Entry Form: Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards 2015
2. basic info .
•Project or Organization Title. [25 characters]
Eco Áridos
•Project Sub-Title [80 characters]
Hint: The best sub-titles are short, informative and catchy.
Rubble Recycling
•Year Founded
2015
•Project Stage (Select the description below that best applies to your solution.)
▢ Idea (poised to launch)
•Budget
▢ less than $1k / ▢ $1k - $10k / ▢ $10k - $50k / ▢ $50k - $100k▢ $100k - $250k / ▢ $250k - $500k / ▢ $500k - $1m / ▢ $1mil - $5mil
▢ over $5mil
•Organization Type
▢ nonprofit/NGO/citizen sector / ▢ for-profit / ▢ government / ▢ hybrid•Sector: Choose up to four sectors that apply to your project.
Hint: This will help us match you to resources and other changemakers. Discover other changemakers by sector here.
•Sustainabledevelopment
•Construction
•Eco Products
•Recycling
•Location: Help Others Find You
•Specify where your project or organization is headquartered. Discover other changemakers by location on a map here
Córdoba, Argentina
•Specify the primary location where the project is creating impact.
Córdoba, Argentina
•Media
•Websitehint: External site related to the Projec
•Project Image
Hint: Upload an inspirational picture.
•Video – Help Us Share Your Story (Optional)
Hint: Share a video story to gain visibility and support for your venture! Check out A HYPERLINK " " Guide to Storytelling and consider submitting to Change Stories. Please note: If you are submitting this project for a competition and the deadline is near, don’t worry, external links are not required for the evaluation process. You can list videos from these sites: Vimeo, YouTube
•Twitter URL
3. project summary .
•Elevator Pitch
•Concise Summary: [300 characters or ≈50 words] Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.
Hint:This will be the first introductory text about this project that viewers will see.
Rubble accumulation is a problem everywhere. Our project consists in a mobile machine that can be transported to those locations and process the rubble to turn it into eco-sand that can be used in several ways. This way we add value to the product and we reduce the transportation costs and pollution
•What if - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"
What if... your project could change something or make something extraordinary possible? This is your chance to inspire others by sharing the most thought-provoking aspect of your project's strategy for change! A successful “WHAT IF?” statement pairs a social challenge with a unique opportunity for change and features a relevant, inspiring photo.
Hint: Be specific! "What if the world was happy?" is not as thought-provoking as asking "What if rats could be used to detect land mines and save thousands of lives?"
What if there was an easy and economic way of disposing construction and demolition wastes?
•About Your Project
•Problem: What problem is this project trying to address? [450 characters or ≈75 words]
Hint:Refer to the specific context that this project operates within.
Rubble accumulation is a problem in every city in the world. Some consequences are the unproductive occupation of large areas, negative visual impact and disease transmission. The problem gets even bigger when we consider that the retail price is low and the transportation cost is hi. In addition, sand used in construction sites and construction material production, is mined from hills and extracted from rivers with no control in Argentina.
•Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific! [750 characters or ≈125 words]
Hint: Strong solutions address the root causes of the problem identified.
They have numerous applications whose fitness and quality has been verified with tests and trials. Thus we get a double benefit: reducing the consumption of natural resources and eliminate waste already generated. Some applications: concrete blocks, floor tiles, cobbles, plasters, mortars and subfloors.
An interesting fact is that at the same places where rubbles are created, eco-sand can be used. So the possibility of transporting the machine to different locations greatly reduced logistic costs.
•Awards: What awards or honors has the project received?
Emprende industria (Córdoba, Argentina)
4. impact .
•Example: Walk us through a specific example of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities. [750 characters or ≈125 words]
Hint: Consider telling us a real story about the solution in action and how it creates impact. For idea-stage projects, consider providing a hypothetical example.
In our country there are many industries which primary activity is manufacturing construction materials. These industries also create a great amount of rubbles (due to products that does not fulfill quality requirements) that are usually dumped in local green areas. Our idea is to treat them right there, where they are created, and turn them into eco-sand that can be used to manufacture new products. This way, companies save money because there is no need to transport rubbles and, at the same time, they get raw material to continue production
Our mobile factory can process 15 tons per hour. For most local companies we will only need one day to treat their biweekly amount of rubble. Allowing us to serve several clients with just one machine
•Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? [900 characters or ≈150 words] Also describe the projected future impact.
Hint: Please specify using qualitative and quantitative data; help us understand how this solution truly makes a difference.
We have contacted private companies and some boroughs. We made samples and run some tests. The results were very promising so we decided to start building a bigger machine (capacity:15 tons per hour).
As we have previously described, private industries can perceive great benefits by working with us. This also applies to public organisms. Once rubbles are dumped they became a public issue. Moving them to locations outside the cities is expensive and is not a solution, is just hiding the problem. If there were several smaller areas where rubbles could be stored, the mobile plant could go from one to another, turning rubbish into eco-sand. A lot of logistic and money is saved. The same location can operate as a eco-sand selling spot and keep receiving rubble until it is filled with enough amount of them to justify the mobile plant to pay another visit.
