by heating organic waste materials (biomass)—such as wood, manure, or crop residues—in a low-oxygen environment.