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There's a huge shortage of venture capital funding for environmental startups, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.
In fact, only six such funds larger than $100 million exist in Europe, the Financial Times reports.
"The gap between the fast-increasing demand for impact VC funding and the limited availability of large funds in this space is astonishing," says Antonio Hautle, executive director at the UN Global Compact.
According to the Global Sustainable Investment Review, just a small percentage of the $35 trillion in environmental, social, and economic (ESI) investment per year goes to "high-impact, disruptive businesses" that can make entire industries carbon-free or restore natural ecosystems.
"Simply investing is not enough and a more supportive role needs to be taken by providing technical, management, and operational skills to help accelerate and scale them," says BlackRock's Ellen Bakke Mawdsley.
For example, plastics packaging could be made more environmentally friendly by adopting sustainable reuse models, while solar and wind technologies could be used to make oil and gas more competitive, the Times reports.
According to the report, there's a need for a 100 times increase in investment in environmental, social, and economic (ESI) startups in order to meet the UN's
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A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
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Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Influencing Social Good Through Retail
When Hannah Davis traveled to China to teach English, she noticed how Chinese workers and farmers were often sporting olive green army-style shoes. Those shoes served as her inspiration to create her own social enterprise, Bangs Shoes.
