Avsnitt
-
Garden for Wildlife is an e-commerce business that simplifies the process of learning about and purchasing native plants for customers' yards.
Founder Shubber Ali shares his personal journey from a career in management consulting to becoming passionate about gardening and the environment after reading a book called "Nature's Best Hope." This book highlighted the issue of native plants being replaced by invasive species, leading to a decline in pollinators and birds. Shubber's mission with Garden for Wildlife is to educate people and make native plants accessible, aiming to restore natural habitats and support wildlife.
Shubber emphasizes the importance of native plants and compares the growing interest in them to the rise of organic and non-dairy products in mainstream stores. He encourages people to start small in their own yards to see the positive impact on local wildlife.
Shubber Ali highlights the benefits of exposure to nature for mental and physical health, referencing the book "The Nature Fix" and the concept of forest bathing. Shubber also addresses the critical role of insects, particularly pollinators like bees, in our environment and food production, emphasizing the alarming decline of native bee species. Garden for Wildlife, his company, aims to address these issues by making native plants accessible, creating habitats, and educating the public. They've expanded to 41 states and are working on localizing plant production to reduce carbon footprint and support local growers.
Shubber's passion for the environment is evident as he discusses the interconnectedness of various environmental issues and the simple, actionable steps individuals can take to make a difference.
We discussed the business and environmental strategies of Garden for Wildlife. Shubber Ali emphasizes the importance of applying business acumen to environmental issues and describes the company's innovative crowdfunding campaign, which allows customers to become investors.
The campaign also encourages the distribution of native plants through gift cards, aiming to increase biodiversity and support wildlife.
Additionally, Shubber outlines the company's new platform for not-for-profits, which helps them raise funds through an affiliate program. Garden for Wildlife is expanding its reach through partnerships with retail chains and aims to sign up growers on the West Coast to cover all 48 states. The overarching goal is to promote the planting of native plants globally, starting with a focus on the U.S. and Canada. -
Gregory Dewerpe, the founder of A/O, a venture capital firm, talks about his company's focus on "positively transforming" the built world, which includes real estate and construction.
A/O, launched in 2020, is the largest VC firm in Europe and globally in this sector. The company invests in various solutions, including satellite companies and AI, to address the industry's challenges, such as its significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Dewerpe emphasized the urgency of sustainable transformation in real estate and the current market conditions that create opportunities for innovation and change.
"40% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from real estate. So when you compare that to cars, everyone's so excited about electric cars, cars are high single-digit emissions. So when you think about aviation, it's 2%. So the order of magnitude is so staggering that it has to be a wake-up call for people," Dewerpe said.
"Okay, we're running out of time. Supposedly, by 2030, we'll need to be in a much better place than we are today. Where are we going to spend our time and our money?"
However, he noticed that the climate sector has become overheated lately, as many investors have raised climate funds over the last few years and startups have been unable to keep up with the investors.
"There's too much money for the amount of bankable opportunities right now," he said. -
Saknas det avsnitt?
-
Concrete is one of the most widely used and important materials in the world. It is essential for building infrastructure, improving human development, and providing shelter. However, it also has a huge environmental impact, as it accounts for about 8% of the global CO2 emissions due to the use of cement, its main ingredient.
But what if there was a way to make concrete more sustainable and profitable at the same time?
What if we could use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize the design of concrete mixtures, reduce the amount of cement, and lower the cost and the carbon footprint of concrete production?
That is exactly what Concrete.ai, a company founded by Alex Hall, is doing.
We had a thorough deepdive into the vision, the concrete manufacturing technologies, and the challenges of transforming the concrete industry with AI. -
With international actions on halting climate change showing no signs of progress, the mission to save the planet and the environment has been left to startups, said Jana Budkovskaja, the head of Beamline Accelerator.
"That's why I'm here — because I truly believe that these are the only ones who can save, only startups. All the, in a good way, crazy guys who don't believe that something is impossible. They have passion. They have ideas. These are the scientists, these crazy scientists, the ones who argue with obvious things, the ones who argue with corporations who say, but we have done like this," Budkovskaja said in the episode.
