Happy Holidays! This is our last newsletter of 2021 as we are taking next week off to celebrate with family and friends. We wish you a healthy, restful, and sustainable end to the year.
We are beyond grateful to this active community of innovators striving to make our world more sustainable. Thanks for contributing your stories, curiosity, and engagement to our showcases, podcast, articles, Slack and weekly newsletter. We will be back in the new year with more content and new surprises.
See you in 2022!
📚 Worth Reading
PWC issued its ‘State of Climate Tech 2021’ Report which highlights key investment trends and opportunity areas. Climate Tech continues to expand, with significant investment moving into the space. In fact, about 14 cents of every VC dollar is now spent on climate tech. PWC estimates there are currently over 3000+ climate tech startups and 6000+ active investors.
While the amount of funding is increasing, it is still very concentrated toward the mobility and transport vertical. There is significant opportunity to pour more resources into other technology areas that have a greater impact on emissions reductions.
Download the full report to see sector-by-sector analysis, noteworthy startups, and more. worth reading.
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
Rubicon, a waste and recycling technology company, went public via a SPAC, valuing the company at $2 billion.
Footprint went public via a SPAC valued at $1.6 billion. Footprint creates bio-based plastic alternatives.
The Growth for Good Acquisition Corporation (SPAC) launched via a $220 million IPO. They seek to invest in environmentally sustainable companies.
Ares Management Corporation raised $2.2 Billion of Climate Infrastructure Capital and will invest across renewable energy, resource and energy efficiency, energy storage, vehicle electrification and transmission climate sectors.
Closed Loop Partners raised a $50 million Fund II to invest in circular economy solutions.
Stoke Space raised a $65 million funding round to create reusable and sustainable rockets. The round was led by Breakthrough Energy Partners.
Cove.tool, a builttech startup, raised a $30 million Series B, led by Coatue and FootPrint Coalition.
Full Harvest raised $23 million in Series B funding. The company reduces food waste via their marketplace for surplus produce.
Sweep, the carbon management platform for large companies, raised a $22 million Series A led by Balderton.
💡 Startup Spotlight
BLOOM - creates sustainable materials from harmful algae blooms.
👀 Quick Hits
Rivian will build a $5 billion EV manufacturing facility, its second, in Georgia.
Namibia positions itself as a leader in green hydrogen given the country is rich in the renewable resources needed for production - sun and wind.
24/7 hourly matching explained: why matching renewable energy to consumption every hour of the day is important.
ESG Investing: Sustainalytics published its expected themes for 2022.
🎧 Podcast
David Wei of SolarKal: simplifying solar procurement
Ed Thomas of Hazel: climate empowerment with a single click
Ryan Jeffery of gener8tor: accelerating climate innovation
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.
🆕 Senior Position in Late-Stage Technology Investing at Revaia
🆕 Finance Intern at Wallet Max
🆕 Recycling & Waste Diversion Analyst at Cox Enterprises
🆕 Director, Strategic Initiatives - Corporate Affairs - Sustainability (Circular Economy) at Walmart
🆕 Principal, Circular Economy at Amazon
🆕 Project Director, Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change (Circular Economy) at WSP
🆕 Program Manager, Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners
🆕 Vice President, Digital Strategy & Content at The RealReal
VP of Sales at Rheaply
Senior Environmental Social Governance & CSR Analyst at Cox Enterprises
Lead Product Manager, Enterprise Sustainability Product Solutions at Google
Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability at Electronic Arts
Senior Manager, Climate & Sustainability at Expedia Group
Project Leader / Principal, Climate & Sustainability at BCG
Data Scientist, Sr. Full-Stack Engineer, and more at GrowSquares
Global Head ESG Transformation at CBRE
Business Development Associate and Data Scientist at Seqana
Sr Manager / Director - Food Product R&D at New Age Meats
Sustainability Strategy Leader at Microsoft
Multiple roles at Plan A
Logistics Manager at Sesame Solar
Analyst / Senior Analyst at Amplify Capital
Software Engineer at Joulea
🗓 Events
January 20: Understory’s Startups Driving Sustainability - January Showcase
February 16: Understory’s Startups Driving Sustainability - February Showcase
March 23: Understory’s Startups Driving Sustainability - March Showcase
April 23: Atlanta Green Business Market Fair
Do you have any events to share? Post them in our Understory Slack community.
📧 Stay in Touch!
You don’t have to wait for our weekly newsletter for all the latest content. Join us on Slack or follow along on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter to see real-time updates.