5 startups that will help make our world greener
On the road to sustainable smart cities
Lately, we have been hearing more than ever about sustainability, especially about becoming carbon neutral or reaching net-zero emissions. Governments worldwide are making plans to reach carbon neutrality in a few decades, as a part of the Paris Agreement. Naturally, in order to slow down global warming, businesses have a part to play too, because it is critical to start moving into a greener economy as fast as possible.
We at Plug and Play also believe in this movement, and this belief reflects in our investment portfolio. Let’s look closely into the businesses’ needs in terms of carbon neutrality and waste management, and 5 startups from our 2021 investment list which can provide solutions for those needs.
First of all, there are 2 important pillars of sustainability that go hand in hand, carbon neutrality and waste management.
Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. In terms of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, CO2 is by far the biggest slice of the pie, thus making carbon emissions the main concern of many institutions. In order to get closer to carbon neutrality, we need to either emit less or absorb more carbon from the atmosphere. Absorbing carbon can be done with carbon sinks — reservoirs, natural or otherwise, that accumulate and store some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby lowers the concentration of CO2 from the atmosphere, such as plants, soil and the ocean.
Businesses can achieve carbon neutrality by following 3 steps: Measure — Reduce — Offset.
1. Measure
Businesses have to first identify the carbon footprint based on all aspects of the business, including suppliers. Determine the annual CO2 emissions and where they occur so there is a full understanding of the carbon footprint.
The carbon emissions of a company (or person, city, or country) can be divided into scope 1, 2 and 3.
Scope 1 emissions are the easiest to measure and control, however, the furthest you go on the supply chain 2 main problems arise: accountability and traceability. Which member of the supply network is responsible for which emission? How can we accurately trace the emissions? These are the challenges we are addressing.
2. Reduce
Once measured, the annual CO2 emission can and should be reduced. There are multiple ways to do this. Businesses can search for inefficiencies in energy consumption and try to solve those first, or they can look for greener alternatives in products, manufacturing, operations and try to actively choose low-carbon options suppliers for all sorts of goods and services. Also, they can search for innovative technologies/solutions (usually found in startups) to reduce carbon emissions.
3. Offset
When emissions can’t be reduced, the only alternative is to offset the carbon emissions with carbon absorption through supporting/investing in green projects. Some choose to support projects on renewable energy generation, grassland preservation, reforestation, and methane capture from landfill sites. It may not bring the corporate footprint down completely, but it reduces emissions elsewhere and offsets the operational leverage. Especially for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy industry (cement, steel, plastic, chemicals), aviation, shipping, and agriculture, carbon offsetting is necessary.
Waste management isn’t a new concept, because we have been collecting and disposing of waste for a while now. However, recently we are focusing on more sustainable ways of managing waste, addressing difficult to recycle plastics or trying to keep the materials in use for as long as possible and minimize the amount of solid waste that is disposed of in landfill or through incineration.
As we move from a take-make-waste model to a more circular economy, the 3Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) remain at the core of waste management, but more innovative technologies and services take these basic ideas to the next level. Just as individuals are trying to produce less waste and consume less, businesses are also starting to look into better packaging or recycling programs.
The startups introduced in this article are tackling carbon emissions and waste management with new technologies and services which will surely change the way we approach sustainability.
Circulor
This UK startup was founded in 2017 and is becoming an important player in both measuring carbon emissions and managing waste providing Traceability-as-a-Service (TaaS). Circulor is using Blockchain, IoT and AI to bring transparency to materials supply chain, tracking raw materials from source to the finished product.
TaaS includes supply chain mapping, verification, specialist responsible sourcing expertise and implementation know-how and it aims to verify responsible sourcing, to underpin effective recycling and to improve efficiency. This technology has the potential to solve the issues with measuring emissions, because it can follow a certain product in the entire supply chain, shining light on the chain of custody, making it easier for businesses to be held accountable for their products. This means that many manufacturers can use this product and benefit greatly.
Circulor’s impact can be seen in 4 main sectors: plastic waste & recycling, extractive industries, agriculture & forestry and electronic waste. Thanks to Circulor’s platform, not only scope 2 and 3 emissions become easier to measure, but we can also become more efficient with recycling thus decreasing waste. Moreover, by tracking provenance of materials we can ensure ethical supply chains and sustainable sourcing, making Circulor’s TaaS technology into an omnipotent tool for creating a greener economy.
Heirloom Carbon Technologies
Founded in 2020, this relatively new USA startup positions themselves as carbon sinks creators. They aim to develop a low-cost path towards net-zero emissions and remove 1B tons of CO2 per year by 2030. In simple words, if a business can’t reduce the emission directly, they can choose to absorb them instead — that is where Heirloom’s Direct Air Capture solution comes in. This technology enhances carbon mineralization, to help minerals absorb CO2 from the ambient air in days, when it normally takes years. For businesses in the heavy aviation, shipping, and agriculture this technology is especially useful, because they might find it hard to reduce CO2 emissions in any other ways.
