REact, the digital platform for introducing clean energy into humanitarian projects, developed by acciona.org in partnership with Action Against Hunger, has received the Social Innovation Award from the Spanish Association of Foundations.

In its ninth edition, the AEF presented three awards to recognize the philanthropists and Spanish foundations that best embody the sector’s values in pursuing the public interest, across three categories: philanthropic initiative, collaboration and social innovation.

Cristina Ruiz Martínez, manager of acciona.org, and Amador Gómez Arribas, Director of Research and Innovation at Action Against Hunger, collected the award. The ceremony was held at the María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation.

A tool to assess energy needs

The Social Innovation Award aims to recognize a foundation that has provided an effective response to a previously unmet social problem or demand, or that has introduced a disruptive innovation in response to an already addressed problem or demand.

REact is the outcome of the project “Decarbonizing humanitarian response in emergency contexts”: a free, open-access digital tool that enables humanitarian organizations to assess the energy needs of their interventions and obtain a renewable-energy-based solution design to meet those needs.

Innovation that transforms humanitarian aid

“acciona.org and Action Against Hunger have combined our experience in universal energy access and humanitarian emergencies to create REact, a digital platform to introduce clean energy into humanitarian projects. REact is an example of how social innovation can transform humanitarian aid, creating solutions that not only address immediate problems but also generate long-term positive change,” explained Cristina Ruiz Martínez, manager of acciona.org.

For his part, Amador Gómez, Director of R&D&I at Action Against Hunger, stated: “Partnerships are essential to tackling major global challenges, such as access to renewable energy in emergency situations. REact is the result of the alliance between Action Against Hunger and acciona.org, but also of the participation of more than 40 humanitarian organizations working at the international level.”