When you think of carbon credits, companies reactively and unconsciously buying up credits to offset carbon emissions might come to mind. Thankfully, those days are becoming a thing of the past. That’s not only thanks to a shift in mindset and evolving regulations. It’s also thanks to companies like goodcarbon that are paving the way for a new way of looking at carbon credits. By building a technical, Web 3-based platform, they cut out the middleman and allow project owners and companies to connect directly. Project owners can tap into the funding that they need to get their projects off the ground and companies can benefit from taking long-term climate actions. And these aren’t just any projects. As companies lean in more to understand the impact they have and communities are increasingly concerned with biodiversity, goodcarbon has an astounding 170 criteria that it looks at before judging a project to be of appropriate quality. If that’s not an example of taking climate action seriously, we don’t know what is. If you want to learn more about how it’s not just about planting trees, but more about planting a forest, tune in to our interview with founder Jerome Cochet.

ESG is a framework that helps companies to manage risks and opportunities related to environmental, social, and governance criteria. This aspect is increasingly important among investors during startup evaluation and due diligence processes. One of the primary responsibilities of both parties is to align what ESG means in the context of a particular startup. For example, environmental risks would be more relevant to a startup focused on mining various ores than building new accounting software. Tune in to our podcast with Hannah Leach from VentureESG to learn more about how to talk with investors about ESG and what the reporting looks like after the investment.

Impact is a global issue, there’s no doubt about that. We talk a lot about involving entire industries, countries, and regions in the battle with climate change. The problem with that is that it’s quite hard to do. In fact, it might be much more efficient starting off at the micro level with an individual instead. Here’s the scenario: you get a person to willingly change their habits for the better with customizable, short-term pledges they’re held accountable for. Let’s say they consciously use less plastic or switch to LED light bulbs. These people, in turn, become advocates for these new habits and encourage others to do the same. Soon one new habit turns into a community of new habits which then turns into a growing, global trend. That’s exactly what Do Nation is striving to achieve, one pledge at a time. Tune in to our interview with Hermione Taylor to learn more about how small shifts in behaviors can cause a ripple effect of change.

When you think of oat milk, the word “revolutionary” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. And yet that’s exactly what oat milk can be if you have the right approach. Imagine taking all the water out of oat milk, leaving behind only the 10% plant base and selling it as a powder. That means a lot less CO2 emissions and significantly less packaging waste with no negative effect on taste or quality for the consumer. What’s more, customers seem to be hungry for this new alternative. Now imagine potentially scaling that concept in an industry that sells 220 billion liters of milk globally every year. See what we mean by revolution now? Tune in to our podcast with Philip von Have from Blue Farm to learn more about his impact-minded, powder-based oat milk that is making a fresh splash on the market and why making a brand impactful and profitable can go hand in hand.

When it comes to Life Cycles Assessments, many founders hit one of two brick walls. Either they need to practice a whole lot of patience waiting for a consultant that comes with a hefty price tag or they can use complicated software that doesn’t necessarily show founders all they want to know. Does that mean that founders just need to grit their teeth and bear it? Fortunately, not anymore. We sat down with Gregory Norris, a scientist-turned-entrepreneur, the man behind Earthster, an LCA tool that combines the complex data collection of consultants with the easy to use flexibility of software. The most interesting thing is that Earthster isn’t just another piece of LCA software, but more of a different approach which moves away from simple reporting and instead facilitates learning, finding insights, and visualizing the future. Tune in to our podcast with Gregory to learn more of how powerful these “living” Life Cycle Assessments can be. PS. You can now sign up for our newsletter! Link in the comments below

In today’s market, transparency is taking up more and more of the spotlight. For companies to keep up with the growing trend and legal pressure, they need to implement transparency measures in their supply chains. It’s the same for any industry, including food. But it’s not just laws keeping companies accountable. More aware consumers want to know where their products come from and are willing to pay more for products from sustainable and credible brands. It’s also a case of risk management. If companies know and understand their supply chains from end to end, they can react to risk much more quickly and efficiently. But building transparency isn’t a simple case of just opening up your company doors and letting people peek inside. It’s about understanding and presenting the right information in the right way. That’s what we investigated along with Ana Selina Haberbosch from seedtrace. Tune in to our podcast to find out how to build credible transparency and why ignoring it might spell trouble for your company in the long term. PS. You can now sign up for our newsletter! Link in the comments below.

There are few things as exciting and enrapturing as creating a product. You put your blood, sweat, tears, and time into it, coddling it and nurturing it until finally you’re ready to go to market. Or at least you think you are. Oftentimes instead of going headlong into success, founders crash head on into a brick wall when it turns out that the market is less than enthusiastic about their product. That’s exactly what Mandeep Soor, the founder of Bendi, had to face. Because product-market fit isn’t just something you hash out with your team in your studio, but a process you go through along with the market and your customers. It’s about adapting to market feedback and finding the right incentives for stakeholders. And that takes time and a whole lot of learning. Tune in to our podcast to find out how Mandeep hit and overcame various roadblocks on the way to improving the impact of sustainability in the difficult fashion industry.

Struggling to find a good funding option? A lot of founders do. Especially when they believe that they only have the simple choice between retail and angel investing. But there’s another interesting solution on the market. One that brings the best of both investing worlds, in both Europe and the United States, to the table. All for the relatively small price of selling co-ownership in the company. How’s that a small price? Because what you’re really doing is letting existing customers become co-owners and evangelists as well as getting new investors in the door who can become new customers and spur commercial traction. That’s music to any founder’s ear. Tune in to our interview with Asbjorn Holmlund from Wefunder to learn more about how their platform and community can supercharge your funding options.

What do you think of when you think of international market expansion? Metrics? Capital? Risk? You wouldn’t be wrong. But there’s something important missing. What about the more human side? A lot of real business is done on the ground floor and that’s where personal relationships and shared goals take center stage, not numbers and graphs. Intricate knowledge of the local business ecosystem right down to local business etiquette can make or break a deal. This isn’t just a case of good market research. Founders need to be willing to adapt to the specificity of a given market and its way of doing business, just like they would with their product. Otherwise, they’ll just go belly up and fast. Tune in to our interview with Mario Steinbuch from 36Chambers where we talk about the soft skills and intricate knowledge it takes to really be ready to expand internationally.

In today’s day and age, a lot of companies use carbon credits to pat themselves on the back and make themselves feel good about impact. But take a look around you, the environment isn’t having it. We need to transform our mentality when it comes to how we treat nature. But that can’t be done without the help of private capital. But how do you make the two starkly different worlds of private capital and nature come together? By aligning interests and adding additional incentives. By proving that investing in nature is a high-yield asset class. Tune in to our podcast with Simon Torras of Bageera to learn how private capital and nature projects can mutually benefit from each other and why carbon credits aren’t the be all, end all of impact investing.