Climate Innovation

Climate tech conference advocates for change in the US despite expected regressive anti-environmental policies

Climate Journal reporting — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 12:06:28 +0000

Climate tech conference advocates for change in the US despite expected regressive anti-environmental policies

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Climate Tech

Climate Innovation

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Climate Innovation

The GTF Connect international event series, initiated by leading global climate innovation platform GREENTECH FESTIVAL, will host two days of thought-provoking discussions, networking and awards to advocate for the green transition in Los Angeles at the iconic Avalon Hollywood on November 14th and 15th.

This year's central theme is “Business as Usual is Dead,” aiming to emphasise the need for a new era where green innovation and leadership drive the economy, and profit-only priorities are in the past.

Nico Rosberg, Sustainability & VC Entrepreneur and co-founder of GREENTECH FESTIVAL, commented: “This year’s GTF Connect in Los Angeles is about uniting to transform today’s unprecedented challenges into opportunities for a better tomorrow.

Business as usual is Dead, and we’re eager to dive deep into what this means for the future of sustainability, innovation, and green technology.”

Nico Rosberg, Sustainability & VC Entrepreneur and co-founder of GREENTECH FESTIVAL

With two main categories, the ‘Start-up’ and ‘Changemaker`, GREEN AWARDS will present exciting US-based climate innovators on the first day.

The lineup for nominees includes start-ups such as Ascend Elements, Twelve, and Lyten, which are making waves by drastically lowering emissions in the battery and jet fuel spaces using innovative materials and technologies.

The conference will take place on the second day and is jam-packed with inspiring leaders and influential creators sharing insights, as well as the GREEN START-UP SLAMS and GREEN INVESTORS CRUNCH sessions with various networking opportunities.

Debates on stage will explore topics like “Can the LA Olympics be a Movement for Good?” and “Is Sustainable Hollywood just another Fairytale?” besides discussing equitable cities, energy transformation, and accessible mobility for all.

One of the renowned speakers, Erin Simon, VP and Head of Plastic Waste at the World Wildlife Fund, says:

“We need to design solutions for the future we want, not the reality we are in. I am not saying we don’t need to be grounded, but we need to think outside of today’s barriers if we want actual change.”

GTF panel discussion, Berlin. Image: GREENTECH FESTIVAL

Attendees will have the chance to hear from changemakers, including Adam Lenz, Head of Sustainability at Waymo, Conyers Davis, Global Director of USC’s Schwarzenegger Institute and Nurit Katz, Chief Sustainability Officer, UCLA, to name a few.

After hosting GTF Connect events in London and Singapore in 2024, the Los Angeles conference will welcome approximately 600 guests, including a 50-person business delegation from Germany led by the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner.

Marco Voigt, Co-Founder of GREENTECH FESTIVAL, shares what drives them to advance the green agenda:

“… green leadership deserves to be recognised, and we want to play our part by providing the platform and inspiration for business leaders to see what’s possible when green business innovation, technology, and leadership unite.

We have learned a lot from our peers across the globe on our 2024 tour, and we’re excited that GTF Connect has the opportunity to return to Los Angeles a second time, especially given that we aim to celebrate and promote green change across the entire planet.”

Those interested in joining the GTF Connect event in Los Angeles can avail free tickets on the event`s website.

The GREENTECH FESTIVAL is a leading global platform for business sustainability, uniting innovators, changemakers and communities to showcase cutting-edge green technologies, share actionable insights and accelerate the decarbonisation of industry.

By expanding globally, the festival aims to celebrate and promote green globally, as organisers firmly believe this world urgently needs sustainable transformation.

Read more insights with Erin Simon, Vice President and Head of Plastic Waste and Business at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a participant in the "Creating Change" panel discussion at the GTF Connect Los Angeles event on 14-15 November:

Read the article >>

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“There is such potential for startups to solve some of the world’s biggest problems”

Bronagh Loughlin — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:47:34 +0000

“There is such potential for startups to solve some of the world’s biggest problems”

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Insights with Ashley Shak

Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes, Dogpatch Labs

I’m probably one of the few people at Dogpatch who hasn’t worked either at or with a startup previously. My academic background is in international sustainable development, which means that up until recently, my professional experience was primarily within the public sector.

