Abstract
Despite the recent slowdown due to Covid-19, the Events Industry is expected to recover and rapidly grow in the coming years.
Enel X is looking for creative solutions that can be applicable to the Events Industry in order to develop a package of sustainable solutions for Event organizers, more specifically in the field of:
- Logistics – Enel X is looking for sustainable mobility solutions to reduce the carbon footprint related to visitors/ fans, staff and suppliers' logistics and improve events accessibility for people with disabilities and impairments;
- Energy – Enel X is looking for sustainable energy solutions to reduce the carbon footprint mostly related to the dependency on diesel generators.
OVERVIEW
Enel X is the global business line of Enel Group, combining its own progressive, future-oriented approach with the financial solidity and worldwide reach of the Group. We are leading the energy transformation all over the world, turning complex technologies into simple, approachable, effective solutions that enable everyone to transform energy into new opportunities for sustainable growth and progress. Our presence extends from Europe to Latin America, North America, Asia and Oceania, over a total of 20 countries. Furthermore, we operate in other 8 countries in which we have a commercial development.
As a global leader in the advanced energy solution section, Enel X provides each partner with an intuitive, personalized ecosystem of tech platforms and consulting services, focusing on sustainability and decarbonization in order to provide people, communities, institutions and companies with an alternative model that respects the environment and integrates technological innovation into daily life. Therefore, Enel X is searching for solutions that can enrich the current Enel X proposition with further services granting added value to customers in the Events Industry and improve the user experience of fans and visitors.
For questions about the Challenge and your proposal you can contact: EnelOpenInnovabilityChallenges@wazoku.com.
Description
BACKGROUND
Despite a drastic slowdown of the Events Industry due to the recent pandemic, global industry analysts foresee a rapid recovery and growth in the coming years both in terms of number of events and market value.
Meanwhile, sustainability awareness in the Events Industry has been growing and consolidating on a global scale, especially in the music and sports events segments that are mostly characterized by 1) temporary installations, 2) high number of participants and 3) presence of side activities.
Considering all the stakeholders involved and all the activities taking place during the Pre-Event, Event and Post-Event phases, 4 main sources of sustainability impact can be identified:
- Logistics, which includes stage set-up and dismantling activities as well as displacement of people (i.e., artists/players, entourage, staff, visitors, etc.) and goods;
- Energy, which includes activities related to on-site energy generation (e.g., diesel generators);
- Waste management, which includes set-up and dismantling activities (cables, clamps, etc.), food and drink, merchandising, packaging;
- Water consumption, which includes water use for public toilets and dispensers.
Music events show the most maturity and attention to sustainability issues, especially thanks to the growing sensitivity of some artists and groups.
- According to the Tyndall Centre's Super-Low Carbon Live Music research – commissioned by UK band Massive Attack to set out specific targets and roadmaps for music events to tackle climate change – logistics and energy are priorities in achieving these goals.
- Founded in 2004, non-profit organisation Reverb partners with musicians (incl. Maroon 5, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, etc.), festivals and venues to minimize the environmental impact of concert events, from eliminating single-use water bottles to coordinating local farm food to fueling sustainable biodiesel in tour buses to composting and donating food waste, etc. Thanks to its Music Climate Revolution campaign, Reverb has supported more than 350 events, enabling the use of 950,000 gallons of biodiesel for tour fleets and more than 287,000 tonnes of CO2 savings.
- Coldplay's 2022 world tour (Music of the Spheres) is another best practice in the music segment, offering multiple insights into the endless possibilities of integrating sustainability without negatively impacting the quality of the event.
Carbon neutrality commitments and ambitions are also growing in major sports events:
- The Paris 2024 Olympics aims to be the first sporting event with a positive impact.
- Formula 1 has announced that it intends to achieve a Net-Zero target by 2030.
- The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040 after signing up to the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework.
Despite the growing focus on climate change and the diffusion of sustainability-driven pilots and tests in recent events, the industry is still lacking consolidated technologies and solutions to be implemented on a wide scale. All these features make music and sport events a fertile ground for sustainable innovation.
THE CHALLENGE
Enel X is searching for solutions that can enrich its current value proposition with innovative solutions granting added value to customers. Indeed, Enel X’s ambition is to become a sustainability enabler and partner for Event organizers, developing a package of sustainable solutions addressing and mitigating the sustainability impact of the Events Industry while enhancing its accessibility.
Starting from the 4 main critical sources of sustainability impact identified in the previous section, Enel X's interest is to explore potential innovative ideas addressing criticalities related to logistics and energy:
- Logistics – Enel X is looking for sustainable mobility solutions to reduce the carbon footprint related to visitors/ fans, staff and suppliers' logistics and improve events accessibility for people with disabilities and impairments;
- Energy – Enel X is looking for sustainable energy solutions to reduce the carbon footprint mostly related to the dependency on diesel generators.
Note: Waste management and water consumption are out of scope for this Challenge.
To better understand the breadth of opportunities within the scope of this Challenge, Coldplay’s world tour could be taken as a best practice, given its great ambition in terms of climate neutrality as well as its tangible and innovative solutions implemented during the whole tour, despite the multiple locations and the large number of participants. Below are some examples of solutions that may clarify what Enel X considers within scope for this Challenge. When we speak of solutions, these are to be understood as both hardware and software innovations.
