#141 | The circularity gap, climate risk, and new job postings
Understory newsletter on climate and sustainability tech
Welcome! This week we feature reports on circularity and climate risk - areas that will receive increased attention in 2023. We also feature a variety of new climate job postings and a Y Combinator update for startup founders.
📚 Worth Reading
Deloitte issued two major reports covering both circularity and climate risk.
Circularity
In The Circularity Gap Report, Circle Economy, in partnership with Deloitte, estimates that we are backtracking when it comes to transitioning to a circular economy. We are now only 7.2% circular versus 9.1% circular in 2018. The main driver is increasing material extraction every year and means that over 90% of materials are wasted each year. The report recommends actions across a variety of verticals to reduce material use.
Worth Reading: The Circularity Gap Report 2023
Climate Risk
In its Financial Markets Regulatory Outlook 2023, Deloitte dug into regulator’s rising concerns around climate risk. Following efforts by European regulators, experts expect nature based risk and other climate risk factors to be incorporated into risk management assessments. They recommend strengthened climate risk management for firms.
Worth Reading: Climate risk and the climate-nature nexus
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
Shell acquired the EV charging company Volta for $169 million.
Circular clothing subscription service Romp + Tumble was acquired by Rent a Romper.
EV manufacturer One Moto closed a $152 million venture funding round.
Mill raised over $100 million in funding. The company’s garbage bin helps eliminate food waste.
Sublime Systems raised a $40 million Series A round. The company decarbonizes cement production.
Living Carbon raised a $21 million Series A round. The biotech company helps trees grow faster and increases the amount of carbon they can absorb from the atmosphere.
Climate action platform Chooose raised $15 million in funding.
Visolis, which makes carbon-negative materials, raised a $8 million seed round.
InPlanet, a carbon removal company, closed a €1.2M pre-seed round.
💡 Startup Spotlight
Mineral - an agtech business that captures data about plants and growing conditions.
🌱 Startup Resources
Y Combinator put out a request for climate tech startups across a number of categories: energy, electrification, battery tech, carbon removal, agriculture, adaptation, etc.
👀 Quick Hits
The water crisis deepens in the U.S. southwest as an Arizona city is cut off from its water supply.
Uber Eats and Visa will partner to fund the transition to sustainable packaging solutions for restaurants.
Effective in 2023: California’s single use plastic ban in hotels.
🎧 Podcast
Revisit episodes of The Understory Podcast to hear more stories of innovation in climate and sustainability.
⚙️ Jobs
Find and share your open positions on the Understory Slack channel.
🆕 Head of Sustainability at Snap
🆕 Head of Talent Pipelines at Orsted
🆕 Multiple Roles at Open Water
🆕 Sustainability Services Strategic Programs Lead at Lenovo
🆕 Director, Strategy Clean Energy at Thermo Fisher Scientific
🆕 Executive Director, Sustainability Transformational PMO at Estee Lauder
🆕 VP, Sustainability at Meta
Growth Team at Lithos Carbon
Vice President, Sustainability Solutions at U.S. Ventures Inc.
VP Sustainability at LA28 (Olympic Games)
Director of Sustainability at alice + olivia
Program Operations Lead at Third Derivative
GM Sustainable Building Technology at Honeywell
Manager of Sustainability & Strategy Execution at Ericsson
Senior Manager of Innovation and Sustainability at Tropicana Brands Group
Analyst, Life Cycle Assessment at ClimeCo
Investment Associate at Energize Ventures
🗓 Events
Do you have any events to share? Post them in our Understory Slack community.
📧 Stay in Touch!
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