I’ve worked for countless NGOs, non-profits, and government and UN agencies around the world. A lot of people may think that someone working in the non-profit sector versus the startup world is like night and day, but there are a lot of similarities in the personality type that succeeds in both industries.

For instance, there’s a huge amount of passion driving the company or organisation forward, paired with a hugely disproportionate lack of money.

These days at Dogpatch, I can call upon my experience in the development sector to work in similar areas, such as emerging markets and ‘reverse innovation’.

I think, eventually, the non-profit sector will play less of a role in international development, and the problems that need solving will be addressed by startups.

The potential behind using a startup as the solution means the business model can be scaled to other countries facing the same issues and have the money to deal with it.

Ashley Shak Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes, Dogpatch Labs

The impact that startups can and will have on the global markets and communities is an unknown quality with huge potential, and I’m looking forward to playing a part in the change here at Dogpatch.

It has been a driver for me to have as wide of an impact as I possibly could because I knew there were so many people out there who wouldn’t have the same opportunities that I have been afforded.

I was lucky enough to travel a lot during my childhood due to having such an international family, from the Netherlands to Brazil and Hawaii. I saw firsthand how different people lived around the world, and it impacted the kind of person I wanted to be, the subjects I studied, and the jobs I took.

I wanted to take advantage of that and chose a field where I would directly put back the work into communities that needed it most.

Sustainability has always been at the core of international aid and development, but it’s only recently become the hot topic to focus on in the tech world.

Now that I work with startups and in tech, I see my job as spreading the understanding that sustainability is way more than just the “green stuff”.

In an industrialised and developed economy like Ireland, it’s easy to focus solely on decarbonisation and net zero goals. However, social issues must not fall to the side.

It is our duty as professionals in the tech space, as individuals with power and resources, to have that positive impact.

Before working at Dogpatch, I was with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the UN agency working with the private sector, specifically on corporate sustainability.

When I started looking for a job in Ireland, I learned Dogpatch was about to launch a sustainability initiative, the 2050 Accelerator. This was a match made in heaven since I had been running global sustainability accelerators with the UN for the past couple of years.

I started as a programme manager, and that role evolved over the last year into my recent promotion to Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes.

Dogpatch has never had a Head of Sustainability before, but it became apparent that this type of role was needed as our organisation started to play an even bigger role in the space.

Each one of our programmes has a sustainability aspect to it, as our corporate clients all have an overarching sustainability strategy for which they will be held accountable.

I hope that in the future, my role won’t be needed anymore. I envision sustainability becoming so integrated into the daily operations, programmes, and strategy of our company that there doesn’t need to be one single source of truth or expertise in that area.

The 2050 Accelerator is one of the most exciting programmes I’ve ever worked on, and it’s been extremely rewarding to welcome the positive reactions since it launched last spring.

The idea behind this program is that we can have a huge impact on global sustainability goals by accelerating the adoption of new technologies from startups around the world.

2050 Accelerator program launch in Spring 2023. Image: Dogpatch Lab

We want to make Ireland a testbed for sustainability innovation by recruiting global startup talent to work with Irish corporate partners.

By pairing them together, we’re enabling corporates to trial new innovations while startups find a new route to market via new partnerships.

Operating alone, startups may struggle with finding the resources, time and customers to validate and improve their technology.

The 2050 Accelerator facilitates this, and the demand for this type of programme is super high.

What sets the 2050 Accelerator apart from other sustainability programmes out there is the focus on business development for startups.

Through the accelerator, we offer startups the priceless opportunity of partnering up with a corporation to develop paid pilots that will validate their tech.

By focusing on ensuring we can create pilot projects, we are making sure we have a real-life and measurable impact during the accelerator.

For example, BladeBridge, a startup that repurposes wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure, began working with ESB through the 2050 Accelerator.

Through the programme, they developed an e-mobility hub to charge and store ESB’s expansive network of e-bikes.

By utilising decommissioned wind turbine blades instead of virgin steel, they support vital key objectives aligned with ESB’s Net Zero goals, such as decarbonisation, the circular economy, and empowering customers to live more sustainably.

