Sustainability Action Booster

Apply for €500–€10,000* funding to bring your sustainability action ideas to life with our support!

Turn your sustainability ideas into reality!

Introducing the Sustainability Action Booster (est. May 2023), an expense grant dedicated to empowering students and unleashing their creative ideas for a sustainable future. Our mission is to provide the best opportunities for students to initiate and participate in student-owned sustainability actions – both on campus and beyond!

So, are you a student with a sustainability idea in mind that could use some extra financial resources?

Wait no longer! Whether you have a small project idea or a wild sustainability vision, we want to help bring your ideas to life! Check out our application criteria and apply anytime for a grant ranging from €500 to €5 000. At predetermined times (in 2025 TBC), we also offer the possibility of applying for larger grants of up to €10 000 for exceptionally well-justified projects!

We want to foster creativity and create a culture of experimentation where the joy of learning is more important than individual success! We believe that the true impact, especially in smaller projects, arises from the fact that more and more additional student-owned sustainability actions are taking place at Aalto University.

It's time to make a lasting impact and create an even more vibrant sustainability culture at Aalto University. Join us!

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LATEST NEWS:

Summer break 2025:

If you wish to receive a grant for summer 2025, you have until 6th of June to apply.

Applications received between 7.6.-22.7.2025 will be processed after the summer break (end of July to early August).

Sustainability Action Boosterin hankekoordinaattori Jasmin Järvinen vastaanotti palkinnon New Yorkissa.

Sustainability Action Booster grant model, developed by Aalto University, has received a prestigious international recognition from an UN-affiliated educational initiative. The model funds students' own experiments, ideas, and prototypes, and is now being praised for its bold, student-centered approach.

11.6.2025 News

Apply now!

Feet in worn, brown socks with orange toes on a green stool. Text reads 'Love letters to our clothes'.

Sustainability Action Booster

Art exhibition on emotional durability in clothing and fashion

#sustainable_communities_and_networks #artistic_intervention #exhibition

Exhibition explores emotional connection to clothes and sustainable fashion practices.

A wooden structure with solar panels and transparent sections, set against a clear blue sky and tall leafless trees.

Sustainability Action Booster

Test-Site Solar System, Lecture & Workshop

#project #sustainability_events #conserving_energy
Student-led solar project transforming Test-Site into a self-sufficient space through circular design, community collaboration, and energy awareness.

Illustration promoting 'Planetary Practices' with icons of books, music, plants, and more. Organised by CRUST x SAB.

Sustainability Action Booster

Planetary Practices Workshops

This student-led initiative creates space for Aalto University students to share their practical,
creative, and sustainability-focused skills through hands-on workshops open to the
entire community.

A person wearing a red top and jeans holds seeds in their hand, next to soil and grass.

Sustainability Action Booster

Regenerative Textile Garden

#project #sustainable_materials #sustainable_communities_and_networks
Regenerative textile garden cultivating local dye and fibre plants while reviving craft traditions and restoring soil through community-driven action.

A person wearing pink trousers and a pink jacket standing outdoors. Text overlay: Amplifying Female Voices Coaching.

Sustainability Action Booster

Amplifying the voices of women

#project #workshop #sustainable_communities_and_networks
A student-led public speaking program empowering women and non-binary individuals through coaching, storytelling, and community support to boost confidence and visibility in entrepreneurship.

A wooden barrel sauna floating on water, with its reflection visible. It's a cloudy day with a wooden dock in the background.

Sustainability Action Booster

Combining community, sauna, and circular prototyping

#project #circular_economy #prototype #collaboration

See Full Portfolio Here

Poster for a cloth dyeing workshop on 13 August 2025 at Aalto University, featuring flower designs.

Join us for a sun-powered cloth dyeing workshop where you’ll explore the beautiful cyanotype printing process—a historical photographic technique that uses sunlight and chemistry to create dreamy blue designs on fabric.

13.8.2025 14:30 – 17:30 (UTC +3) Events

What might your action look like?

We want to support student-owned sustainability culture at Aalto, and your sustainability visions are the key to it! Your ideas could include:

Sustainability events e.g., thematic weeks, festivals, awards, summits, hackathons, or even parties
Collaborations with other universities, schools, NGOs, or businesses
Action-driven projects like experiments, prototypes, or podcasts
Artistic interventions like exhibitions, or flash mobs, drama, or other performances
Behavioral nudges – small but impactful ways to encourage sustainable choices
Supportive community networks to share ideas, learn, do, and be together

Or it could be something completely different: we're open to support diverse action-oriented ideas that seek to redefine sustainability, test, experiment, and/or break boundaries and spark positive change!

Read more on how to apply Sustainability Action Booster expense grant!

Sustainability Action Booster

Get inspired from previous and ongoing actions that the Sustainability Action Booster has supported!

Sustainability Action Booster

Apply for the Sustainability Action Booster expense grant!

Sustainability Action Booster

Two people smiling at the Test Site Summer Opening Party. Photographer: Adela Navratilova

Student-driven: Actions initiated by the students, for the students

You are the heart and soul of this movement! We want to foster the student-owned sustainability culture and your ideas are the key to it! Together we're building a greener campus culture and inspiring the whole community.

Did you know that students not only lead and implement projects but also actively develop the Booster concept and community, for example, as members of the project’s steering group and by supporting daily operations in assistant roles?

A picture from Test Site's summer opening party. Photographer: Meri-Tuuli Moilanen.

Fast and easy process

We've simplified the grant process, making it a breeze for you to turn your sustainable dreams into reality! No endless paperwork or complicated requirements – the application is all about simplicity and speed, so you can focus on what truly matters: getting your ideas rolling in no time!

A group of people standing around a campfire.

Funding for Community-Driven Sustainability Actions

We support initiatives that promote sustainability in all its angles while fostering a strong sense of community. Well-being is also at the core of what we do. Funded actions should provide equal and fair opportunities for all students, regardless of their background. We aim to strengthen networks, bring people together, and create high engagement. Whether it’s promoting mental well-being, fostering community connections, or developing innovative, impactful solutions through prototypes – we’re on board! Let's push the boundaries and redefine what sustainability can mean in our community!

A bowl made of mycelium material. Photographer: Harvey Shawn

Learning and experimentation

We believe in the journey as much as the destination! It’s not just about the final outcome but also about the impact that emerges through experimentation along the way. We're all about fostering a culture of experimentation – even for wild and weird ideas!

A group of people making candles from bees wax. One person is pouring wax into moulds on a table covered with various items.

Encouraging interdisciplinary and/or crossdisciplinary collaboration within and outside of our university

Only the main applicant needs to be a student from Aalto University!

A group of people in a forest doing stretching exercises.

Creating Hope

We believe in the power of action. By providing opportunities to get involved and connecting like-minded individuals, we help build a thriving sustainability community that inspires change.

Contact us and let's talk more!

Sustainability Action Booster project lead Jasmin Järvinen

Email us: Jasmin & the team are happy to help!

More information on the Sustainability Action Booster

Updated: 6.8.2025
Published: 17.4.2023

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Sustainability Action Booster

Your fast lane to sustainability action!