By taking part in incubator and accelerator programs, we support project teams and start-ups in further developing and scaling of their products, technologies and services to push them toward marketability. These programs provide great advantages to entrepreneurs. They support young businesses in various areas, ranging from consulting and coaching on rental spaces to comprehensive services such as business plan development and mentoring.
We take a particular interest in forming innovative alliances in the fields of production and material research. However, consumer behavior analyses and the technological infrastructure surrounding the recycling process also represent key thematic areas for us. Our activities in this regard go far beyond financing – meeting the real-life challenges significantly impacts the scope of the given projects. The technical expertise contributed by the Schwarz Group ensures that all solutions developed effectively target problems along the plastics loop and are able to successfully compete in the marketplace.
We Have Supported or Are Supporting the Following Programs
FUTURY: Ideas for the Circular Economy
By working together with corporate partners, experts and coaches, Futury offers a wide variety of incubation programs. One of the most important of these is "The Mission", which is a series of initiatives on various themes of the future and is supported by the Schwarz Group. The first mission, "Waste – Be Circular" helped young start-ups to develop ideas for the sustainable management of plastic packaging. By now, that mission has resulted in two companies: Circolution, which is developing an innovation ecosystem for reusable packaging, and Recyda, a startup with which we're partnering to develop a software tool to assess the recyclability of packaging in various markets.
As a Soulincubator Partner, We Promote Sustainable Start-ups
Soulincubator is a funding program which focuses on reducing plastic. The program was initiated by ProjectTogether, soulbottles and the Röchling-Stiftung. Apart from the Schwarz Group, the program's partners also include Viva con Agua, Purpose and Fraunhofer Venture. Together we support projects and start-ups which re-think how plastic is used in everyday life in order to avoid plastic waste in nature – through saving, recycling, material innovation and increased public awareness.
The platform promotes a wide range of solution approaches – ranging from a recycling project in Sri Lanka to an app which focuses on topics of sustainable behavior, responsible consumption and plastic reduction. The start-ups taking part in the program benefit from resources, coaching, scholarships, and much more. All in all 101 projects have signed up for an "Act on Plastic" challenge, and the 29 most fascinating were selected for soulincubator.
Jugend Forscht e.V.: Special Prize for Young Environmental Researchers
For three years, the Schwarz Group has been awarding the special REset Plastic prize by the "Jugend forscht" ("Youth researches") initiative in national, regional and school competitions in Germany. The prize honors projects which research solutions for using plastic material, and which examine the pros and cons of these uses by means of technical and scientific methods as well as develop ideas for reducing plastic waste.
The Schwarz Group thus seeks to support young researchers in critically thinking about the use of plastics and in working on possible sustainable development solutions with an impartial view.
"We're thrilled about the Schwarz Group's commitment to Jugend forscht, and are definitely aiming at a long-term collaboration with them. Jugend forscht wouldn't be possible without the support of our partners in economy and science", says Dr. Nico Kock, Executive Board of the Jugend forscht e. V. Stiftung, expressing his satisfaction with the partnership.
