Marco Zande

✳️🚨 Your top 5 pieces of green technology news this week + investment news ⬇️ 1️⃣ 📣 Swiss voters have backed a new law to promote renewable energy output in a referendum held on Sunday. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eyxGJhHY 2️⃣☀️ Groundbreaking research from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) shows that floating solar panels could meet the total electricity demands of some countries. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ecrg55pQ 3️⃣🐝 Pollination launched a $150 million venture fund aimed at supporting early-stage climate and nature solutions companies. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eAKPNX-K 4️⃣🚌 An independent ‘Council for Net Zero Transport’ has been set up to support the next UK Government in accelerating the decarbonisation of the transport sector.    🔗 https://lnkd.in/efhqPikX 5️⃣🗳️ Reducing support for green parties in the European elections has raised fears that the EU may end up weakening its climate ambitions. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/evGv5A3h - - - - - - ⏬ Companies announcing investment this week include ⏬ - - - - - - 💰 Sustainable aroma solutions company EvodiaBio secured €7 million from a syndicate of investors, including The March Group, Nordic Foodtech VC, PINC and Ananke. 💰 Aeropowder raised £150,000 from the British Design Fund for its feather-based circular alternative to plastic thermal packaging. 💰 Solar energy startup Samara raised €9 million from Green Generation Fund, Move Energy , Ring Capital and Athletico Ventures to support households in their energy transition. 💰 Nova Carbon landed €1.4 million for its technology that enables the recycling of carbon fibre. - - - - - - - - - ✳️ Follow me on LinkedIn for weekly #GreenTechNews and investment updates. Adopter (✅ B Corp) #GreenTech #CleanTech #ClimateTech Steve Thackeray 

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🌍 **"Green grabbing raises fears over rights of traditional communities" by Simon Mundy, Financial Times** 🌿 As highlighted in a recent article by Simon Mundy in the Financial Times, landscapes across the developing world are being transformed by green projects, raising concerns about "green grabbing"—the large-scale land acquisition for environmentally friendly purposes that often negatively impacts local communities. Key Points: 🔹 Many communities lack formalized legal rights to their land, which they've used for decades. This can lead to outside parties gaining control without proper compensation. 🔹 In Brazil, extensive green projects like wind farms and reforestation often occur with varying degrees of legal formality, raising concerns about fairness and local impact. 🔹 Companies like UK-based Actis are ensuring their renewable energy projects share revenue with landowners and follow rigorous due diligence to respect local land use. 🔹 Reports warn that large-scale land acquisition for carbon removal could threaten food production and destabilize agricultural communities. 🔹 The emerging market for carbon credits and renewable energy requires a rigorous approach to sustainability and social impact to be genuinely beneficial. As we push for climate change mitigation, it's crucial to balance these efforts with the rights and livelihoods of traditional communities. Ethical and sustainable practices must be at the forefront of green investments. Let's ensure that our path to a greener future is inclusive and fair for everyone. 🌱 #Sustainability #GreenInvesting #ClimateChange #CommunityRights #RenewableEnergy #SocialImpact #ESG

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Is the carbon market worthless? 🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️ This time last year the carbon market was under heavy scrutiny for the legitimacy of its crediting claims. Offsets we're accurately monitored.. Safeguarded offset projects were still being encroached and deforested.. and no data was available for stakeholders to track and monitor their offsetting impact. A year later, many people still believe that the markets have inevitably tarnished their reputation for the foreseeable future - but this couldn't be further from the truth. 💡☝️ The carbon market has evolved and improved for the foreseeable future thanks to the development of the VCMI's Claims Code and many other initiatives to bolster credibility. The code introduces a four-step approach, emphasising transparency and credibility in corporate sustainability strategies, including foundational criteria to prevent greenwashing & a selection of VCMI Claims based on the percentage of remaining emissions covered by retired carbon credits (ranging from 20% to 100%), utilisation of carbon credits meeting the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s (ICVCM’s) Core Carbon Principle (CCP) label, and third-party assurance. The VCMI has chosen a ‘tonne-for-tonne’ approach with VCMI Platinum, Gold and Silver Claims available depending on whether the corporation retires 100%, 60% or 20% of their remaining emissions. Further research will likely modify and enhance the specific claims, and better yet, the VCMI has left the door open to utilising other approaches being explored by the SBTi to improve the future of the carbon market. #carbonmarkets #vcmi #vcm #carbonreduction

