CSC Affiliate Portal
Affiliate Portal
Welcome—we are thrilled you are joining us for the 2025 Colorado Sustainability Challenge!
Some important updates:
Check out ourAffiliate Playbook
Please note the reminders below
Important Reminders
ACTION ITEM – by 8/14:Send your school/unit logo to Karen Reid (Karen.Reid@colorado.edu) so we can add it to the website and confirm participation.
- All students MUST register for the CSC in StartupTree (requires profile creation)
- Early registration is encouraged
- Students indicate whether they have an idea and/or are seeking team members
- Ideas will be posted for others to join, allowing for cross-campus teams
- Once the challenge begins, students can register for hybrid workshops
- Affiliate schools are encouraged to host viewing rooms for group participation or run their own in-person sessions
- Every student/team will have access to mentors via StartupTree; in-person mentor events are encouraged locally
- Prior to submitting, every team will create a venture profile on the platform (instructions to do so are on the submission page in StartupTree).
- Every team will submit an executive summary and a 4 minute video pitch. The video pitch will live on a public facing platform (they will submit the URL). Please be sure they set permissions as public.
- These items are due by 5:00 p.m. on October 11
- Problem/Solution, Impact, Feasibility, Innovation, Creativity, Presentation Quality
- The Finals will be held on Sunday, Oct. 12, 6–8 p.m., UMC Ballroom, CU Boulder
- Every participating team is required to be present at the finals
- The finalist teams will be notified of their status upon arrival to the venue at 6:00 p.m. Teams will have 30 minutes to prepare to pitch live to the audience and the judges
- The judges will use the above rubric for the final determination of placement
CSC Affiliate Information and Resources
- 2025 Dates & Deadlines
- Eligibility
- Competition Participation
- Awards and Judging
- Registration
- General Notices
- Resources
2025 Dates & Deadlines
- Aug. 1:
- Sept. 28:CSC Kickoff
- Sept. 29, 9 a.m. MT:
- Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. MT:
- Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 3, 6 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 3, 7 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 4, 10 a.m. MT:
- Oct. 5, 10 a.m. MT:
- Oct. 6, 6 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 6, 7 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 8, 9 a.m. MT:
- Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 11, 10 a.m. MT:
- Oct. 11, 2 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 11, 5 p.m. MT:
- Oct. 12, 6 p.m. MT: CSC Finals at CU Boulder
Eligibility
Team Composition
- Teams must be entirely made up of currently enrolled student(s) or employee(s) of one (or multiple) of the “affiliate” colleges or universities.
- There is no maximum or minimum team size.
Prior Activity
- Team members may have worked on the idea or technology in past academic years or before attending their respective school but not for more than one (1) year as of September 28, 2025.
- Teams that have previously competed in the Colorado Sustainability Challenge or the CU New Venture Challenge may not compete again with the same idea.
- However, previous teams may participate again with a substantially new concept.
Mentorship
- We encourage all teams to work with a mentor.
Nature of Teams
This competition is intended for early-stage ideas/ventures and does not support:
- Buyouts or company expansions
- Real estate syndications
- Tax shelters
- Franchises
- Licensing agreements
- Corporate spinouts
Competition Participation
Attendance
- Teams must present in person at designated times to remain eligible. Failure to appear for a scheduled pitch time will result in disqualification.
Copyrights & Permissions
- Teams using copyrighted materials must obtain all necessary permissions before use in any submission or presentation.
Intellectual Property
- All presentations are open to the public and may be recorded or broadcast.
- Participants should assume that anything disclosed during the competition is in the public domain.
- Teams are responsible for their own IP protection and are encouraged to consult legal counsel if necessary.
- NDAs will not be used during the final round.
Awards & Judging
Judging Criteria
Projects will be evaluated based on:
- Sustainability impact
- Innovation and creativity
- Feasibility and scalability
- Team strength and mentorship engagement
- Overall quality of the presentation
Awards
- Finalists will be eligible for monetary awards and other non-cash prizes.
- To qualify for awards, teams must fulfill all competition requirements and participate in person at the final event.
- Awards will be split evenly among all team members unless a founder’s agreement has been signed by all team members that instructs otherwise.
Registration
⚠Registration for the 2025 competition is open.
CSC uses the Startup Tree platform to manage applications. To enter, each of your team members must create a user profile on the platform. Then, your main point of contact will create the venture profile on the platform and invite all team members to the venture profile.
There is no cost to apply or to compete.
General Notices
Use of Materials
The and affiliated organizations may record, copy, and use any presentations, pitch decks, documents, or media submitted for educational and promotional purposes.
- Teams grant CU Boulder non-exclusive, worldwide rights to use submitted materials across all media platforms.
Decisions & Discretion
- All competition procedures, interpretations, and decisions are at the sole discretion of the event organizers
- Organizers reserve the right to change rules or eligibility requirements at any time
- Judging decisions are final
Participating CSC Affiliates
CSC Affiliate Playbook
Rules and guidance for a successful Affiliate experience
Need Help?
Event Questions
- Allie Reitz, Affiliate Liaison
- Chris Westfall, Community Director
CU Boulder Questions
- Stan Hickory, Director, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
- Leah Jean Shafer, Program Manager, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
Helpful Links
FAQs
Coming soon!