What Project Green does

Project Green Challenge (PGC) is a non-profit educational program operated under Turning Green, founded in 2011 by Judi Shils and Erin Schrode. The program runs annually from October 1 to October 30, releasing one eco-themed challenge per day at 6am PDT across 30 topics spanning food, fashion, water, oceans, climate justice, zero waste, energy, and advocacy. Each challenge invites high school, college, and graduate students worldwide to complete actions and upload photos, videos, and written deliverables to a web-based platform for points, daily prizes, and a chance to advance as one of up to 14 finalists.

The platform is a web-based content-submission and participant-tracking system with social media integration across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube, supplemented by a daily email newsletter. Finalists attend an all-expenses-paid PGC Finals summit in San Francisco each November and compete for the $5,000 Acure Green Award grand prize. After Finals, finalists work from December through April on mentored Climate Action Projects (CAPs) before presenting virtually for the Champion title. A volunteer Campus Rep program supports peer-to-peer recruitment on individual campuses.

PGC is free to participants and generates no participant revenue; operations are funded by a tiered corporate sponsorship program (Acure Platinum, Cavallo Point Gold, Patagonia Provisions/Naturepedic/Good Earth/Klean Kanteen Silver-Copper), foundation grants (Milagro Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Marweld Family Charitable Fund), and donations. Non-profit partners include WWF, Fair Trade USA, Made Safe, The Organic Center, and Global Footprint Network. The program is headquartered in Ross, California, operates with 1-10 employees, and reports 350,000+ students directly engaged since launch across multiple countries.

Name

Project Green

Legal name

Project Green Challenge (A Program of Turning Green)

Website

https://projectgreenchallenge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project Green Challenge is a free, annual 30-day climate-action program for high school, college, and graduate students, operated as a non-profit under Turning Green since 2011.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Environmental Education

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

Keywords

• Youth climate education
• Environmental challenge programs
• Sustainability leadership training
• Climate action projects
• Student environmental advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Boca Raton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Non-profit Program (No Revenue): Project Green Challenge is a non-profit educational program operated by Turning Green. It is completely free for participants to join and compete. The program is funded through corporate partnerships, foundation grants, and donor support rather than participant fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Project Green Challenge (PGC) is a free, annual 30-day digital climate action program that educates, empowers, and mobilizes high school, college, and graduate students worldwide. It features daily eco-themed challenges released at 6am PDT each October, culminating in an all-expenses-paid PGC Finals climate summit in San Francisco, with participants competing for the $5,000 Acure Green Award and other prizes. The program extends beyond the challenge period through mentored Climate Action Projects (CAPs) implemented from December through April.

Product overview

Project Green Challenge (PGC) is a single, unified annual program consisting of a 30-day digital challenge platform (October 1-30), culminating in an all-expenses-paid PGC Finals summit in San Francisco. The core offering includes daily eco-themed challenges covering 30 environmental topics, prize incentives, Climate Action Projects mentorship, and a Campus Rep leadership program. Participants engage through a web platform to upload photos, videos, and written content for points and prizes, with up to 14 finalists advancing to compete for the $5,000 Acure Green Award.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project Green Challenge (PGC) An annual 30-day climate action challenge program for high school, college, and graduate students worldwide, featuring daily eco-themed challenges that educate, empower, and mobilize participants on climate action, environmental justice, public health, and advocacy. Free to participate.
• PGC Finals Annual four-day all-expenses-paid climate summit held in San Francisco, California each November, bringing together up to 14 finalists with speakers, mentors, ambassadors, and partners to support next-generation climate leaders. Finalists present their 30-day journeys, develop Climate Action Project frameworks, and compete for the $5,000 Acure Green Award.
• Climate Action Projects (CAPs) Student-led environmental projects developed during and after PGC, where finalists work with mentors from December through April to implement their climate solutions before presenting virtually in April, when the PGC Champion is named. Includes mentorship, project seed funding, and structured implementation frameworks.
• Campus Rep Program Student leadership program that trains and equips campus representatives to inspire others on their campuses to take action on climate, public health, and social equity. Campus Reps help build the movement, recruit participants, and run local sustainability initiatives.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WWFcoreOthersNon-profit partner collaborating on environmental conservation and climate education initiatives.
• Fair Trade USAcoreOthersNon-profit partner promoting fair trade principles and ethical consumption among student participants.
• Made SafeminorOthersNon-profit partner focused on product safety and non-toxic materials certification.
• The Organic CenterminorOthersNon-profit partner providing research and education on organic agriculture and sustainability.
• Global Footprint NetworkminorOthersNon-profit partner focused on ecological footprint measurement and sustainability metrics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• EarthEcho International: Youth-focused environmental education nonprofit founded by Philippe Cousteau Jr. Comparable to PGC in mission (mobilizing young people around ocean and environmental stewardship), target audience (students globally), and nonprofit delivery model.
• Earth Guardians: Youth-driven climate-activist organization training young leaders in climate advocacy and campaigns. Directly comparable to PGC's youth-mobilization mission and Climate Action Projects component.
• Sunrise Movement: Youth-led political movement on climate, with strong campus hub model. Comparable to PGC's campus-rep-driven community growth and youth climate mobilization, though more politically focused.

Broad incumbents

• Climate Reality Project: Al Gore-founded global climate education and advocacy organization. Comparable to PGC in climate-education mission and broad youth/community reach, but operates at significantly larger scale with a different (adult-skewed) leadership training model.
• 350.org: Global grassroots climate movement organizing student and community climate actions. Comparable to PGC's climate mobilization mission and global student reach, but focused on advocacy campaigns rather than 30-day structured education.
• Plastic Pollution Coalition: Global nonprofit coalition addressing plastic pollution through education and advocacy. Comparable to PGC in environmental NGO model, corporate partnerships, and youth education channels.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest environmental nonprofits globally. Comparable as an environmental NGO with youth engagement programs (Nature Lab, Young Leaders), but operates at vastly larger scale and broader mission scope than PGC.
• Sierra Club: Historic US environmental organization with youth programs (Sierra Student Coalition). Comparable in nonprofit environmental mission and student engagement, but with much larger scale and policy-advocacy focus.

Emerging players

• All We Can Save Project: Climate-arts and education initiative mobilizing communities around climate solutions. Comparable to PGC's culture-shifting, education-led approach and youth/community audience.
• Earth Uprising: Youth climate-activist nonprofit focused on UN engagement and youth-led climate advocacy. Comparable to PGC's youth climate leadership development and global student mobilization mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/turninggreenorg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TeensTurningGreen
• Facebookfacebook.com/teensturngreen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/turning-green
• Instagraminstagram.com/turninggreenorg
• Pinterestpinterest.com/teensturngreen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project Green