Showcase recording now available + speeding adoption of zero-emission trucks | #79
Understory newsletter on climate and sustainability tech
Our Startup Showcase this week was 🔥🔥🔥! We talked green buildings, sustainable fashion, waste-eating mushrooms, ESG governance, and more! If you missed it, the recording is now available (it requires a simple email registration to access).
Shoutout to our insightful and inspiring presenters » Alicia Case from JLL, Tanjuria Willis from eKlozet, Joanne Rodriguez from Mycocycle, and Adam Baron from Refinitiv.
Do you have your tickets to Sustainable Fashion Week yet? We are just a few days away! Tickets are on sale, including a virtual passes. Understory is hosting a panel on The Circular Economy, plus there are runway shows, brand exhibitions, and expert round tables.
Finally, we have a new episode of The Understory Podcast available! Check out Alex Diamond from Descartes Labs who talks to us about geospatial analytics and how they can be used for sustainability initiatives such as land use, emissions, and deforestation.
📚 Worth Reading
Governance is a critical piece of a company’s ESG strategy. During our Showcase, we learned how the connectivity of board members impacts the financial performance of a firm. Dig into the details about why and how.
The transportation sector is a large contributor to emissions, in fact, it’s estimated that about 15% of total European emissions comes from the road freight. Despite heavy investment into transitioning to clean infrastructure, the industry needs another 120,000 zero-emission trucks annually by 2030 to achieve the 1.5°C target.
A new WEF and McKinsey report digs into the barriers and opportunities to speed adoption of zero-emission trucks. The two main technologies for zero-emission trucks are 1) battery electric vehicles which are widely available but require longer recharging times and 2) hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles which are better for long distance but lack availability and infrastructure. Trucking complexities further complicate the ability to decarbonize.
Acceleration of zero-emissions trucks requires 1) policies and incentives to improve the total cost of ownership, 2) new financing models, and 3) a coordinated roll-out with corresponding infrastructure.
🚀 Funding and Congrats!
Alaska Airlines launched a new venture arm focused on mobility and the transition to net zero and made a $15 million investment into UP.Partners’ venture fund.
Faber, a Portuguese VC, launched a new €30 million fund focused on ocean sustainability and climate action startups in Portugal and Southern Europe.
German-based solar startup Enpal raised a $174 million Series C round led by SoftBank.
Jupiter raised a $54 million Series C round led by Clearvision Ventures and MPower Partners. Jupiter provides climate analytics for resilience and risk management.
Plant-based food company Allplants raised £38 million in Series B funding.
Via Separations raised a $38 million Series B round. The company helps manufacturers reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
One Next Energy, an EV battery company, raised $25 million from venture firms including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and BMW iVentures.
Pledge raised a $4.5 million seed round led by Visionaries Club. Pledge offers an API that measures a carbon footprint and provides offsets for easy integration.
Vertical Oceans, a sustainable shrimp company, raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures.
Ankeri, an Iceland-based startup that helps the maritime industry calculate fuel efficiency, carbon emissions and logistics data, raised €2 million in late seed funding.
💡 Startup Spotlight
Monarch Tractor produces autonomous, electric tractors that collect and utilize data to drive sustainable agriculture.
🌱 Startup Resources
Breakthrough Energy launched a new fellows program for both innovators and business leaders. Check out the 2021 list and submit interest for the next cohort.
VC Lab launched free boilerplate legal documents to help aspiring venture capitalists launch their own funds. These fund formation documents include a term sheet, subscription agreement, and LPA.
👀 Quick Hits
We are one week away from COP26 where leaders from nearly every country will meet in Glasgow for a two-week climate summit focused on a deal to meet the Paris agreement targets. Poorer nations are expected to ask for significant investment, as the cost of the energy transition continues to rise.
The Milken Institute proposed a variety of new financing mechanisms that reduce the barrier to investing in critical, yet higher risk, climate technology and innovations. At the same time, blue bonds - the latest iteration of green bonds focused on reducing emissions and pollution at sea - are gaining market traction.
Bill Gates predicts that climate tech will produce mammoth organizations - the future Teslas, Googles, Amazons, Microsofts of the world.
In EV news, Ford is investing £230 million to transform an existing UK plant to one that is focused on EV production. Toyota also announced it will invest $3.4 billion into EV battery development and production in the U.S. over the next 10 years.
🎧 Podcast
Alex Diamond of Descartes Labs: sustainability analysis at planetary scale
Nathan Stuck of Ad Victoriam Solutions: demystifying B Corps
Nicole Doucet of Open Water: climate-friendly bottled water
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.
🆕 Circular Economy Strategist at Rheaply
🆕 Manager of Sustainable Finance at EY
🆕 Circular Economy Lead at AWS
🆕 Manager Strategic Relationships - Circular Economy at TerraCycle
🆕 Senior Director, Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners
🆕 Senior Director, Product Innovation at Amyris
🆕 Senior Manager, Climate & Sustainability at Expedia
Analyst / Senior Analyst at Amplify Capital
Manager, Sustainability at Deloitte
Multiple VC roles at Revaia
Regional Sustainability Value Practice Lead at Google
Project Leader/Principal, Climate & Sustainability at BCG
Multiple roles at Sway, seaweed bioplastic company.
Climate and Net Zero Specialist at Citibank
Sustainability Tech Investment Principal at G-Force
Account Manager at Climate Neutral
Multiple Roles at TheRealReal
VP / Director of Marketing at Cloverly
Software Engineer at Joulea
Multiple Roles at Patch
Senior Product Manager, Re-commerce at REI
Head of Product, Bus Dev Director, Engineers at Nitricity
Developer roles at Gybe
🗓 Events
October 26-27: ClimateTech Founders Summit
October 28-30: Sustainable Fashion Week Atlanta (TICKETS AVAILABLE!)
October 31-November 12: COP26 - Glasgow
December 1: Startups Driving Sustainability - December Showcase (REGISTER NOW!)
📧 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.
Happy Halloween to those celebrating! For helpful tips on how to reduce waste this week, check out this insightful article from one of Understory’s community members!