Deep dive on hydropower + See you at Tuesday's showcase #63
Welcome! This week is a huge week for Understory events. Join us.
Last chance to register for our Startup Showcase on Tuesday 6/22 at 1pm ET.
Brett Krug from PlanIT Impact will talk about reducing carbon emissions in the real estate industry. #BuiltTech
Solveiga Pakštaitė will share how Mimica's innovative labels are eliminating food waste. #FoodTech
Ed Thomas will describe his quest to help consumers reduce their carbon footprints using Arbor. #ClimateTech
Daphne Lora from Choose Paris Region will update us on what's happening in sustainable fashion around the Paris region and talk about how startups and corporates can get involved. #SustainableFashion
Understory’s Co-Founder Jen Singh is moderating two panels on Thursday 6/24 at the Fintech South conference featuring: Ray Cameron from BlackRock, Carolyn Holcomb from PwC, Bala Ganesh from UPS, and Nate Marsh from GreenPrint.
Have you joined our Understory Slack community yet? You can stay up to date with all the news, events, and resources in real time there. Join Slack now.
📚 Worth Reading
This week, the Wall Street Journal rang alarm bells for the energy grid in the U.S. west. The current drought and high temperatures have reduced the amount of water available for hydroelectric power generation. This may lead to blackouts as demand overtakes supply of available energy. Some stats that tell the story:
California: Hydroelectric power represents ~16% of California’s energy supply. Energy generation is forecasted to be down 30% from the 10-year average. There was 800,000 acre-feet less spring water runoff into the reservoir this year, which is enough to supply energy to 1 million homes for a year
Colorado & Nevada: Lake Powell, fed by the Colorado River, is the main reservoir for Nevada’s Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. Lake Powell is expected to have 25% less water this year resulting in 25% less energy generation by the Hoover Dam.
How does Hydroelectric Power work?
A dam stores water in a reservoir. That water is forced through the water intake where gravity causes the water to be dropped down a large elevation to turbines below. Hydroelectric power plants use the falling water to turn turbines which then turns a metal shaft in an electric generator. Power lines are connected to the generator and carry electricity to homes and businesses.
What this means:
Greater impact to an already stressed energy grid. The west, particularly California, will feel this the most. Hydroelectric power has typically been used for surplus energy generation when the grid is stressed.
Utilities should prepare customers for potential impacts like rolling blackouts and stress the urgency of reducing electricity and water consumption during summer months.
Significant investment in energy infrastructure is still needed. A diverse mix of renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro, etc.) should be implemented to reduce reliance on one source. Governments and businesses need to prioritize upgrading the electricity grid, storage, and other infrastructure needs.
🤝🏽 M&A
Ford Motor Company is acquiring Electriphi, which provides charging management and fleet monitoring software for electric vehicles. We expect more consolidation in this space.
BlackRock is buying climate modeling technology from Baringa Partners and will incorporate the tech into Aladdin Climate.
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
Descartes Labs was selected for the inaugural AWS Space Accelerator. Congrats!
Solid Power, maker of solid state batteries, is going public in a $1.2 billion SPAC deal.
Heliogen, the renewable energy tech company, raised $108 million bringing on new investors such as ArcelorMittal, Edison International, Prime Movers Lab, and more.
Elisa is recruiting startups for its Sustainable Future Accelerator targeting sustainable communication, sustainable IoT and private networks, and sustainable entertainment.
G2 Venture Partners raised a new $500 million fund to invest in environmentally friendly and socially responsible businesses.
💡 Startup Spotlight
Aspiration offers retail banking and investing services that enable customers to spend and save their money in ways that protect the planet.
👀 Quick Hits
PwC expects to invest $12 billion and create 100,000 new jobs as the company expands its ESG and AI practice areas.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill calling on the SEC to implement a standard definition of ESG metrics and mandate disclosures. The bill now moves to the Senate.
SupplyShift launches a new ESG investment platform called InvestShift that helps companies monitor ESG risk to portfolio companies and supply chains.
Unilever is rolling out a paper-based laundry detergent bottle in Brazil next year and will roll out to Europe and other countries thereafter.
P&G opened a new innovation center in Germany focused on sustainable supply chain solutions.
Adidas believes that consumers will push brands to become more sustainable. Meanwhile, Allbirds is critical about the lack of innovation and investment in natural, plant-based materials.
Teens are normalizing thrifting and second-hand shopping as environmental sustainability becomes a significant priority.
🎧 Podcast
Revolutionizing smart reusable packaging
Have a question for the LimeLoop team? Ask them on Slack.
Weighing waste, transforming the waste industry
Democratizing ESG reporting for small businesses
The Understory Podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Google Podcasts.
⚙️ Jobs
Share your open positions on the Understory Slack channel.
Brand Partnerships Manager at TerraCycle
Vice President, Sustainability at JLL
Circular Economy Product Manager at Iron Mountain
Head of ESG Solutions, Energy at AWS
Sr. Program Manager, NA Transportation Sustainability at Amazon
Sustainability & Social Impact Lead at Adobe
Sustainability Program Manager - Carbon at Facebook
Program Manager, Energy & Sustainability Advocacy at Google
Circular Economy/Sustainability Program Manager at Cisco
Manager Sustainability and ESG at JetBlue
Director of Sustainability at Georgia Pacific
Sustainability Communications Manager at UPS
Senior Director, Sustainability at Tory Burch
Associate for Sustainability and ESG Strategies at JP Morgan
Head of Sales at Lizee
Software Engineer at LimeLoop
Business Developer & Sales at Resortecs
Various Roles at Imperfect Foods
Product manager and engineers at Topl
Various Roles at Southface
Commercial Development Manager at Matter
Director, Strategic Innovation at NRG Energy
🗓 Events
June 22: Startups Driving Sustainability Showcase - June Showcase
June 24: Fintech South 2021 Conference - Understory will moderate two panels on ESG with BlackRock, PwC, UPS, and GreenPrint
July 21: Startups Driving Sustainability - July Showcase