Flagship-Competition

Advancing development with climate protection projects

Sustainable development and global climate protection go hand in hand – and deserve visibility. The Flagship-Competition for Climate Protection Projects which launched in 2025 highlights innovative and effective projects in the Global South and will continue to do so in 2026.

Why participate?

For the first time in 2025, the Flagship-Competition has given our partners for development and climate the opportunity to present their projects to a wide audience and receive recognition for their innovative commitment to project development.

In 2026, we are once again excited to welcome participants to the Flagship-Competition. This time around we are opening the competition to additional project developers beyond our existing partners for development and climate. Thereby we want to expand and strengthen the visibility of high-quality projects.

Who can participate?

In 2026, the competition is open to projects operating within the voluntary carbon market, that are already contributing to greenhouse gas reductions and sustainable development in their host country. We are looking for projects that demonstrate climate integrity and offer additional social and environmental value in line with the Agenda 2030.

Participation is open to organisations based in the European Union which are working with partners in the Global South. The project must be registered under a standard approved by the foundation.

Competition process:

Application process: Apply with your climate protection project by completing our questionnaire and submitting the required documents. The application deadline is the March 31^st
Assessment: An impartial evaluation committee of foundation employees in cooperation with an independent organisation review all received applications, checking compliance with the conditions of participation and examine all provided information carefully. Phone interviews with applying organisations are part of the application process. Three final projects with the highest ratings are then selected. The integrity of the project is a prerequisite for its evaluation in terms of its contribution to sustainable development.
Selection of the winner: The three highest-rated projects will be presented to external experts, who will select the potential winning project. This project will then be reviewed on site.
Award: The winning project will be honoured at a ceremony at our annual conference on September 30^th 2026 and presented on the foundation’s communication channels. A professionally produced video about the winning project will be played during the award ceremony.

The following criteria apply when evaluating the projects submitted:

Social impact: How does the project contribute to sustainable development?
Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 are important benefits of high-quality projects within the voluntary carbon market. We would like to know about the positive impacts your project is promoting within its region or country of the Global South. Please also elaborate on how your project ensures longevity of these positive impacts. Therefore, it is important to us, that you have a partner organisation in the host country. This is one of our requirements for successful submission.
Degree of innovation: Are innovative technologies or methods being used?
We are particularly interested in the positive changes your project brings to the climate and society in the project country. These do not necessarily have to be innovative technologies; we also value new implementation strategies or innovative and long-term involvement of the local population. For certain types of projects, we have added questions in the updated questionnaire to account for increased quality requirements.
Holistic approach: How does the project fit into national and international strategies?
We want to know to what extent there is an exchange regarding the project with the host country or regional administration. We also ask how the long-term viability of the project will be ensured beyond its duration.
Due diligence: Transparent and comprehensible reporting is required to assess and track project impacts and success.
To enable us to gain a comprehensive picture of your project, we ask you to submit project documents. Your answers in the questionnaire and the project documents will be reviewed in several stages by various experts. Therefore, a points system consisting of several blocks of questions will be used. The evidence provided will be included in the evaluation. The potential winning project will also be visited on-site as part of the review. We rely on your support in organising and implementing the on-site visit.

Do you have any questions about the competition?

We invite you to discuss your questions with us at an information session.

The information session will take place on January 28, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and is intended to give interested organizations the opportunity to learn about the process and evaluation criteria, and address any questions they may have at the start of the competition.

All information at a glance

Winner of the 2025 Flagship-Competition for sustainable climate protection projects announced

The Foundation Development and Climate Alliance has selected the project “Hifadhi Livelihoods Cookstoves” as the winner of the 2025 Flagship-Competition. Implemented in Kenya, the project makes a significant contribution to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and demonstrates how development impact and climate protection can be successfully advanced in the Global South.

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Contact us:

For further information or any questions, please contact Sina Brod at leuchtturm@allianz-entwicklung-klima.de.

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