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25 February 2026

Students compete in the 2026 Environmental Policy Pitch Competition

Future policymakers battled it out in a discussion on the environmental impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the School of Politics & Economics (SPE) Environmental Policy Pitch 2026 competition.

The finalists and the judges of the policy pitch competition posing for a group photo.
Finalists and judges at the SPE Environmental Policy Pitch.

Six teams made it to the final of the competition this year, with 28 applications received in total, the highest ever for the competition.

The competition challenges students in the School of Politics & Economics to pitch a sustainable policy that could be implemented by the UK government. The policy can provide an entirely new concept, or be based on existing policies in other countries, but tailored to the context of the UK. Contestants were tasked with pitching a policy to combat the environmental impacts of AI.

The competition joint-winners received a £500 cash prize, with a prize for the runners-up of £250. One of the competitions joint-winners, Adrian Lo, pitched a policy requiring large data centres to publicly report their water use through a national registry, enabling oversight in water-stressed regions and laying the foundation for stronger future regulation.

Adrian Lo presents his winning pitch at the Policy Pitch Ccompetition.
Prize winner Adrian Lo presenting at the competition.

The other competition winner, Afrah Sheikh proposed a policy requiring major data centres to reuse waste heat and offset water use so AI can expand without undermining the UK’s Net Zero and resource-security goals.

Carmen Hopley-Zuurmond, Syeda Hoque & Sofía Oural Martínez, took the runners-up place with their presentation titled ‘Clean Energy Compliance for AI Advertising.’

Afrah Sheikh presents her winning pitch at the Policy Pitch competition.
Prize winner Afrah Sheikh presenting her policy to the audience.

The competition offered a bespoke pitching workshop delivered by the Entrepreneurship Institute, supporting students to develop their presentation skills. Finalists were able to present and network with an expert judging panel that included Richard Fleming (Department of Energy & Net Zero), Dr Georgia Richards (King’s College London), and Dr Matthew Gill (Institute for Government).

Congratulations to all students who competed in this year’s competition.

  • Winner – Adrian Lo
  • Winner – Afrah Sheikh
  • Runner-up – Carmen Hopley-Zuurmond, Syeda Hoque & Sofía Oural Martínez
  • Finalist – Liu Xin
  • Finalist – Ray Bijoy & Anoushka Sabnis
  • Finalist – Lucas Lutar, Lonjezo Kalanda & Fauzan Kanz Kemal Gani
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