Competition Details
Ready to join the Challenge?
Entry criteria
The Irish Business Design Challenge is looking for businesses that have:
- Changed their business model to add value
- Repurposed or redesigned their products or services sustainably
- Developed new eco-friendly processes or partnerships
- Discovered new or more efficient ways of working
- Invented innovative and meaningful solutions
- Solved societal or environmental problems through sustainable design
Design has the potential to radically change how we experience life. At every point in the process, there is an opportunity to design better — better for business, better for consumers, better for citizens, better for nature.
Lara Hanlon, Design Declares Ireland
Kate and Alan Burrows from Westcountry Willows, pictured after winning the micro category at DCCI’s Irish Business Design Challenge 2023.
Is your business eligible to enter?
The challenge has 2 categories and is open to the following businesses:
- Micro businesses
- Small businesses
Businesses must also be actively trading for at least 6 months prior to entering the competition.
It is an honour to be able to recognise these companies for the amazing work they have done to transform their businesses into such models of sustainable and circular design. The outcome of this challenge is that six companies have been funded in furthering their commitment to these principles, raising the bar and creating a new benchmark.
Tom Watts
Head of Design at DCCI
How we pick the winners
The IBDC team conducts an initial review to determine eligibility.
There will be a two stage judging system.
1st stage – A panel of 3 jurors scores each entry, advancing the best to the next stage
2nd stage– Winners are then determined by a hybrid system made up of:
- Public voting (20%)
- All shortlisted entries are published during the public voting stage.
- The threshold to achieve your full 20% is as follows:
- Micro – 100 votes
- Small – 250 votes
- Industry experts (80%)
How to enter
To enter the competition, you need to provide:
- A summary of your business
- A short elevator pitch to the public voters and the judging panel, outlining:
- The challenge or opportunity you identified
- The sustainable design strategy you applied to solve the problem
- The sustainable solution you developed
- Detailed answers to 4 questions as set out in the application form in line with the criteria as set out in the scoring framework
- A minimum of 3 images per entry in jpeg, pdf or png format
