10 BETTER LIVES Safe Water for All. WasteLAB. I-Prize. 10 BETTER LIVES Safe Water for All. WasteLAB. I-Prize. In 2019 Innovation for Good hosted its second annual I-Prize competition and took it global. Around the world, 200 associates came together to form teams and pitch innovative business ideas tied to the Sustainable Development Goals "Shark Tank" style. We hosted three global semifinal competitions in the United States, United Kingdom and China. Ten teams advanced to the I-Prize final in Kohler, Wisconsin, where they competed for $200,000 in incubation funding. Four teams received funding and will be incubating their ideas in 2020.

BETTER LIVES

200

ASSOCIATES PARTICIPATING IN I-PRIZE

04

I-PRIZE COMPETITIONS AROUND THE GLOBE

36

TEAMS COMPETING FOR I-PRIZE

2,200

HOURS SPENT ON INCUBATION

$

200K

DOLLARS SPENT SUPPORTING INCUBATION

03

I-PRIZE TEAMS IN INCUBATION

4,480

LIVES IMPACTED BY I-PRIZE PRODUCTS

02

I-PRIZE INNOVATIONS MAINSTREAMED INTO THE BUSINESS

I-PRIZE IDEATION I-PRIZE INCUBATION BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Powerful Innovation

After being awarded $50,000 at the 2018 I-Prize competition hosted by Innovation for Good , Kohler's Intelligent Power team began developing and testing an automated blending device to power water filtration sites with a combination of solar energy and generator power. An existing system requires the switch to be manually moved from solar to generator or grid power, a manned position that requires a person from the community to travel up to 30 miles to perform the action. This inconvenience often means the change isn't made and the unit relies on generator or grid power 24 hours per day, increasing costs to the community or refugee camp. Enter the Intelligent Power System. The solution automates the manual function by continuously monitoring the availability of solar power and then transferring to generator power only when needed. After completing the prototype, the team worked with Kohler's humanitarian partner Water Mission to test the unit at a water filtration site in Puerto Rico. Since the test, Water Mission requested 27 more units, which were installed by October 2019. The next step for the team is to install a prototype in a Uganda refugee camp, where they see the largest need for the product. Finally, on to building the business case for commercialization.

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WINNING IDEAS

Innovation for Good is an in-house startup comprised of entrepreneurs commercializing business opportunities with a social purpose.

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