A six-part Greenhouse event series will be held from September 2018 to March 2019.

During the series, entrepreneurs, academics, investors and non-profit groups will come together to explore global megatrends and find emerging tech solutions to help create more sustainable cities.

Hosted by WWF-Australia, the series of talks, panel discussions and knowledge exchange sessions will include pitches from local start-ups who are applying new technologies to conservation, social equity and sustainable development.

At each of the monthly events, three start-ups will be invited to pitch their solutions aimed at solving complex environmental and sustainable development issues. They will compete for a $1,000 prize, and the winning teams from each event will have the opportunity to pitch in the grand finale in March 2019 for $10,000 in prizes.

Reece Proudfoot, WWF-Australia's innovation strategist, says this year's events would use emerging tech trends to build on the success of past Greenhouse events.

"Disruptive technologies can be channelled to solve some of the big, global problems facing humanity," says Proudfoot.

"Business as usual is no longer an option. That's why WWF launched 'Panda Labs' in 2017 and is collaborating with business, academia and the community to explore and build the transformative solutions needed to protect our planet. We look forward to continuing this work in 2018.

"Thanks to last year's events, which culminated in a hackathon, we are now incubating a start-up that is using blockchain technology to enable households to be rewarded when they cut energy use. They are developing an app that tracks household energy consumption and rewards behaviour that contributes to conservation efforts. We can't wait to see what new ideas this year will bring."

There will be six Greenhouse sessions held from September to March 2019. The first event will be held at Stone and Chalk, 11 York Street, Sydney.

The sessions include:

  • 18 September 2018: We are destroying the planet, is it time to turn the decision-making over to robots?
  • 16 October 2018: Will the family meal be insects and two vegetables in the future?
  • 20 November 2018: Will we have a world without rubbish in the future?
  • 22 January 2018: Will our homes run themselves in the future?
  • 19 February 2019: Will our children ever learn to drive?
  • 19 March 2019: Have we done enough to save the planet?

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