Beamline is a Tallinn-headquartered accelerator working with pre-seed and seed-stage cleantech startups across Europe.
We covered a wide range of topics ranging from pandas and climate change to greenwashing.
What is cleantech? How does it differ from greentech?
Beamline invests in teams and provides them with a 3-6 month program and an alumni club.
Beamline's current batch is focused on deep tech and material science and uses non-equity money from Estonia's Ministry of Climate.
Jana shared her personal journey into the cleantech sector, starting from her love for nature and animals as a child.
In Kiikla, Mäetaguse abandoned mines are used as a renewable energy source for heating a village.
Beamline aims to be a bridge between the startups and the policymakers, governance, and corporates, who have a high level of inertia and resistance to change.
The future challenges with growing the fund, accelerator and the alumni club of Beamline. -
Leo Treadwell, a visionary who has developed an organic intelligence language model, shares his story, his insights, and his tips on how to use AI and programming language to heal yourself and the world.
Treadwell is the founder of the Organic Intelligence Language Model, a system that uses artificial intelligence and natural language to understand and reprogram the human mind. He describes how used this system to heal himself from a life-threatening illness and to create a successful business and a happy family.
In this episode, we cover topics such as:
• How the human mind works like a computer program, with pre-cognitive commitments and emotional responses encoded in syntax.
• How to use numbers for creativity and problem-solving, by focusing on what you want to create or solve, asking the right questions, making agreements, and taking action.
• How to be aware of the manipulation of thoughts and beliefs, and how to reclaim your sovereignty and freedom.
• How to use language to program your thoughts and emotions, and how to rewrite your life story using human nature and computer language.
• How to act on climate change and other global issues, by bypassing the limbic system and operating from choice, pleasure, and potential.
• How to balance your masculine and feminine energies in the digital age, and how to connect with the natural law and values that govern the universe.
• How to discover the hidden connections and patterns that exist in nature, mathematics, and philosophy, and how they relate to your perception and reality.
If you want to learn more about Leo Treadwell and his organic intelligence language model, visit his website or follow him on social media. -
The year 2024 looks promising for both, startups and investors, says investor Helery Pops from Practica Capital, a pan-Baltic investment firm which has backed several green tech startups in the region.
"It's going to need a lot of work, it's going to need a lot of effort because money isn't that easy to come by at the moment, investors are doing much more due diligence: it might take up to six months or a year to raise a round. But if all the chips fall into places, then you have less competition," says investor Helery Pops.
Practica Capital launched a new 80-million-euro fund in January 2024.
Helery shares her insights on the startup landscape in the Baltics, her passion for nature, and some of the challenges and opportunities for green tech investors and founders in 2024.
You'll learn about topics such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, circular economy, and more. You'll also hear about some of the successful and promising green tech startups in Practica's portfolio, such as PVcase, a grading software for wind turbines, and Heavy Finance, a platform that helps farmers switch to no-till farming with zero-interest loans.
Whether you're a green tech enthusiast, a startup founder, or a curious listener, this episode will inspire you with fresh insights and practical tips on how to make a positive impact with green tech.
Don't forget to subscribe to NatureBacked and leave us a review. You can also follow us on social media and visit our website for more content and resources. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for the next episode of NatureBacked. -
Kenny Kaluiji, a seasoned professional in the realm of carbon markets and climate equity, gave NatureBacked listeners a deepdive into the state of the carbon markets.
We spoke about:
how to fix carbon markets
emerging market for biodiversity credits
trust challenge of carbon markets
how local communities should benefit credit markets
After completing his Master Degree in Energy, Environment and Society to combat climate impacts affecting countries in Africa., Kenny Founded Decarbonify, a startup that spearheads the development of a data-driven ESG Data software, contributing significantly to climate crisis management, and providing climate risk data mapping.
His current advisory role at Carbon Futures EU involves navigating businesses through the complex carbon market landscape, bringing market compliance, truth and transparency. -
Novobiom, the winner of the Future is Fungi Startup Award, is cleaning contaminated soils using fungi, and is raising funding to build fungal fermentation pilot during 2024.