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Hmmm... Google is no longer carbon neutral, so is that good or bad? Google has ended its purchase of carbon offsets and stopped claiming carbon neutrality, aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. They have pulled back on the "carbon neutral" statement as regulation and green claims codes are set to become compliant and greenwashing is, well, not acceptable and bad for brand credibility. In a nutshell, they are now focused on the Science-Based Targets reduction method, which means they measure Scope 1-3 emissions, heavily reduce their internal and supply chain footprint as much as possible, and then compensate for their residual emissions they can't remove by funding Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) projects. This way, it is "reduce first and compensate second" using high-integrity certified projects that remove carbon from our atmosphere. Google’s shift from only carbon offsets to real emissions reduction first marks a significant change in its sustainability strategy. Big tech, more of this please :) #cdr #carbondioxideremoval #Sustainability #ClimateChange #NetZero #CorporateResponsibility

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ekko, led by Oli Cook and Simon Toller, a climate-focused fintech startup, has raised $2.5 million in funding, which it plans to use for hiring industry experts, product development, and international expansion. Founded in 2019, Ekko offers a debit card that tracks carbon footprints and supports environmental projects such as tree planting and ocean plastic collection. Ekko has partnered with organizations like Gold Standard and Conservation International for its conservation projects. The funding round was led by Fuel Ventures 🚀, with contributions from Sorven Capital, Mishcon de Reya LLP, and existing investors. The startup aims to disrupt the market and enable banks and payment providers to offer eco-friendly financial services. #ClimateFintech #GreenInvesting #SustainableFinance #EcoFriendlyTech #TreePlanting #CarbonFootprint #ConservationProjects #FintechInnovation #GreenStartups #EnvironmentalImpact #ClimateTech #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #ClimateSolutions

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Report: Carbon offset market plummeted from $1.9bn in 2022 to $723m in 2023 A recent report has revealed a significant contraction in the carbon offset market, which plummeted from $1.9bn (£1.5bn) in 2022 to $723m in 2023. This decline was triggered by a series of scientific studies and media coverage that questioned the effectiveness of many offsetting schemes in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. The study, conducted by Ecosystem Marketplace, a nonprofit organization that gathers carbon market data from brokers and traders, showed a 61% reduction in the market size. https://lnkd.in/dZt6XT9v The shrinkage was linked to a wave of scientific research and media stories that deemed millions of offsets as “worthless”. Some of these projects were even associated with human rights issues. A carbon credit is designed to symbolize the decrease or elimination of one tonne of CO2 emissions. Major corporations have utilized these credits to brand their products as “carbon neutral” and assure consumers that their activities, such as flying, purchasing new clothes, or consuming certain foods, do not exacerbate the climate and biodiversity crises, accordin to The Guardian. https://bit.ly/4536W5s Offsets produced by rainforest protection schemes, the most common type, saw a 62% depreciation in their value from 2022 to 2023. These schemes were the subject of a collaborative investigation by the Guardian, which discovered that over 90% of rainforest carbon offsets from a large selection of Verra projects – the top global certifier – are worthless. https://bit.ly/3V1WnLr The investigation also revealed potential human rights violations at a key project, a claim that Verra contested. https://lnkd.in/d2N2bY-X Julia Jones, a co-author of one of the investigative studies and a professor at Bangor University, emphasized the need for immediate reforms for the carbon markets to function as planned. In a recent event, the White House endorsed industry-driven efforts to reform carbon markets, supporting initiatives that prevent companies from greenwashing and ensure that credits reflect actual environmental impacts. Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, stated that while companies should prioritize emission reductions, the Biden administration still wants carbon credits to be successful, according to Finacial Times. This development occurs amidst intense disagreements among environmental groups regarding the role of carbon credits in assisting companies in achieving net-zero targets. https://lnkd.in/dQxG8gbm Picture credit: rts #deforestation #rainforest #co2emmission #carbonoffsets #climatecrisis #carbonmarket