In general, developing technologies that absorb carbon from the air is difficult and costly, but Heirloom has a competitive advantage thanks to their low cost, easily scalable solution. Other businesses that try to reduce the CO2 in the air rely on energy-intensive and high-cost air contactors, but in Heirloom’s case the minerals they use are cheaper, available and recyclable. Once trapped in the carbon sink, the CO2 stays there and can be monitored easily, making their solution a permanent one.
When talking about reducing carbon emissions, I mentioned that a way to do so is to look for new technologies. Heirloom’s product is a perfect example of that — a startup with a purpose, lending a helping hand to bigger businesses.
Plug and Play Ventures team member, Alberto Pascual, comments: Heirloom takes a unique approach to carbon capture by leveraging minerals, and a smart use of space! We’re extremely excited to back the company as one of the leaders changing our climate landscape!
Sylvera
After measuring and reducing the carbon footprint, a business can look into carbon offsetting. This is where Sylvera, a UK startup launched in 2020, is involved in. Their software platform uses satellite images, proprietary datasets, and AI, to measure, track and verify carbon offset transactions. They are focusing on nature-based offset projects, such as planting trees, agriculture projects or protecting forests. Data such as the raw carbon performance, additionality, permanence, co-benefits, and risk is analyzed and then projects are scored according to a proprietary rating system. This gives customers the ability to assess projects prior to making a purchase, monitor their performance over time, and develop projects at scale and at pace.
Sylvera can be useful to various groups, such as Buyers (companies that purchase carbon offsets), Intermediaries (carbon offset consultants etc.) and Project developers (nature based projects developers), which makes it a necessary tool for designing better projects or diversifying carbon offsets portfolios.
They have been called “the world’s first carbon offset rating provider” and their technology and implication are necessary in order to scale the carbon offset market to make a real impact. Being considered the first in this field, will become a competitive advantage along the way.
Plug and Play Ventures team member, Nicolas Chow, comments: Sylvera has an incredible team and addressing a massive problem that needs to be solved to reach the carbon neutrality goals of large corporations. Their technology is democratizing trust and transparency across the entire carbon market from projects, to marketplaces, and buyers and we believe are well on their way to becoming the industry benchmark.
ByFusion Global
We cannot talk about sustainable waste management without mentioning this USA startup founded in 2015. ByFusion has developed a patented system, The Blocker, that converts all types of plastic waste into an advanced building material called ByBlock. ByBlock is the first construction-grade building material made entirely from recycled (and often un-recyclable) plastic waste. The Blocker (the system/machines that create the ByBlock) is the ultimate landfill diversion solution to solve the recycling industry’s toughest problems.
These products can be used by Waste management companies (MRFs), but ByFusion targets governments, municipalities, and companies too because plastic waste is an issue that involves multiple institutions.
ByFusion is giving un-recyclable plastic a new purpose, while simultaneously solving the problem with scarce construction materials. There are other companies out there that provide alternative construction materials, but by comparison ByFusion’s package is not only environmentally friendly but also a problem solver, which differentiates them in the market.
Litterati
Last but not least, let’s look into another USA startup, that has been “crowdsource-cleaning” since 2012. So far we’ve talked about B2B solutions, but Litterati’s platform harnesses the power of the community, may it be the employees of an institution or individuals like you and me.
Litterati is a cloud-based mobile app that empowers people from around the world to clean up the planet. They are currently working with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, AEPW Member Companies, cities, and other private companies globally to track where waste leakage is occurring, to engage their employees, and to encourage people to collaborate and be part of the movement.
The process is simple. Once you have the app, if you find litter you need to photograph it, dispose of it properly and tag the photo so that AI can learn and get better at recognizing types of litter. To spread the movement, you can then challenge others to join you by showing progress with the Litter Data the app collects.
There are other apps or companies that analyze data on different sustainability trends, but Litterati’s focus on community-driven AI can differentiate them from the competition. The fact that anyone (individuals, schools, companies, NGOs, etc.) can use this platform makes brings the problem of waste management closer to us and gives people the power to make the world a little bit cleaner. Cities can use it to monitor litter in their area, companies can include it in their CSR activities and, thanks to Litterati we can all become the change we want to see in the world.
We at Plug and Play believe without a doubt that these 5 Sustainability startups will play a big role in the creation of Smart Cities in the future. Partnering with NGOs, governments, and private companies will scale the businesses and make innovative ideas from startups reach our daily lives. What are your thoughts and expectations on sustainability startups? Do you think businesses are prepared to tackle climate change without them?