"We aim by using fungi is to turn bulk waste into high value applications using a fungal micro refinery," Novobiom co-founder Caroline Zaoui said in the NatureBacked podcast.
"The big milestone is going to be the buildup of our fungal fermentation pilot for the micro refinery angle that we are working on to demonstrate that we can process a certain volume of waste to generate compounds of high added value, and demonstrate that we can bring a solution for the end of waste in the textile industry," Zaoui said, adding that the company was also aiming to make use of any waste stream to produce biobased and circular molecules for the cosmetics industry.
Novobiom's main product is a soil mycoremediation solution, which uses mushrooms to degrade and detoxify pollutants in the soil. Novobiom says that this solution is more ecological, efficient, and economical than conventional soil treatments.
Novobiom's mission is to contribute to solving current environmental and societal challenges by developing bio-inspired restorative innovations. Novobiom was founded in 2017 and is based in Belgium. -
Jens Laurids Sørensen from Aalborg University, the winner of the Future is Fungi Research Award, introduced the winning project to create the world's first biosynthesized battery.
Sørensen said: "Our battery is based on pigments from fungi. So it's the world's first biosynthesized-battery. It is much better than the solutions right now, which are based on mining different metal ions or chemical synthesis based on compounds or chemicals from the oil industry."
He said it will likely take around five years for the project to grow from a laboratory setting to the real world, but with vast funding, this could be accelerated significantly.
"To also honour the research, we wanted to have the award for uncovering this. We wanted to thoroughly uncover the new-frontier ways we can use fungi for elemental solutions. We want to inspire more research and innovation in this space, and also to commercialise more of this research, get this research off the ground," said Susanne Gløersen, the organiser of the award. -
Near 8,000 companies globally have certified themselves as B Corporations, where B stands for "benefit for all", with even major corporations and publicly listed entities putting all stakeholders on par with investors.
"It's still very much an SME-led movement. However, I think more or less since 2015, we've seen a lot of momentum and interest in large companies and multinationals joining the movement," Sarah Garcia, head of market development at B Lab Europe, said in the NatureBacked podcast.
"The movement started back in 2006 when our founders were becoming increasingly disillusioned by seeing purpose-driven companies change drastically after they either changed ownership after they went public or the direction of the CEO or the priorities of the CEO change," she said.. -
We met Gunter Pauli on the sidelines of Tallinn Greentech Week to talk about the Blue Economy.
Here are the main points of the discussion:
The blue economy concept and its potential to replace the green economy
Pauli is frustrated with the green economy and argues it's too expensive and incompatible with market demands.
the limitations of economies of scale in the global market, arguing that consumers prefer unique and diverse products.
the potential for waste from coffee production to be used for mushroom farming, with 6000 initiatives around the world already adopting this approach.
Blue economy, local materials, and sustainable business models (from 4:51)
the rise of the "blue economy," where companies prioritize local and sustainable practices, citing Novamount as a successful example.
the importance of collaboration and resilience in the blue economy, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
the potential of using weeds as a source of bioplastics, highlighting the benefits of vertical integration and the ability to generate more value through the use of local materials.
how the business model can change by using an old stranded petrochemical facility, reducing costs and increasing the lifespan of the acid, making the product competitive in the market.
Sustainable paper production and water conservation (from 9:39)
the importance of recognizing and utilizing available resources, using the example of stone paper production.
the potential of using waste products from forestry companies to create a sustainable business, drawing on the example of mushroom cultivation.
the potential of using mining waste to produce paper, generating significant value and reducing water and land use.
Sustainable business practices and education (from 15:23)
the importance of working with the next generation to implement sustainable practices and reduce environmental impact.
the importance of keeping a childlike curiosity and exploration in adults, as it can lead to innovation and progress.
the potential of children to drive positive change, citing examples of initiatives in Estonia and China that involve translating fables into stone and bringing them to schools.