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Should we be thinking more about greener agriculture? And obviously investing more. We have argued for a while now that agriculture is as important to decarbonise as electricity generation and transport. But way harder - as it's a more fragmented industry. But we reassure ourselves that's ok, because it's not such a big deal as the other sectors we need to de-carbonise. But is that right? The consensus view is that agriculture is around the 4th largest emitter, at c. 6 billion tonnes pa. Coming way after electricity & heat, and transport. But what if the GHG emissions from agriculture (end to end) turned out to be even larger than we first thought. What if the agriculture emissions number was actually nearly 16 billion tonnes? More than Electricity and Heat. This was the conclusion of a recent World Bank conference paper - titled Recipe for a Liveable Planet. How could there be such a big difference between what we thought, as illustrated by sources such as the excellent Our World in Data, and the conclusions of this report? The short answer is 'what is included'. The World Bank report analysis is 'end to end', everything that is involved in producing the food that we eat. This goes from land use changes (that 'missing' bit in the Our World in Data chart), through the actual processes of farming (up to the farm gate), plus everything involved pre and post production (for instance food processing, transport and retailing). And in a way that is the right way to measure it. It's all of the inputs needed to produce our food. And all of the costs. It turns out that just under half of the emissions are generated before our food reaches the farm gate. Another third come from processing and the messy stuff related to how we consume (and waste) food. And the rest is land use changes. There are a vast number of challenges to fix, and no one solution will solve all of them. And anyone who promises that 'their' solution will, is probably lying to you. But, there are some potential big wins. For instance, land use change, specifically net forest conversions (deforestation to you & I) is massive at over 18% of total agriculture emissions. We have written on this before, including recently on the excellent World Resources Institute report that highlighted how little data we have on this challenge, and how 'meaningless' many of the deforestation pledges really are. And then we have replenishment of our soils, changing the ingredients we use, reducing food waste .... the list goes on. All are fixable, but we need investment. And much of this will need to come from people other than the farmers. Because as we frequently say, many farmers have very limited capacity to take risks. This was the topic of a What Caught Our Eye blog for The Sustainable Investor - why not read it, and all of our other blogs for free. Just follow the links in my profile or google us. #agriculture #sustainableinvesting #strategy #future

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🌍 CARBON ROUNDUP - What's the latest in the VCM this week? There have been huge developments across the VCM including a key partnership between Climeworks and Puro.earth to tackle, while Microsoft make even larger investments into carbon offsetting. 🌿 BEST IN BUSINESS 🌿 -- Meta just released a new report on ecological restoration in the #VCM alongside Carbon Direct https://lnkd.in/ezhywKRG -- Holcim have pledged to build a €500 million plant to produce Net Zero cement https://lnkd.in/eMX7bzs8 -- Honda aim to invest $64 Billion into electrification strategy by 2030 https://lnkd.in/eVFftyxy 💨 CARBON FOCUS 💨 -- Climeworks and Carbfix announce to work with Puro.earth to certify Climeworks’ carbon dioxide removal (CDR) services under the Puro Standard https://lnkd.in/edZz-pYU -- Ørsted entered into new major agreement on carbon removal with Microsoft https://lnkd.in/eU9e-_ea -- The Biden-⁠Harris administration announced new principles for high-integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets https://lnkd.in/eAW8xz2Y 🌳CLIMATE 🌳 -- The 'most biodiverse' garden in Chelsea Flower Show history, which aimed to raise awareness of the importance of conservation, was awarded with a gold medal https://lnkd.in/ePiE5FxH. #carbon #offsets

