#117 | Decarbonizing the real estate industry + extreme weather
Understory newsletter on climate and sustainability tech
We continue to see the destructive aspects of climate change this summer, from record temps to ongoing wildfires to dwindling water reserves. Two years ago, $95 billion worth of damages was caused by extreme weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires in the United States. This number is increasing as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
Sesame Solar is a clean energy solution that can help communities recover after these climate disasters. Check out our recent writeup to learn more about the company’s modular off-grid energy solutions.
📚 Worth Reading
The real estate sector is one of the largest contributors to climate change, responsible for 40% of global energy use and carbon emissions. Fifth Wall, a venture capital firm focused on the global real estate industry, recently closed a $500 million climate fund. The firm published a compelling statement explaining their “why” that led to the fund:
“Real estate is the single biggest industry lever the world can turn to fight climate change. When it comes to making a difference for the climate, decarbonizing real estate is actually more important than the industries we reflexively think of as climate culprits.”
“Climate VCs have deployed less than 7% of the $60 billion deployed towards climate tech towards real estate decarbonization solutions. Over the next 10 years, the real estate industry needs to invest $18 TRILLION to achieve carbon neutrality.”
Fifth Wall is seeking opportunities in both embodied carbon and operational carbon innovations across the entire building lifecycle to decarbonize the industry.
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
Fifth Wall, which focuses on the real estate sector, closed a $500 million Climate Fund.
Systemiq Capital launched a $70 million fund two focused on climate tech.
Meati Foods, a plant-based meat company, raised $150 million in Series C funding.
Energy storage company FlexGen raised a $100 million Series C round.
Circ, a textile recycling company, raised a $30 million Series B round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Resortecs, a circular fashion company, received a €2.5M grant from the EU.
💡 Startup Spotlight
Xampla - replaces single use plastics with plant-based protein materials.
🌱 Startup Resources
Apply by August 1: Join gener8tor’s Sustainability Accelerator Fall 2022 cohort. For background information, check out the joint showcase we did in April.
Apply by August 5: The Accelerate(HER) fund sponsored by Tiger Global Impact Ventures offers grants up to $50K.
Apply by August 12th: Pitch at the Venture Atlanta conference. They added Climate Tech and ESG categories this year.
Apply by September 28th: TechStars Impact powered by Cox Enterprises accelerator program
👀 Quick Hits
President Biden announced new climate measures but stopped short of issuing a climate emergency.
Climate change is the most popular reason for opposing the election of board of directors.
The circular economy is still not well known or understood by the average citizen.
Extreme heat is becoming more common. Satellite photos of Lake Mead show the change in water levels over the past 20 years.
🎧 Podcast
Franz Hochstrasser: funding the green transition
Michael Walton: creating sustainable communities
Brian Graff: beautifying solar
The Understory Podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Google Podcasts.
⚙️ Jobs
Find and share your open positions on the Understory Slack channel.
🆕 Head of Strategy at Returnity
🆕 Director of People at Remora
🆕 VP of Product at Higher Steaks
🆕 Global Societal Impact & Sustainability Leader, National Transformation Partnerships at Microsoft
🆕 Manager/Senior Manager, Circular Economy Supply Chain at Accenture
🆕 Lead, Future of Consumption at World Economic Forum
Marketing Coordinator at Retaaza
Operations Coordinator at Retaaza
Circular Economy Manager at Nike
Online Sustainability Manager at Estee Lauder Companies
Recycling & Waste Diversion Analyst at Cox Enterprises
Head of Sustainability and Corporate Innovation Strategy at Delta
Senior Manager, Livestock Sector, EDF+Business at the Environmental Defense Fund
Sustainability Director, Net Zero Reduction Strategy at Meta
Senior Mechanical Engineer at Charm Industrial
Senior Analyst Sustainability and ESG at JetBlue
EV Sales Advisor at Spring Free EV
Director of Utility Sales at Bloc Power
🗓 Events
Do you have any events to share? Post them in our Understory Slack community.
📧 Stay in Touch!
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