Sustainable transportation and energy solutions (from 20:14)
visiting local companies that are making a positive impact in their field, specifically a mushroom company that is doing extraordinary work.
abolishing the use of Excel sheets
proposal to transform ferry transport in the Baltic by prioritizing local transportation and goods, reducing carbon footprint.
the importance of extracting oneself from limitations and constraints, using examples of their entrepreneurial ventures. -
Finnish biotech startup Enifer has injected new life into an old innovation of Finnish forestry engineers, revitalising the production of mycoproteins from paper industry by-products.
They have found strong demand from the pet food sector as in the 1970s and 1980s the product was sold to farmers for their animals, and are now looking also for ways to enter the higher-value-added human food market.
"Volumes of protein going into agriculture and pet food are huge. The companies are really looking for alternatives that are more sustainable. But, in general, they just need more, new sources of protein, because those sectors are growing fast and protein production is not really keeping up," co-founder Simo Ellilä said.
In October, researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) published a study showing that farmed fish grow better and healthier with Enifer's PEKILO mycoprotein than with soybeans.
Enifer’s proprietary technology can upcycle by-products from diverse agri-, food- and forest industry processes into its PEKILO mycoprotein, which consists of about 65% protein, 15% beta-glucan, 10% fats and minerals, and has a high concentration of vitamin B.
Enifer plans to announce the location of its first factory before Christmas. -
Adamas One, one of the pioneers in the lab-grown diamond business, is expanding production and pushing not-mined diamonds in new sectors, said founder and CEO Jay Grdina.
"Three goals and tasks: factory running at full production, complete the build-out of our new factory; semiconductors technology sector - really going to charge and take the lead on that; as well as get our jewellery line out there and launch stuff," Grdina said.
The company owns the original 32 manufacturing patents for lab-grown diamonds, a sector which has taken a massive chunk of the North American diamond market over the last few years, and which is set to be increasingly important for the global semiconductor industry.
The diamond mining industry is known for environmental and social problems. In some countries proceeds from diamond sales have been used to finance wars, creating a 'blood diamond' name. One of the latest environmental (and social) disasters occurred in the diamond mining town of Jagersfontein in South Africa last fall.
"People that traditionally might not have gone and bought a mined diamond, whether it's eco reasons or social reasons, or other reasons. We give them an alternative, where they can avoid those atrocities or mindset issues that they have, and come over and buy an environmentally conscientious diamond," Grdina said. -
Kausal, which provides local governments with a software platform for tracking and implementing sustainability measures targets German-speaking markets and North America with fresh seed funding of 880,000 euros from an investor consortium including Innovestor and Spanish impact fund Zubi Capital.
"For us, the biggest milestone is to show that this is really scalable on different markets and not sustained in Finland, for instance," co-founder Sonja-Maria Ignatius said in the NatureBacked podcast.
Ignatius, an ex-Helsinki climate specialist, and her co-founders set up the company to make sure Helsinki keeps its promises to become carbon neutral. Once the service was launched, other cities followed. Kausal currently works with over 40 cities, including San Diego and Zurich.
The focus is set clearly on the public sector, even though the platform could be adapted for corporate use.
"It was a very natural step as all the founders had experience within the public sector," Ignatius said.
"It's true that the sale cycles can be long sometimes. But on the other hand, city governments are very reliable, they pay their bills. Also, once you have gotten in, and you have this in their budget, they are not going to be every year like, Hey, do we want this or not, but they are also very sticky as customers," she said. -
In a wide-ranging discussion with Simona Simulyte on the sidelines of the Impact Day festival in Tallinn we talked about:
How she took over her father's car component business at the age of 12 and launched environmentally friendly springs for breaks
Early days of startup entrepreneurship in Lithuania, emphasizing the importance of diversity and impact
How she launched the ChangemakersON network, a community for tech for good products, by leveraging traditional business experience and partnerships
Her work in startups and sustainability highlights the importance of doing things for the right reasons rather than just for appearance or marketing
ESG reporting helps expose greenwashing by measuring and documenting criteria, but companies need to be transparent and set clear agreements.
regenerative organizations and decentralized business models
the importance of listening to intuition and following nature's lead in business. Despite trying to copy nature, we've already made copies of nature before and are now returning to sustainable innovation.