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A great carbon grab ahead? Supply chain carbon removal insetting programs are bubbling away just below the surface in the primary sector, left, right, and centre. Export market access, customer pressure, regulation and compliance are motivating like never before. The reality is that a finite pool of carbon removals on private farmland is available to benefit these processors. In a fairly short period of time, this will become a competitive space... and an opportunity for farmers to generate and diversify revenue streams and build more resilient businesses. But not all carbon programs are created equal. Farmers need to make sure they’re not getting locked into programs that are unfair or unethical. That’s a carbon grab. Farmers need to keep control of their carbon - to decide who gets what carbon, from where and when. That's carbon sovereignty. It’s fantastic to see carbon opportunities outside of the ETS. Non-ETS-eligible native forests in New Zealand play a vital role and are under enormous pressure from pests. It’s tough out there right now, yet despite this, the landholders I’m talking to are still searching for ways to generate income, to help them protect and restore these precious ecosystems. Supply chain carbon removal programs are one of these options. I’m going to spend some time on this topic in the next few months. One of the things I love about CarbonCrop is that we’ve always been about making sure landholders have the information they need to make the best decisions for themselves, their businesses, and their land. This now extends across the primary sector, making sure those creating supply chain carbon removal programs have the information they need to build something fair and sustainable (in both senses of the word). If you're interested, we’ll discuss this at an upcoming CarbonCurious webinar. Registration link in comments. Or follow along. Plenty more to come. #carbonremoval #insetting #supplychain #primarysector #carbongrab

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The new (and always amazing) 'Banking on Climate Chaos 2024' report is grim reading for the sports community, with some of its biggest commercial partners from the world of finance continuing to pump trillions into fossil fuel projects overseas. ⚽ Liverpool FC's Standard Chartered provided $71.42 billion to fossil fuel projects since 2016. 🏅 Team GB's sponsor Natwest provided $27.4 billion since 2016. 🏆 🎾 WSL & Wimbledon's Barclays provided $235 billion since 2016. 🏃‍♀️ Royal Parks Half Marathon sponsor Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) provided $256 billion since 2016. Other key findings from the report include: ☠ The world’s 60 largest private banks financed fossil fuels with $6.9 trillion since the Paris Agreement was adopted. Banks provided $705 billion in financing to fossil fuel companies in 2023 (!!!) 🤑 JPMorgan Chase is the top financier of fossil fuels in 2023, by $40.8 billion worth.  🥖 The worst funder of fossil fuel expansion since the Paris Agreement is Citibank, providing $204.5 billion since 2016. Check out the full report: https://lnkd.in/eJnSFHgc Huge congrats to Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Reclaim Finance - ONG, Oil Change International, Indigenous Environmental Network, CEED and many many more!

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📣 Introducing Carbon Connect 3.0 ✨ We’re thrilled to announce the beta release of Carbon Connect 3.0, packed with exciting updates and improvements. Key Features and Improvements: 📁 Seamless File and Folder Uploads - Carbon Connect now supports both individual file and folder uploads by default. It's now easy to upload entire folder directories with our new drag-and-drop functionality. 👉 Carbon’s In-House File Picker - Carbon Connect's in-house file picker is now available for all third-party connectors. 🔔 Enhanced In-Modal Notifications - We have replaced toast notifications with in-modal notifications, providing a more cohesive and user-friendly experience. 💅 Customizable Theme Options - Carbon Connect now supports both light and dark mode themes!

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Are your impact reports looking the same, year after year? If so, that might be your cue to take a page out of Switchfoot Wealth Limited's book--and focus on addressing a tangible social/environmental problem. This year, rather than reporting on the same old metrics, Switchfoot chose to document its plan for revamping the entire financial planning system. Specifically, the company is taking strides to change how financial planners advise their clients. They want to expose outdated financial planning ideologies that focus on limitless financial growth--and influence the industry to have different conversations that also consider how our financial decisions impact the planet. Needless to say, this is an ambitious and complicated undertaking--but I think their report does a great job of summarizing why they're doing this, how they plan to make an impact, and the steps they're already taking to get the ball rolling. I also love how they're putting meaningful action behind their words. There's something authentic and exciting about this impact report--like they're not just going through the motions, but actually making a difference. What do you think about it?

