#89 | Rising cost of carbon offsets + send us your nominations!
Understory newsletter on climate and sustainability tech
Happy Monday! Last week was a relatively quiet week on the climate tech front. Fundings are starting to ramp up, plus we found a few startup resources that are worth checking out. Stay tuned - we have a lot in the pipeline!
REGISTER NOW » Don’t miss our Startups Driving Sustainability Showcase on Thursday, January 20th. Our speakers include Interface, Seqana, Globechain, and e-Mission.
Send us your nominations! We are currently seeking recommendations for both our upcoming spring showcases and weekly #StartupSpotlight features.
📚 Worth Reading
The cost of carbon offsets is on the rise. Demand for carbon offsets has soared especially from large corporations who are using them to achieve net zero goals. While demand is rising, the supply hasn’t kept pace. The result? The cost of nature based offsets has increased over 3x in the past year.
What’s the implication? Businesses may find themselves financially exposed if they put a strong reliance on carbon offsets to achieve their sustainability goals. The Harvard Business Review sees this as a hidden liability that many business leaders may overlook. Businesses can no longer rely on offsets as a cheap and easy way to reduce emissions.
The good news? The relative cost of investing in innovative practices that reduce carbon emissions is now more attractive. Businesses have more financial incentives to invest in long-term sustainability transformation that drives climate impact. We will continue to see greater corporate uptake of climate tech solutions and investment into sustainability startups.
Here are a few articles that are worth reading:
Cost of neutralising carbon emissions soars as demand escalates from the Financial Times.
Carbon Might Be Your Company’s Biggest Financial Liability from the Harvard Business Review
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
The Climate Service (a former #StartupSpotlight company) was acquired by S&P. The company’s platform helps companies assess and report climate risk.
Blackstone invests $3 billion of growth equity capital into Invenergy, a renewable energy company.
The DOE announced $35 million in funding was awarded to clean energy and climate solution businesses.
INOVUES, a builttech startup that helps decarbonize buildings, raised $2.75 million in funding.
Frankie Technologies raised $900K in funding. The company makes buildings more sustainable by extending the useful life of assets.
💡 Startup Spotlight
Overstory - provides real-time vegetation intelligence to prevent wildfires and power outages.
🌱 Startup Resources
For those founders navigating fundraising, Fast Company published a great article summarizing the difference between angel and VC investors.
Apply now! January 10th is now the last day for alternative protein startups to apply for Cohort 5 of the Big Idea Ventures Accelerator.
👀 Quick Hits
New York State legislators propose the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act requiring apparel and footwear companies with revenues of at least $100 million to disclose plans to address social and environmental impacts of the production process.
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, is one of the biggest advocates of sustainable businesses and ESG investing. Learn more about him and his impact.
Scientists have discovered a new way to produce sustainable batteries.
Do you have a resolution to reduce your carbon footprint? Embrace a Climatarian diet.
🎧 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.
🆕 Sustainability Manager, North America at Unilever
🆕 Sustainability Project Coordinator at JLL
🆕 Store Managers & Associates at Borobabi
🆕 Head of Climate at Diginex
🆕 Multiple Roles at MightyFly
🆕 Senior Polymer Scientist at Loliware
🆕 Key Account Director at Interface
🆕 Head of Sustainability at OnProcess Technology
🆕 Senior Program Manager, Diversion at Whole Foods
🆕 Director, Sustainability & ESG at ManpowerGroup
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
Vice President, Digital Strategy & Content at The RealReal
Lead Product Manager, Enterprise Sustainability Product Solutions at Google
Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability at Electronic Arts
Project Leader / Principal, Climate & Sustainability at BCG
Data Scientist, Sr. Full-Stack Engineer, and more at GrowSquares
Business Development Associate and Data Scientist at Seqana
Sr Manager / Director - Food Product R&D at New Age Meats
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!
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