SDG Alpha — Issue 4 / The One With the Money

Photo by Michael Rothstein

Happy Friday! Welcome to another issue of SDG Alpha, my regular update on impact innovation, investment, and overall activity in the Irish SDG ecosystem. Why SDG “Alpha”? It’s a term I’ve been using to describe innovation which transforms the ability of an individual, company, or an entire industry to achieve an SDG target. Why am I writing these? First, imposter syndrome means that I’m driven to learn everything I can about the sustainability and impact space, so these articles have been a useful structure to filter and curate the pieces I find most relevant; second, there is such a high degree of uncertainty, and opportunity for change, in the industry at present that it’s exhilarating to observe it — why would you be doing anything else? :)

Lots to cover in this update, so let’s jump in:

• Couple of pieces of fundraising news: first, there was a big announcement from Ecocem Materials who’ve raised €22.5M for their new ultra-low-carbon cement products. Cement production is a notoriously high carbon emitter, and Ecocem claim that their new systems can produce cement with a 16x lower carbon footprint than other Irish producers. Interesting to see that the round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the sustainable energy fund founded by Bill Gates.
• Second funding announcement was Louth’s XOCEAN, who secured €1.7M in grant funding from the EU’s Blue Economy Window programme (no, I don’t understand what windows have to do with this either); XOCEAN have developed an uncrewed surface vessel (USV), that can gather maritime environmental data, with just 0.1% of the carbon emissions of conventional vessels. This is just so cool that it needs its own picture here…

• Third fundraising piece comes from Irish shared scooter provider Zipp Mobility, who’ve just monstered their crowdfunding raise, where they’re at 124% funded, with a little over two weeks left to go — clearly seeing the benefit of the boom in micromobility since the pandemic struck. What fascinates me about the three funding rounds detailed here is the wide range of technology solutions, business models, and fundraising structures involved — to deliver on the SDG targets, we’re going to need to stay innovative in how we get the right resources to the right solutions. There’s plenty of room for new thinking on how to structure financial supports for impact outcomes — and, don’t forget, the UN has stated that there’s a $20 Trillion funding gap in achieving the SDGs by 2030. Food for thought.

• There’s heaps of events coming up in the next few weeks, so I’ll run through them quickly: first, AIB are hosting a webinar on “The Role of Sustainability for SMEs”, some interesting speakers; Business In The Community Ireland, and TCD’s Centre for Social Innovation are running a workshop on “What Irish Businesses Need to Know About Human Rights”; Social Impact Ireland are showcasing the 11 startup projects who are graduating from their “Business for Social Impact” incubator; and finally, Huckletree (everyone’s favourite workspace provider) are live all day on Wednesday 19th with Earthrise Summit, showcasing how we can build a more sustainable future — some super guests speaking, I’m really looking forward to that one :)
• If you’ve got opinions on what Ireland needs to do better to deliver the aforementioned sustainable future, then the Government wants to hear from you — there’s an open consultation on the 2021 Climate Action Plan, but there’s only a few days left! Get your submissions in before May 18th — every voice counts.
• And, if all goes well, we’ll see the Government doing more nice things, like this proposal to develop a biodiversity centre from the ruins of a Georgian house, on the banks of the Liffey near Chapelizod — fingers crossed that we’ll get to see this project come to fruition in the next few years.

• Last, but not least, a podcast recommendation. I’ve been subscribed to the Climate Allies series for just a few short months, but I’ve found it to be a brilliant resource for getting a wide-range of perspectives on the climate crisis. Ali Sheridan is the host, and she has a rare mix of strong commercial sustainability expertise, combined with academic insights from her work for PhD; this episode featured an interview with entrepreneur Pat Kane, founder of Reuzi, who shared her experience of setting up the business, and the continued importance of community and partnership. It’s like a warm hug of impact inspiration :)

And, that’s a wrap, dear reader — I hope you found this useful, and I’d love to hear any feedback or suggestions!