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Companies' climate targets often fail to adequately consider the time value of carbon, focusing more on long-term net-zero pledges rather than immediate actions. This approach overlooks the critical importance of early emissions reductions, which are significantly more valuable due to the prolonged atmospheric presence of CO2. Immediate action is essential for a meaningful impact on climate change.

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What actually is Biodiversity Net Gain? And why is it so important? At Gaia we have built the UK's largest natural exchange for BNG Units. Today I try to explain in a little more detail what this scheme is about. #BNG #biodiversity #biodiversitynetgain

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3PM - IT'S NOT TOO LATE Newsletter just dropped. For Regenerative Efforts, What are the Low-Hanging Fruits? For starters, let’s look at biochar. The prices for biochar have dropped by 38% from 2022 to 2023. With a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions coming from ag and other land use, it’s a no-brainer to find ways to sequester carbon in the soil. Will Consumer Behavior Change Before It’s Too Late? This is the monumental question. The carbon credits are not necessarily decreasing consumption. In some cases, consumption has increased because of increased demand for products by consumers. The buyers of carbon credits are the manufacturers of durable consumer goods. If more people need internet connections, for example, the need for CDR will rise. This is not a recipe for sustainability, let alone regeneration of our planet. This Brings Us to the Topic of Greenwashing Many mainstream brands are embracing regenerative ag, it appears. Unilever, Nestle, McDonald's, Danone, and General Mills have all committed support to regenerative ag for raw materials sourcing. But we have to understand what percentage of their offerings are going to be regenerative, and how soon. Timelines and percentages count. According to the USDA reports for 2023, 228 million acres of wheat, corn, and soybeans were planted. Of those only a fraction were for human food. Read complete newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gfiMxtp9 #Oldernyounger #regenag #biochar #regenerative

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Billions withdrawn, rivers and seas full of s**t, people drinking contaminated water. Most of our infrastructure is owned by overseas investors, including by governments, and profits go to pension schemes in other countries whilst the infrastructure here crumbles. At the same time, in many of those countries, the key infrastraucture is state-owned and run. Privatisation of utilities and transport infrastructure has been a disaster, not just for the individual consumer and people who work in those sectors, but also for many businesses that rely on said utilities, transport, etc. The, often huge, profits have been privatised whilst the losses are on the taxpayer. State subsidies for the rich investor, massive bills and illness for the rest of us. https://lnkd.in/eszrs7Fd

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Holy Moly: 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲. It's also Monday. That means this week's newsletter is out. And we're talking growth and performance for labs. 𝟑 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 included: 1. Margins on samples and how to use them 🔧 2. Solving the pricing puzzle - what should i charge per test? 🧩 3. Simple and cheap marketing techniques to drive of sample volume 🫰 Let's go 👇 #LabManagement #EnvironmentalTesting #LaboratoryInnovation #QualityControl #LabOptimization #lims #limsplus

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7 bricks to accelerate climate tech The Climate Brick researched and documented the scaling and fundraising journeys of European climate tech companies, identifying 7 distinct types of companies, or "bricks". For each brick, they created a manual on scaling business models, addressing common challenges, and how companies have overcome them. It's a great resource for anyone tackling hard problems with hard tech! 🛸 Below is an overview of the seven bricks, with example sectors and companies. If you're building or investing in these areas, check out the brick manuals on the following slides. ✨ Thank you The Climate Brick 👏

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What does a fundraising pitch page look like on Raaise? This 👇 It takes a founder on average 20 minutes to get their funding pitch LIVE on Raaise and then they're matched with over 500 impact investors. The one's that align with you on sector, stage, geography and impact land in your CRM and you can't start reach outs. We're simplifying climate fundraising, so you can scale your impact.

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