Emerging Businesses in Climate Action

Over the past decade, India has seen a marked rise in enterprises developing climate solutions across energy, mobility, agriculture, materials and digital technology. The critical challenge now lies less in generating new ideas than in carrying proven solutions to scale. Enterprises that cross this threshold, from pilot to sustained market adoption, are best placed to shift industry practice, attract mainstream capital and deliver climate impact at the pace the transition demands.

Growth-stage enterprises occupy a distinct position in this landscape. Having proven their solutions with customers, they now face the demands of expansion. This includes securing growth capital, building operational capacity and adapting their offerings to new markets and geographies. How well they navigate this phase will shape how quickly climate solutions move from the margins of the market into the mainstream.

This category recognises enterprises whose core products, services or technologies directly contribute to climate mitigation or adaptation. The emphasis is on the effectiveness and measurable impact of the climate solution, alongside the enterprise’s commercial viability and potential for growth, rather than on broader sustainability practices within its business operations.

Solutions may span a wide range of critical areas, including renewable energy, green mobility, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, circular economy, waste-to-resource models, climate-smart infrastructure, climate risk adaptation, carbon removal, climate finance and climate technology software.

Eligibility

The Emerging Businesses in Climate Action award is open to scale-up enterprises that have moved beyond developing and validating their solutions and have demonstrated their ability to operate successfully in the market while continuing to grow. Eligible enterprises must have an established product, service or technology, evidence of customer or market adoption and a viable business model with a clear pathway for continued growth.

Applicants for the Emerging Businesses in Climate Action award should clearly demonstrate the following:

• Market validation and traction: Evidence of customers, users, contracts or commercial adoption beyond initial pilots, supported by revenue or other indicators of sustained market demand.
• Operational maturity: Established capabilities and processes to deliver the solution reliably and consistently across customers, sites or markets.
• Demonstrated climate impact: Quantitative or qualitative evidence that the solution is contributing to measurable environmental or climate outcomes.
• Potential for scale: Ability to expand across customers, markets, geographies or applications while increasing the climate impact created.
• Business sustainability: A credible pathway towards sustained operations and long-term commercial viability.

Applicants are encouraged to provide clear, data-backed examples and narratives that reflect these criteria.