🌿 Insights, News, and Solutions for Climate Founders - September 22nd, 2023
Plus a poll on Apple's Mother Nature video - did you hate it or rate it? 🍏
Happy Friday, impact founders 🌍
Welcome back to Sustainability Bulletin, your weekly source for climate innovation. We’ve thrown in some great video coverage from The New York Times on Climate Week, have included an article to help tackle feelings of solastalgia for people working in the climate space, and have all the headlines from this week.
Don’t forget to check out the Startup News and Resources for some great articles, too! Over on Wondr, we have a couple of spaces designed to help you
💸 Investor Readiness - Resources to help you fundraise and find the right investment.
🔥 Marketing on a Shoestring - Raise your impact with limited resources.
Have a great weekend!
🌍 Top Sustainability Headlines
🌬 Revealed: almost everyone in Europe is breathing toxic air
Guardian investigation finds 98% of Europeans breathing highly damaging polluted air linked to 400,000 deaths a year.
📱 Metal-mining pollution impacts 23 million people worldwide
At least 23 million people live on flood plains that are contaminated by toxic waste from metal mining, according to a new study by the University of Lincoln. Metal mining is increasing as demands increase for rare earth metals for technology (phones, batteries, electrification). Read more on BBC.
🇬🇧 Could Rishi Sunak's green review threaten UK net zero?
Rishi Sunak, UK’s Prime Minister, announced on Wednesday that he will be delaying several green initiatives previously deployed to reach net zero targets, including a delay on the ban for new combustion engine cars, weakening a plan to stop installing new gas boilers by 2035 and no longer require homeowners and landlords to meet energy efficiency targets.
What does this mean for the UK’s net zero targets? Read more on BBC.
Sunak’s bold climate plan? Wait until 2047 – then push the panic button »»
‘He is making the UK a climate villain’: MEPs denounce Sunak’s net zero retreat »»
UK Government threatened with fresh legal action over net-zero backtracking »»
🇺🇸 New York Climate Week
Mia Mottley calls for financial solutions to transition to clean energy »»
Prime Minister of Norway defends use of fossil fuels »»
“Fossil fuel industries speak with forked tongue,” Al Gore says »»
Yellen warns of ‘significant economic costs’ of climate change »»
More news: quick links
Swedish government faces backlash after slashing climate budget »»
China climate envoy says phasing out fossil fuels 'unrealistic' »»
Mismanaged plastic levels could double unless action is taken, study warns »»
Twitter ranks worst in climate change misinformation report »»
Six Portuguese youth take 32 nations to European court over climate change »»
🚀 Startups, Business, and Sustainability
Startup and business news
👀 Founders, motive matters. What’s yours?
“There’s nothing wrong with being a mercenary founder — as long as your investors and cofounder feel the same” - Read on Sifted
UK social impact investments climb 19% »»
As the new season kicks off, here are 17 resources on how to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage »»
Are net-zero strategies delivering a ‘just transition’ for workers and communities? »»
Want to expand into the US or Canada? This region could give you the most value »»
I moved to Europe and built my VC network from scratch. Here's how »»
EU reaches deal banning ‘climate-neutral’ product claims »»
Founders, at some point you might need to fire your friends »»
Apple’s sustainability video “Mother Nature” receives lots of backlash…
What do you think about the video? Watch it here
Have more to say about it? Leave a comment below and let us know why you loved or hated it.
Startup Tools
A Psychologist Offers 3 Tips To Deal With ‘Solastalgia’
Being an impact founder is so rewarding and exciting, but constantly keeping up to date in the climate world can take an emotional toll. In this article, psychologist Mark Travers offers some insight into how we can deal with feelings of solastalgia and climate grief. Read more on Forbes here.
The 2023 SDG Business Blueprint: How to Take Action on the Global Goals
This new report by Edie, developed in partnership with Lloyds Bank, explores how businesses can better align themselves with the Sustainable Development Goals to drive transformative change. Read the report on Edie here.
Startup Spotlight
Inside Hoxton Farms, The First UK Cultured-Fat Pilot Plant And Its Secret Weapon
“Hoxton Farms, the London-based biotech developing cultivated animal fat, opens on September 21st its first pilot facility in the center of London to advance research, enable industry scale-up production and develop prototypes with plant-based companies and supermarkets chains.” - read more on Forbes
🌲 Adapting to the Anthropocene
Fossil Fuel Fashion campaign highlights link between Big Oil and fashion industry - Fashion United
UK firefighters go to Spain for wildfire training as number of blazes surges - The Guardian
California plans big insurance shifts as climate change hits home - Washington Post
Concrete is one of the world’s leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions - Prometheus Materials wants to change that - Forbes
Asahi chief warns climate change could lead to beer shortages - Financial Times
Olive Oil Prices Jump 50%—And Climate Change Might Be Why - Forbes
Weather data from Pearl Harbor warships recovered to study climate science - CBS News
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to share with your friends or leave a comment. See you next week 👋
Just thought I'd leave a quick comment on my thoughts, I voted creative, witty in the poll for the Apple video. I believe the main reason that in the end it came off complete rubbish was because of the constant status part of pledge to be 'better'? Especially with technology the increasing problem is consumption, the repetitive upgrades while degrading former models...what happens to the materials that were used to create the former products that get discarded, the resource use to waste or 'recycle'. I mean anyone can throw numbers and figures on a board as a 'goal', and although it is important to be wary of the future it's like forgetting the reason the future is in trouble because of our past usages.