#SFCW: Carbon Offsets to Grid Management

A Report from the First Climate Week Held in San Francisco

San Francisco Climate Week brought together a diverse group of climate organizations, leaders, and the broader community to collaborate on the issues that impact our climate today.

As a venture capital firm that backs startups transforming industry for people and planet, Piva Capital was thrilled to participate and support the new event. The breadth of this first SF Climate Week is told by the numbers:

· Over 150 sponsors and partners

· Over 90 events on the calendar

· Over 6K people registered for at least one event

· Attendees from all over the world

The week brought together all types of people–students, scientists, government employees, Fortune 500 executives, investors, and founders — all tackling climate change in their own respective ways. We believe sharing knowledge among groups like this helps address the interdisciplinary challenge of climate change.

The Piva team hosted a networking breakfast at our office to bring together the VC ecosystem for a morning of interacting and connecting. 120 people, including 40 founders and 50 VCs, from all over the globe traded ideas on climate tech. (They also enjoyed a beautiful SF morning from our outside deck!)

In addition, the Piva team attended several events and wanted to share some highlights:

The Arc of Innovation for Carbon Removal Solutions hosted by Eion

Eion hosted a panel discussion on supporting innovation, the technical founder’s journey, and the policy levers and university tools to make this a reality. The importance of viable pathways for technical founders to scale inventions was a key theme. The more potentially scalable innovations we can trial in meaningful ways, the more likely we are to find the solutions needed to mitigate climate.

Topics discussed:

• Past carbon offset practices — challenges and what we can learn for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) offtakes
• Why a multidisciplinary approach to carbon removal is important
• Support for innovators from academic, public, and private sectors
• How can we raise the bar around high-quality, verified carbon removal
• The role of scientific expertise in carbon market shaping
• Industry-spanning efforts to build a shared vision for the ideal future state of a CDR market
• Predictions around CDR and the landscape for related careers in climate over the next 5–10 years

Using Carbon Offsets with Confidence hosted by Cnaught

Cnaught hosted a virtual panel discussion on navigating the voluntary carbon market. Experts from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and large corporate buyers comprised the panel.

Topics discussed:

• Project quality variability analysis
• Why offsets are not currently considered a commodity
• Setting a successful strategy given evolving quality and scrutiny on the project level
• Comparing prices of offsets from a buyer’s perspective
• The ongoing debate on avoided emissions versus removal offsets
• The evolution of voluntary carbon market
• The importance of rallying around a definition of quality

Women in Climate Networking Happy Hour hosted by Women in Climate Investing and Finance (WICIF) and Banyan Infrastructure

This event brought together women from early-stage venture capital, to late-stage infrastructure financing, and everything in between, as well as women considering a career pivot. WICIF hosts quarterly get-togethers across the US that provide a space for women to authentically connect, build community, and support and empower each other within climate investing and finance.

During SF Climate Week the community of women was stronger than ever in supporting each other and discussing the multiple pathways to fight climate change.

Credit Suisse Carbon Negative Conference

This three-day event spanning innovation across the four main CDR pathways of air, land, ocean, and rocks. In addition to company one-on-one meetings with investors, several great panels brought together leaders currently trying to build the market infrastructure needed for the voluntary carbon market.

These panel discussions suggest the following will be integral to carbon market development:

• Clear and unified view on the ‘quality’ and ‘additionality’ of a carbon offset
• Need for price transparency
• More strength of three key market pillars: measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV), ratings, and insurance
• Meaningful participation in the market through high-leverage opportunities
• Pathways for durable, high-quality offsets to scale
• Seamless buyer experience to facilitate purchasing at scale, as set out in the 2018 IPCC report

Accelerating Sustainable Transitions: Grid Edge & Resilience hosted by the Westly Group, Brick and Mortar Ventures, & Arup Ventures

The event explored innovative approaches to behind-the-meter technology and showcased how utility and energy providers can leverage this technology to support grid resilience and transition to renewable, decarbonized energy.

Topics Discussed:

• Grid destabilization (renewables + electrification)
• Demand for climate action (net-zero energy, carbon-neutral power)
• Innovative business models (community choice, P3, 3rd party programs)
• New knowledge (future climate, digital technology, grid modernization)

Parting Thoughts

Piva Capital was thrilled and honored to be part of the inaugural SF Climate Week. We are already excited to participate again next year. Until then, we are always looking for climate tech startups transforming industry for people and planet, so please reach out if you are looking for funding or co-investors.