- Travels & Logistics:
- Software and apps to manage, plan and optimize the movements of the entourage, organizers, staff and artists during the event (optimization of routes, reduction in the number of journeys, integration with zero impact vehicles);
- Green vehicles that can be used during the event to move staff, artists and event participants (e.g. scooters, bicycles, electric vehicles, etc.).
- Energy:
- Plug-and-play, mobile systems for on-site generation of energy from renewable sources (e.g., modular solar systems, kinetic energy solutions such as floor tiles, bicycles etc.);
- Battery systems to be connected with on-site generation plants; any other solution that avoids the use of diesel generators.
Note: The examples are not binding or exhaustive and are only for illustrative purposes to better frame and guide the Challenge.
SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS
Submissions must address the following Solution Requirements.
- Solutions must be applicable to at least one of the target countries (focus is EU/LATAM/US), and compliant with specific local public administration requirements and regulations;
- Technology readiness level (TLR) ≥ 3.
PROJECT DELIVERABLES
The submitted proposal should include the following:
- Detailed description of the proposed approach, including (but not limited to):
- Technical specifications of the system;
- Description of the activities required and an estimate of the cost for installation and integration;
- Any evidence for the application and existing use cases;
- Advantages and potential weaknesses of the proposed solution.
- Data, journal references or any additional material that supports the proposed solution.
Enel X may wish to partner with the Solver at the conclusion of the Challenge. Solvers should describe their expertise and include a statement indicating their interest in this opportunity.
The proposal should not include any personal identifying information (name, username, company, address, phone, email, personal website, resume, etc.) or any information the Solvers may consider as their Intellectual Property they do not want to share.
SDGs
This Challenge provides contribution to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to transform our world:
- SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;
- SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation;
- SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;
- SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Challenge rules
All proposers are invited to read carefully the Challenge and the Regulation of this Challenge, attached below in the Attachments section, before submitting a solution.
By submitting a solution they automatically accept the attached Regulations other than the Terms of Use of this platform.
ELIGIBILITY
The employees of Enel X and of the other Companies of the Enel Group who are involved in the organization and management of the Competition or admitted to the Open Innovability Portal back office, as well as their spouses or partners and their relatives up to the fourth degree, are not eligible for participation in this Challenge.
Also, employees of the companies of the Enel Group who have worked in the technical sector of the Events Industry and that work, in the moment of the Challenge, on sustainable mobility or energy projects, or their spouses, partners or any of their relatives up to the fourth grade determined according to Italian law are not eligible for the participation in this Challenge.
Without prejudice to the article 5.5 of the Terms of Use, the obligation to grant the IP rights set in this article does not apply if the winning solution is proposed by an employee of an Enel company, unless the employee is the owner of the solution according to the relevant national law.
Explain your proposal clearly in English, attach documents (max 5 files, 25MB total size) if needed.
The proposals will be admitted until May 20, 2022 and the evaluation will start after this date.
CHALLENGE, AWARD, IP RIGHTS
This is a Theoretical Challenge, which requires only a written proposal to be submitted. The Challenge award will be contingent upon theoretical evaluation of the submission by the Seeker.
To receive an award, the Solvers will not have to transfer the exclusive IP rights to the Seeker. Instead, Solver will grant to the Seeker a non-exclusive license to practice their solutions.
DEADLINE
Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (Central European Time) on May 20, 2022.
Late submissions will not be considered.
Specific regulation in the CSA attached at the bottom of this page.
Regulation
What happens next?
After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions.
Enel will evaluate the proposal using the following criteria:
- Overall scientific and technical feasibility of the proposed solution;
- Economic potential of concept (e.g. Total Cost of Ownership);
- Business potential for Enel;
- Novelty and creativity;
- Potential for proprietary position (i.e., is the technology novel or protectable);
- User's capabilities and related experience;
- Realism of the proposed solution;
- Maturity level of the proposal.
In case the reward includes "Collaboration with Enel", once suitable solution/s have been identified, Enel will reserve the opportunity to start a collaboration, by way of example, all or part of the following activities:
- Test execution;
- Supply of prototypes (if an equipment);
- Installation and site tests;
- Follow up and monitoring of the proposed idea behavior.
Upon completion of the evaluation, you will receive feedback.
In case of success, an Enel contact person will get in touch with you to discuss the next steps.
The final award for this Challenge is contingent upon satisfactory completion of the verification process, including acceptance of the Challenge-Specific Agreement (CSA) that is the regulation for this Challenge.
The verification process includes obtaining the following from the Solver: signed affidavit (based on the CSA), employee waiver (if applicable), proof of identify, and Counterparty Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ).
ABOUT INNOCENTIVE
InnoCentive collaborates with Enel to manage this Challenge.
InnoCentive is the global innovation marketplace where creative minds solve some of the world's most important problems for cash awards up to $1 million. Commercial, governmental and humanitarian organizations engage with InnoCentive to solve problems that can impact humankind in areas ranging from the environment to medical advancements.