How small businesses should adopt a life-centric business model, prioritizing uniqueness and cooperation over competition. -
German startup The Ocean Package seeks to benefit from Europe's tightening regulations that support the re-use of e-commerce packaging materials, such as plastics that the company uses to make its shipping material.
"Our solution, the most important thing behind The Ocean Package, is that we have to find a way to clean up our world and to create a cleaner world for tomorrow. Because there won't be a tomorrow if there are no companies like us," said Joshua Linn, co-founder of The Ocean Package.
The Ocean Package is a Munich-based startup that operates in several markets, aiming to make e-commerce more environmentally friendly and sustainable. To achieve this, they designed reusable packaging made of recycled polypropylene, some of which is collected from areas where it could have ended up in the ocean.
"We are mainly focusing on rivers and on post-consumer waste, where it could end up in the ocean. So we are kind of the waste management where there is no waste management. With real ocean plastic, you never know how long it has been in the water, how damaged it is by UV rays, by the sea salt." -
In the wide-ranging discussion with Greta Monstavice we covered how Katalista Ventures supports entrepreneurs to create positive change.
Startups accelerated through the programme are in 15 countries, with 69 startups accelerated, and 15 more in the pipeline.
Early-stage startups are supported in scaling and understanding their business model, with a focus on impact and sales integration.
The host, Tarmo Virki, and Greta Monstavice discuss the structured and unstructured nature of a startup programme, with a focus on the benefits and challenges of different approaches.
Katalista Ventures offers tailored programs with chief mentors and flexibility to address the specific needs of each startup.
Greta Monstavice reflects on her personal experience in startup acceleration and sustainability in Lithuania, discussing the ecosystem's lack of resources and opportunities.
Details on the next two programmes Katalista is planning to launch. -
In the episode Puro.Earth founder Antti Vihavainen takes the listeners to a deep dive into carbon removal space.
Vihavainen tells us about the different types of carbon removal projects that Puro.Earth is working with, biochar, direct capture, and enhanced rock weathering. He also discusses the challenges and opportunities in the carbon removal industry, and how Puro.Earth is helping to create a more sustainable future.
"We are never going to get to net zero, or at least not during this century, unless we do radical action reduction as well. So that is the first and foremost priority," Vihavainen said in the episode.
If you are interested in learning more about carbon removal and how you can support this vital work, listen to this episode of the NatureBacked podcast. -
Biodiversity is the diversity of life on Earth, and it is vital for our planet and our well-being. But how do we know if we are having a positive or negative impact on biodiversity, and how can we improve it?
In this episode of the NatureBacked podcast, Tarmo Virki spoke with Zoe Peden, partner at Ananda Impact Ventures, an investment firm that supports innovative solutions for biodiversity conservation and restoration.
Zoe shared her insights on why biodiversity is important, the challenges and opportunities of measuring and verifying biodiversity impact, and how one of her portfolio companies, NatureMetrics, is using the environmental DNA method to provide accurate and reliable data on biodiversity in various ecosystems.
She also discussed some of the lessons learned from the carbon market, and how to avoid some of the pitfalls and risks that have plagued the carbon credits system.
If you want to learn more about Zoe's work and vision, listen to the full podcast episode or subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn for more stories about the people changing the world. -
In the episode, we deep-dived into saving the old forests with Rimante Paulaskaite-Digaitiene from the Sengire Fondas (The Ancient Woods Foundation), which aims to acquire the first 100 hectares of old forests in Lithuania by the end of this year and leave them for nature.
"So the organisation was founded in 2020 aiming to protect the last remaining forest plots of old-growth forests, the last remaining biologically very valuable forest plots, like fragments, and don't do anything with that, meaning leaving it to nature to develop naturally. So it really becomes the real old-growth forest," she said.
"It may seem that it's not much, especially when you sit near the computer and look at the data, look at the Excel, but when you get to those forests, you understand what you're doing, understand why you're doing that. And it seems a lot easier to understand when you get there," she said.
The foundation was launched after "Sengire", a nature documentary Mindaugas Survila shot over many years, became an unexpected hit in Lithuania and abroad.
The movie is available through Vimeo's on-demand service. - Visa fler
