EPA’s P3: Planet, Prosperity, People

by Eric Wilson on April 7th, 2012

In the vein of honesty, the three words under our logo, “People. Planet. Profit.” are not our own. John Elkington is credited with coining the phrase. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has swapped out “profit” for prosperity and rearranged the phrase, also known by the shortened “P3″. Under the umbrella of P3, EPA is running a student design competition for sustainability. “Through this EPA program, college students can benefit people, promote prosperity and protect the planet by designing solutions that move us towards a sustainable future.”

The competition consists of two sections with part two of the competition coming up later this month in Washington, DC at the National Sustainable Design Expo (which can be found on our calendar). In step one of the competition, which has already completed, teams were awarded $15,000 to develop their solution for a sustainable future. In this round, students compete for the P3 Award and $90,000 in seed money to produce their idea. Some of the winners from last year include a lightweight green roof system and footwear made from renewable sources.

Areas of eligibility include “water, energy, agriculture, built environment, and materials and chemicals. The categories of clean cookstoves and green infrastructure were added to the 2012 solicitation.”

The Sustainable Design Expo is an annual event on the National Mall. It serves a as a gathering for numerous groups “that are working to create a sustainable future.” Open to the public, this year’s expo takes place April 21-23rd.

Read more: http://2ndgreenrevolution.com/2012/04/07/epas-p3-planet-prosperity-people/#ixzz1uTzwaLxy