BladeBridge is repurposing decommissioned wind turbine blades into sustainable infrastructure. Image: BladeBridge

Collaborating with ESB in the 2050 Accelerator also means that we are connecting startups who need access to wind farms, telecommunication poles, e-mobility hubs, and more for their pilots. What Ireland lacks in geographical size, it makes up for in its connectedness.

That is something that Dogpatch has tapped into since its inception, working to create the most connected tech ecosystem in Ireland (and beyond!).

That connectedness is something that will become increasingly important in our efforts to tackle sustainability issues that plague all industries, markets, and communities.

Our response to climate change will have to be quick, efficient, and extremely risky, and these are all characteristics that startups and entrepreneurs embody every day.

Hearing about the most recent political conflicts, natural disasters, or social justice issues in the news can negatively affect the newest generation of business leaders.

The relentless grit and ambition of an entrepreneur are why there is such potential for startups to solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

We had a minister come in and speak at one of our sustainability events and told the audience that with every new policy and regulation his department introduced, that was an opportunity for an entrepreneur to create a new startup.

This is the type of thinking that will propel Ireland forward as a testbed for sustainability innovation, with Dogpatch creating those synergies between government, industry, and startups to get us there.

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Transforming Ireland’s home for entrepreneurs to support climate innovators

Bronagh Loughlin — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:31:06 +0000

Transforming Ireland’s home for entrepreneurs to support climate innovators

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As a top global incubator in the heart of Dublin City, hosting more than 160 innovative start-ups, the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) has a massive influence on the business ecosystem in Ireland.

The Guinness Enterprise Centre is recognised as one of the greatest incubators globally, ranking as the second private business incubator in the world, according to UBI, the University Business Incubator benchmark.

Eamonn Sayers, Manager at GEC, says: “Our mission is to drive economic wealth in Ireland by empowering entrepreneurs to start and scale.

We provide the best environment for these entrepreneurs to attract talent, scale, and build phenomenal businesses.”

In the past years, the GEC underwent a transformational change inside-out.

After many years of being a traditional business support organisation, they modernised the building with sustainability in mind and became a green business hub.

Eamonn Sayers, Manager, Guinness Enterprise Centre

Recently, the Irish Government nominated the Guinness Enterprise Centre as a Circular Economy Hub.

They now actively collaborate with Techies Go Green, a non-profit organisation supporting tech-oriented companies to become carbon neutral by 2030, in building a sustainability cluster.

The cluster was launched by Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for the Environment and Climate, in February 2023.

“What’s happening at the GEC right now is also a preview into the future of smart business and innovation in Ireland,” said Minister Ryan at the launch.

Speaking on this transition, Eamonn further explains how they facilitated this shift: “We recently completed an €11m expansion with support from Diageo, Dublin City Council, Dublin City Local Enterprise Office, Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and Furthr.

We started planning for this in 2016-2017, and from the beginning, we had the desire to put sustainability at the heart of our community in the GEC.”

More and more businesses are recognising the importance of taking climate action.

Eamonn reflects on the GEC’s decision: “We need to lead and demonstrate what is possible. In our community, we are inspired by innovators and entrepreneurs every single day.

It’s all around us. It’s in our DNA, and sustainability must also be in our DNA.”

The GEC building is now 95,000 square feet. Two new floors were added and built with carbon neutrality at their core.

The concept of having a green roof has encouraged the team to the point where they now have 18 beehives on the top of the building.

(Left to right) Eamonn Sayers, manager, Guinness Enterprise Centre; Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for the Environment and Climate; Michael O Hara, co-founder, Techies Go Green; and Dr Mary O Riordan, CEO, HaPPE Earth on the green roof of GEC at the beehives.

Sustainability measures were also factored in around heating, lighting, air conditioning, recycling, charge points, transport initiatives, and much more. The team have plans to install solar panels to further their greening efforts.

Speaking on the challenges they faced in transitioning to a hub for sustainable innovation, Eamonn says: “The primary challenges we faced were balancing cost and value and, initially, lack of deep domain knowledge.

Understanding the practical side of sustainability was crucial to the development of the Centre.”

The team expects the hub to grow further and help immensely to drive sustainable innovation.

They started by building the largest community of sustainable innovators by collaborating with key partners in this space, such as Techies Go Green, Community Resources Network Ireland, Dublin City Council, the Dublin City Local Enterprise Office and Enterprise Ireland.

