Climate Innovation CoalitionClimate Transformation Challenge
Now preparing for our second year: five campuses, one shared mission. The climate crisis is a true emergency, and we need everyone engaged and helping build innovative ideas, technologies, and social campaigns to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
An Annual Competition for Real Climate Solutions
An annual student competition that empowers university teams to develop actionable climate solutions at the intersection of technology and social change. The inaugural event, held April 12, 2026 at San José State University, proved a critical truth: we already have much of the technology needed to address climate change — the gap is deployment, not invention.
Student teams collaborate to tackle real-world climate problems through three solution categories:
Innovative Technology
Solutions for mitigation, adaptation, sustainability, resilience and/or regeneration.
Behavioral Change Intervention
Practical ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, restore and respect.
Strategy for Social Change
Paradigm-shifting approaches to address root causes of the social, environmental and economic factors slowing climate progress.
Solutions must be sufficiently robust to be replicable and scalable across a region, state or nation, with concrete plans for implementation and funding.
The Challenge offers students the opportunity to contribute meaningful solutions, win monetary awards, earn professional recognition, learn from experienced mentors, and hone entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Winners present their solutions to a panel of experts from business, civic and academic sectors.
Learn More About the Climate Transformation Challenge2026: The Inaugural Challenge
Held April 12, 2026 at San José State University, with 12 student teams competing.
EqualEarth
The Matriarch Mandate
Packaging Without Plastic
2027: Expanding to Five Campuses
Building on the momentum of the inaugural year, CIC is growing the Climate Transformation Challenge™ to five Bay Area campuses for 2027: San José State University, West Valley College, Foothill College, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.
Recruitment is underway across each campus pipeline, including EOP/EOPS, MESA, and Guardian Scholars programs, alongside outreach to corporate partners to expand mentorship, prize funding, and real-world deployment pathways for winning teams.
From Innovation to Action
Clean energy technology is evolving at breakneck speed—solar, wind, batteries, and EVs are getting more efficient and affordable every month while simultaneously improving our air quality and water safety. But awareness alone won't save us. We must translate knowledge of climate problems and innovations into daily action, making sustainable choices in every aspect of our lives—from our kitchens to our commutes, our careers to our ballot boxes—to begin undoing the environmental harm we've collectively caused.