Ok, Doomer #5
by Lyn Stoler and Sonam VelaniA cool climate future from some cool climate ladies.
You may have never heard of the world’s first climate scientist - the indomitable Eunice Foote, who described carbon dioxide’s capacity to absorb heat in 1856: “An atmosphere of this gas would give to our earth a high temperature.” Eunice didn’t receive recognition for discovering the human-induced phenomenon of global warming, and three years later, a man named John Tyndall got all the credit. It was only in 2020 that Eunice was honored in the New York Times Overlooked series.
Unfortunately, women's contributions to climate science, policy, and business are chronically overlooked and undervalued. As two ladies, International Women's Week can feel a little bit like performative feminism, all show and no substance.
So instead of giving you the same tired speech that every company gives this week, we're trying something different. First, we're going to (very quickly) share some numbers that we find compelling. Then, we're going to take you down a mainstreet of the city of the future — one built by women. Every technology you see is created by companies with female founders we’re proud to call friends and fellow warriors. Maybe you should go work for them, become a customer of theirs, or invest in them. Better yet, maybe you should start your own! (cough, cough, nudge, nudge)
Anyway, first, the numbers:
🪧 116M → Over 116 million people from 185 countries have participated in Fridays for Future climate strikes, an organization started by a dozen young women activists from across the globe (Fridays for Future)
🚺 70GT → We have an opportunity to reduce 70 gigatons of CO2 by 2050 if we proactively invest in women’s health and education globally (Project Drawdown)
🏛 6x → Countries with a higher percentage of female representation in parliament have 6 times as many stringent climate change policies (European Journal of Political Economy)
👩🏻⚖️ 30% → Companies with 30% or more female board members have better climate governance (Bloomberg New Energy Finance)
👫 43% → There is a 43% likelihood that gender equitable teams will make a company higher profits (McKinsey)
💸 35% → Women-led teams generate a 35% higher return on investment than all-male teams, yet only 2% of all venture capital goes to women founders (Kauffman Fellows)
👩🏻🏫 2x → Women VCs invest in 2 times as many women founders, who will then go on and hire 6 times as many women on their teams (Kauffman Fellows)
👨👩👧👦 $28T → Women drive over $28 trillion of spending annually, investing primarily in their children and their communities (Harvard Business Review)
Second, an exciting climate future!
Turns out it is quite difficult to draw a city so Lyn took some creative liberties here. Below are the women-founded companies bringing this future to life!
Here's the breakdown of women-led companies that are bringing this sustainable, climate-resilient future to life:
🌊 Kai Pono Solutions: In a place like Los Angeles, 10 billion gallons of contaminated water and debris can flow through a storm drain on a rainy day. Most of that ends up in the ocean, harming marine life along the way. Kai Pono Solutions produces an adaptable stormwater filtration device that is low footprint, flood proof, and custom to site-specific contaminants - keeping our streets free of flooding and our oceans full of clean water!
🔨 Tangible Materials: Tangible Materials is bringing climate-friendly technologies and materials to our built environment. The marketplace enables architects and contractors to select everything from recycled steel and reclaimed wood to straw bales for sustainable and beautiful buildings!
↔️ Cadence OneFive: Building retrofits are hard, but Cadence OneFive makes them easy! Their building decarbonization platform connects project funders, real estate owners, contractors, and others to implement retrofits for multifamily housing. And the best part: they are starting with affordable housing building owners who are often left out of the ecosystem!
💰 IncentiFind: The IRA is bringing billions of dollars into the clean energy market, but it’s often hard to find all that cash through the plethora of government websites. IncentiFind helps developers, property owners, and tenants find money for their real-estate and home improvement projects, turning clicks to cash!
☀️ Wildgrid: The process of going solar can be confusing, but Wildgrid simplifies it with a comprehensive marketplace to find vetted solar providers. Plus, they keep things in the neighborhood, connecting you with local partners, tax incentives, and more!
💎 Olokun Minerals: Olokun Minerals' technology is a double-whammy of climate benefits. They desalinate water and use the resulting brine to extract minerals that are critical to the energy transition. We benefit with fresh water *and* more resources for electrification.
🌱 Living Carbon: Living Carbon is genetically engineering trees to increase their carbon capture capacity, with up to 53% more biomass! Soon, our city streets might be lined with trees that keep our neighborhoods cool, clean up the air, and draw down more carbon than ever before.
👷♀️ Illu: Illu is providing field teams with the resources they need to manage the installation and deployment of climate solutions on our homes and streets! By standardizing processes, putting in health and safety checks, and tracking progress, here’s to getting infrastructure projects done with safety and speed.
🚠 Swyft Cities: Swyft Cities aims to reimagine transit systems with gondolas. We love the success of the gondola system in Medellin, Colombia, helping low-income communities in the hills access job centers below. We hope similar solutions can take cars off the street, coupled with much-needed investments like bike lanes, electric bus rapid transit, streetcars, and more. We're looking forward to cleaner air and lively streets with a plethora of transit options outside our front doors!
⚡️ Dandelion Energy: Dandelion is helping us cut costs and increase our energy resilience through home geothermal systems! They're tapping into the earth's temperature differentials to provide safer, low-cost cooling and heating in homes. So far they’ve installed more than 1,000 geothermal wells for heat pumps, and they are just getting started!
🏝 Vesta: Vesta is another one of our favorite multi-solving companies! They create carbon-removing sand by adding olivine to the mix. This product can not only be used for coastal restoration, but also permanently sequesters carbon dioxide and reduces ocean acidity!
And a final note:
As we celebrate #IWD2023 this week, here’s to the women who challenge the way things have always been done. Just like Eunice Foote, we’re excited to recognize and celebrate the women in our lives who are building an equitable climate tech ecosystem — today and the rest of the 364 days of the year!
And if you are a woman transitioning careers and joining us on the climate journey, check out these incredible organizations across the globe of #WomenSupportingWomen: Women and Climate, Women+ in Climate Tech, Climate Raise, Women of Color Collective in Sustainability, Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, Sustainable Women’s Network, GenderSmart, Women.NYC, Women Entrepreneurs NYC, The Female Quotient, She Changes Climate, and so many more!
Look! Your two favorite ladies who write Parachute!
by Lyn Stoler and Sonam Velani