•Full impact potential: What are the main spread strategies moving forward? (Please consider geographic spread, policy reform, and independent replication/adoption of the idea or other mechanisms.) [600 characters or ≈100 words]
Hint: Responses may outline how to achieve the idea's desired impact within 5 to 10 years
Once we have gained some experience in the local market we intend to expand to other cities of our country, such as Buenos Aires and Rosario. There the problem is deeper than in Córdoba due to longer transport distances and higher prices of natural sand so it's very likely that local authorities and companies will be willing to work with us.
Argentine laws do not contemplate the existence of eco-products to replace natural sand. We have had the opportunity to talk to some authorities and confirm that in a few years these laws will exist. So this is the perfect moment to start this enterprise.
5. sustainability .
•Funding: How is your project financially supported? [Select all that apply]
▢ friends and family / ▢ individuals / ▢ foundations / ▢ NGOs / ▢ businesses▢ regional government / ▢ national government / ▢ customers / ▢ other
•Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability? [450 characters or ≈75 words] Hint: If this project requires little or no budget, how will other resources be secured to maintain or grow this work?
This project involves very few employees and little machinery maintenance, therefore, the income obtained from selling eco-sand is enough to cover the expenses and have good profit.
•Marketplace: Who else is addressing the same problem? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches? [600 characters or ≈100 words] Hint: Consider browsing HYPERLINK " innovations on changemakers.com as one resource for understanding the marketplace for this project.
There are some initiatives that intend to do the same than us. The main difference is the mobile plant. By building a fixed plant, our competitors are forced to transport the rubbles to their location, treat them, and then transport the eco-sand to the client. This forces them to sell at a higher price than us to cover transport costs.
6. team .
•Founding Story: Share a story about the "Aha!" moment that led the founder to get started or the story of how the founders saw the potential for this to succeed. [750 characters or ≈100 words]
For a long time our father's construction company have recycled rubbles in a very small scale but with great results. We also observed that there were a lot of rubbles accumulations all over the city. It occurred to us that the same procedure could be used in a larger scale, so we started investigating. Soon we encountered some technical problems that made large scale commercialization a bit difficult. Rubble´s heterogeneous composition made it difficult to get a quality product every time. It took some tests, mistakes, and a lot of work, but we finally came up with a solution.
The "mobile" idea came as a need of reducing costs.
•Team:What is the current composition of your organisation’s team (types of roles, qualifications, full-time vs. part-time, board members, etc.), and how do you plan to evolve the team’s composition as the project grows? [450 characters or 75 words]
Hint: Inspire confidence that the project team has the right mix of roles and qualifications needed to achieve the project's intended impact.
Full time dedication:
Santiago Bruna (31): Civil engineer, board member
Javier Bruna (28): Civil engineer, board member
Part time dedication:
Cecilia Saco (52): Accountant, board member
Mario Antonione (27): Sales
7. Supplemental Section
Background
•Please confirm how you heard about the Unilever Awards.
Read about it online
•Please confirm your role in the initiative (eg Founder/co-Founder) and your organisational title.
Co-Founder - Eco Áridos
•Please confirm your date of birth (or the date of the founder on whose behalf you are applying). Applicants must be 18-35 years old at the time of entry.
05/1984
•Which of the 8 UN Global Goals (Sustainable Development Goals) pre-selected for this competition does your solution relate most closely to? [select all that apply]
•No Poverty
•Zero Hunger
•Gender Equality
•Clean Water and Sanitation
•Affordable and Clean Energy
•Decent Work and Economic Growth
•Responsible Consumption and Production
•Climate Action
Leadership and the Unilever Awards
•How would the Unilever Awards help you to achieve your objectives?
•Hint Explain the contribution that the prize money, publicity and engagement with Unilever, Cambridge University and Ashoka could make
The money would help us buying the necessary equipment (Bobcat, truck, etc).
Getting the award would give us extraordinary publicity that would help getting new customers trust and validation to our enterprise.
•Please provide examples of any previous entrepreneurial initiatives you have pioneered.
•Hint: Include details of your previous experience and/or other achievements or learning that will help you succeed with this project
Santiago and Javier Bruna: Civil engineers with experience in construction materials and techniques.
Cecilia Saco: Former project analyzer and human resourses director in "Denso auto parts".
•Beyond your existing team, who else are you working with to achieve your objectives, eg partners, advisors, mentors?
External consultant:
José Coranti (60): Mechanical with a lot of experience in the construction of shredders
LilianaBruna (58): Lawyer
Córdoba´s National University (soil department): we are co-directing a research about the different uses of eco-sand as soil improver. This will widen the possibilities of market penetration.