A major New Zealand supermarket has called upon young environmentalists nationwide to share their most inventive and innovative ideas to combat climate change through applications for its annual Growing for Goods grants, which close this week.
Countdown’s programme aims to help the next generation take strides in tackling climate change by turning classroom learning into real-life action. A $50,000 grant pool is up for grabs, with $10,000 available for each winning project.
Over the last few years, the programme has seen some incredible Kiwi ingenuity emerge. Countdown’s Head of Sustainability, Catherine Langabeer, said the grant enabled essential conversations about climate change in the classroom and resulted in practical solutions for the community.
Catherine Langabeer
“With Growing for Good now in its fifth year, we’ve seen some amazing projects come to life, from installing wind and solar panel stations at a school marae to developing more sustainable packaging options for school lunches. Students have stepped it up each year, and we can’t wait to see what this year brings,” said Langabeer.
Langabeer acknowledged that it had been a challenging start to the year for New Zealanders across Aotearoa, especially those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and Auckland flooding.
Countdown’s team and its growers have been impacted. Therefore this year’s Growing for Good grants has become more significant through recent lived experiences of climate change for the supermarket, its growers, and nationwide.
“As those most impacted continue to recover, we hope students are inspired to think outside the box and enter ideas that strengthen resilience in the face of our changing climate.”
Countdown has set its ambitious sustainability targets with over 40 commitments to meet as part of its plan, including a commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 63 percent by 2030.
Alongside Countdown’s Growing for Good programme, the supermarket is aware of the critical role it plays as one of Aotearoa’s largest businesses, which has motivated the business to work on several other initiatives, such as reducing food waste from its stores and improving the packaging of its Own Brand products and more.
Growing for Good grant submissions opened to all schools and ECEs across Aotearoa in early May. Applications close on 4 June 2023.
