Pro-Nature Social Enterprise Design Challenge
Join Outdoors at UVA, Social Entrepreneurship at UVA, and Patagonia for an exciting design challenge to imagine Pro-Nature and Environmentally Positive Social Enterprises!
Win up to $1000 in prizes and network with senior leadership from Patagonia, nature-first social enterprises, and top national conservation organizations!
It’s easy! Outdoors at UVA will be organizing:
#1 – Get Outside
A series of outdoor trips to Appalachia in the Spring. Sign up for one!
#2 – Imagine!
We challenge students to keep their eyes and ears open during these trips and imagine new business concepts, products, and services that support nature (Examples below!)
#3 – Join Us!
RSVP here to join us for a Design Sprint from 3-5 pm in the Great Hall of Garrett Hall on April 6th. Social Entrepreneurship at UVA, Patagonia leadership, and pro-nature social entrepreneurs will be in the room, working to ideate and hone your great ideas! You can come with an idea, or come ready to ideate! There will be space for all!
Why?
UVA has been working for years in central Appalachia to support social entrepreneurs and environmental nonprofits seeking to transition the region's economy from fossil fuel extraction to a thriving eco-tourism industry. This design challenge aims to inspire entrepreneurial thinking to support nature in Appalachia and around the world. Learn more here.
Schedule:
Jan 26th: Kickoff – view our Design Challenge video and start imagining!
February – Get Outside!
March – Get Outside! – go on an outdoor club trip to Appalachia!
April 6 – Design Sprint!– Join Us for a 2-hour workshop with leadership from Patagonia, the Nature Conservancy, Re: Wild, and pro-nature social enterprises to ideate and hone your ideas. The best ideas will be judged by a panel to win 3 top prizes.
Summer – If you get really inspired, we’ll support you to continue your idea toward the UVA Entrepreneurship Cup.
What are Pro-Nature Social Enterprises?
A business that uses its company, product, or services to protect nature, advance progress towards fighting climate change, improve climate resilience, support the protection of biodiversity and critical ecosystems, directly support nature-based livelihoods, and repair the human-nature relationship.
Patagonia – is a leading global example – they make products that help people connect with nature, they have one of the world’s most environmentally sustainable supply chains, they give a percentage of their profits to conservation, they started the 1% for the Planet (link to 1% for the planet) initiative – encouraging hundreds of other companies to do the same, and they have handed over their ownership to nature!
Other Examples:
Paka – Founded by UVA alumni, this is a sustainable alpaca outdoor gear company, ethically sourced and supporting economic development in Peru
Cotopaxi - Gear for Good – they create innovative outdoor products and experiences that fund sustainable poverty relief and move people to do good.
Athletic Brewing Company - An NA beer company supporting an active lifestyle and “Two for the Trails” program to fund outdoor trails for hiking, biking, and running, and supporting conservation.
Southern Gap Outdoor Adventure – An expedition camping and hospitality company that has rehabilitated a former coal mine to welcome visitors to Southwest Virginia to experience the Elk herds reintroduced by The Nature Conservancy.
NAADAM - The world’s most sustainable cashmere. Profits go to support rotational grazing and grassland restoration in Mongolia.
Under Canvas - An upscale, safari-inspired accommodation company drawing new audiences into the outdoors and supporting rural economic development across the U.S.
1% for the Planet - check out thousands of other companies with creative strategies to be pro-nature and financially sustainable.