Heathrow Airport is offering a £20,000 prize for green, innovative ideas on how to make the aviation sector more sustainable.

The competition aims to solve the range of environmental challenges faced by airports as the world gradually moves towards decarbonising energy systems and mitigating climate change.

The winning business or organisation will take the money and have the opportunity to use Heathrow as a ‘live laboratory’, where it will be able to trial and develop its concept.

This launch of the Sustainable Innovation Prize coincides with activity marking the anniversary of Heathrow 2.0, the airport’s plan for sustainable growth.

The airport has advised entries should either reduce social and environmental impacts while maximising growth, reuse waste water and materials around airports and in their supply chains or transform the environmental impact of large construction projects such as runways.

Heathrow Sustainability Director, Matt Gorman, said: “This prize is an opportunity for us to attract talented organisations that are passionate about improving our environmental footprint and who can push us to think outside the box.”

The deadline for submissions is the 31st of March.