With the world gathering in Glasgow for COP26, GEN UK and GEN Denmark launched Startup Planet, a campaign to amplify the voices of green startups by sharing their climate solutions with a global audience.
At the centre of Startup Planet was Innovating for Net Zero, a conference held in Glasgow as a featured event of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Chaired by Russell Dalgleish, GEN UK’s National Director, Scotland, the conference focused on identifying and quantifying what challenges to growth entrepreneurs face, introducing new Climate Positive solutions, and what strategies can be adopted to overcome these.
Conference attendee Mehalah Beckett summed up the key takeaways from the event as follows:
- There is not an innovation gap but a scaling problem – startups need patient capital, mentors, and demand-side solutions (carbon tax anyone?) to scale their innovative ideas into viable solutions.
- We need better metrics to guide good investment and channel it to both climate mitigation and adaptation.
- It’s not a zero-sum game – the climate crisis necessitates some creative destruction – some industries will die but there are plenty of new ones rising up to take over in the green transition.
- We need to show more courage, leadership and support for each other – get yourself in the room and speak up!
Internationally renowned experts from both the policy and entrepreneurial side of the divide spoke from the stage including:
- Peter Kofler, Chair, Danish Entrepreneurship Association
- Joan Michelson, journalist and equality champion
- JF Gauthier, CEO Startup Genome
- Cecilia Lonning-Skovgaard, Mayor of Copenhagen
- Howard Gunstock, entrepreneur
- Tommy Ahlers, former Danish minister, Entrepreneur and Investor
The conference also heard from cleantech entrepreneurs from across the world, all aligned behind one vision – to achieve Net Zero.
The Startup Planet campaign has invited climate startups to record a special GEW video called ‘Heroes for Net Zero’ to share their solutions and challenges with the world. It also is encouraging entrepreneurs to take part in a survey on its website about their startup.
Startup Planet will publish a report after GEW 2021.
The conference is being appraised by carbon accountants Blue Marble who will be certifying the carbon footprint of the event. Startup Planet will publish the results shortly.