Monthly update from our startups

Together with its partners WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) and KPMG, Circular IQ participated in the first session of the project “Transition to a Circular Economy”, which took place in Chile. Together with the Chilean Agency for Sustainability and Climate Change, KPMG and WBCSD were leading the session, which attracted 26 organizations planning to accelerate their circular transition by measuring their circular performance. WBCSD and Circular IQ collaborate to clear the way for businesses to achieve Net Zero emissions – Circular IQ provides the CTI Tool and WBCSD the Circular Transition Indicators (CTI). They recently developed an approach to quantify the impact of circular strategies on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Read this Spanish article for more information

Out of 13,000 nominations for the Escape the City’s The Escape 100 campaign, the British startup Entocycle was selected as one of the top 100 purposeful organizations to “escape” to in 2022 and thus joined the community of the most innovative and forward-thinking companies of the world. They were assessed according to 6 distinct criteria, which are impact, planet, innovation, B-Corp., mission and people. Entocycle received their highest ratings in the latter two categories. The Escape 100 list represents organizations that are leading the way in putting people and planet on a level with profit. The global community was founded in 2010 and follows the purpose of shifting the attention towards more planet friendly, human and purpose-led companies. Fun fact: Another former GAA finalist is among this year’s top 100: Mimica!

Check out the whole Top 100 list here

From May 19-21, ChangeNOW, the “world’s largest event for the planet” took place online and live in Paris, and LivingPackets was there too. The principal mission of the event is to accelerate change, by connecting innovators, investors, companies, media and cities. A total of 1,000 solutions from 20 distinct categories, like “Mobility” or “Health” were presented. LivingPacket’s green, smart and secure delivery and packaging innovation for more sustainable logistics was part of the category “Circular Economy”. The summit was conducted for the first time in 2017 and it usually consists of various conferences, the solutions expo, start-up pitch sessions, workshops and networking events.

Click here to visit the official website and listen to some pitches, talks or ideas that are still available online

Mimica, which developed a next generation food expiry labelling to reduce food waste and to improve food safety, announced this month, that their solution “Mimica Touch” can now be fully integrated into beverage caps, which is a further step to radical waste reduction. Furthermore, Solveiga Pakštaitė, founder of the startup, was featured in the book “Awesome Entrepreneurs” belonging to the series “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls” by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, which aims at empowering girls. Other women featured in the book are the founders of “Canva”, “The Cheeky Panda” or Rihanna. “100 immigrant women who changed the world” and “100 Real-life tales of Black Girl Magic” are other titles of volumes belonging to the series.

Find out more about the “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”-Series here

Newcy, who was among the 2017 Green Alley Award finalists, is a French company that produces reusable cups to tackle waste and reduce carbon emissions. They turned 6 this May and celebrated their great achievements – for instance, due to their solution, 30 million cups less were thown away within these years. And in May, Newcy also announced their most recent success: They are among the 15 finalists of the “Social Tournament 2022” of the European Investment Bank EIB, which aims at recognizing and supporting the best European social entrepreneurs. The competition typically covers projects in the areas of education, healthcare, environment, circular economy, inclusion, job creation, ageing and many more. The finals will take place in Vienna on September 29th. We are excited and wish them the best of luck!

Find out more about the Social Tournament and the other finalists

Last year’s GAA finalist TrusTrace, which developed a digital platform for product traceability and supply chain transparency for the textile industry was honored twice in May. CEO Shameek Ghosh was elected as the Founder of the Year at the Nordic Startup Awards and Chief Technology Officer Madhava Venkatesh R. won the CTO of the Year Europe Award 2022 which is given to CTOs that foster a culture of innovation and make technology work for Europe. “We at TrusTrace have created a platform that empowers fashion and retail brands to fully understand and take responsibility for the social and environmental impact of their supply chains. I am honored to receive an award that pays tribute to all my fellow CTOs who are fostering a culture of innovation and developing technologies that make a difference”, said Madhava Venkatesh R. when receiving the award.

Find more about the CTO of the Year Award here