“In line with Government’s cluster policy, we have developed the Centres sustainability cluster, Sustainability@GEC attracting climate innovators with more engagement on a weekly basis. Besides, we are engaging our sustainable early-stage startup community with corporations adopting best practices and building new processes.”

The GEC team also believe the transition to a hub for sustainable innovation will help other businesses that are not traditionally green overcome barriers and challenges to implementing sustainability and circular economy practices.

Eamonn says that the GEC will act as a test bed connecting with a wide range of businesses and enterprise locations, with enterprises operating from their building employing over 900 staff.

“We want to share our sustainability journey with all other startup hubs across our enterprise ecosystem here in Ireland, thereby putting sustainability at the core of every startup community,” Says Eamonn about their ambitions to go further.

“If we get it right in the GEC, we can get it right in every start-up hub in Ireland. We get it right in the hubs; then it follows that every start-up in Ireland will put sustainability at the core of how they operate in business.

The impact on our country will be tremendous.

We are excited by the potential of Irish start-ups showing the way towards a sustainable future.

We have it within our own work and deeds to develop a brighter future for Ireland and for the world we live in. Let’s grasp this opportunity - our time for sustainability is now.”

This article is an extract from content originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine - you can read the full article and other features in the magazine.

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Leading global sustainability summit returns to Lisbon

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 10:12:47 +0000

Leading global sustainability summit returns to Lisbon

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Sustainable Development Goals

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Sustainable Development Goals

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Climate Innovation

Changemakers and impact innovators from every corner of the world to meet in Lisbon.

The Planetiers World Gathering is back as an in-person and online event to bring together changemakers and impact innovators from every corner of the world to meet in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22-26 October.

The focus of this global event is to put sustainability and regeneration in the spotlight, showcasing green and inclusive innovations while elevating impact innovators and igniting system-level change.

Sérgio Ribeiro, CEO and Co-Founder of Planetiers and Co-Founder of Planetiers World Gathering, describes “Planetiers to be the ones who do not just break the system but transform it and make it better, fair and sustainable”.

“Planetiers acts as a call to mobilise companies, government organisations and civil/political decision-makers in the battle to build a sustainable planet for generations to come.”

The summit will be held at the Parque Eduardo VII and Pavilhão Carlos Lopes, Lisbon, focusing on topics such as ecology, climate change, health, poverty, education and peace.

Planetiers World Gathering 2022 edition brings together impact innovators and stakeholders to achive the Sustainable Development Goals. Image: Planetiers

With over 30,000 people from 90 countries expected to attend the event in person and online, it aims to bring together a diverse range of speakers and attendees, driven by the notion of contributing to a sustainable and inclusive transition.

Speakers include Chris Kroll, Founder & CEO of Ecosia and World Fund Investor, David Simas, President of the Obama Foundation and Ursula von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission, among others.

The event's ultimate goal is to help changemakers connect and highlight long-term sustainable solutions amid the impending climate crisis and accelerate a system transformation that can enable us to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Sérgio Ribeiro, CEO and Co-Founder of Planetiers and Co-Founder of Planetiers World Gathering. Image: Planetiers

“We’ve seen people joining this movement and claiming they are “Planetiers” mainly because they have found a community that brings a constructive narrative of cooperation and hope,” adds Sérgio.

Discussions will highlight the sustainability challenges of our time and raise awareness of the need for long-term solutions to counteract pressing global issues.

Sessions will cover a diverse range of topics, such as Cities for the future, Ocean Innovation, Inclusive green tourism and Sustainable investment and finance.

Showcasing the latest in sustainable technologies, innovative businesses and governance models, the 2022 Planetiers World Gathering will be bolstered by partnerships with several high-profile organisations, such as the European Commission, Tourism of Portugal and Lisbon Municipality.

Various ticket options are available, from daily tickets to all-inclusive access to match attendee’s interests.

Besides the conference program, there will be exhibition areas and interactive workshop sessions.

Planetiers was launched in 2017 as an online platform, and since it has become a leading event, a momentum, and even a symbol for people believing we still have a fighting chance to create a society that works for people and all other creatures on Earth.

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