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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
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Foundation: Marguerite Casey Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Kresge Foundation
Stephen Stephens' father died of cancer when he was 53, and his message to young people has stayed with him. "Always do the right thing son," he tells Fast Company. "That message has always...more
Foundation: Indianapolis Foundation
Lynne Arriale's new album, Being Human, is all about "people who exemplify Passion, courage, love, curiosity, and other human qualities," the Florida pianist tells Rita Kohn of the Indianapolis...more
"If the class register were anything to go by, education would be one of modern civilization's greatest success stories." That's what Peter Wilson, a member of the UBS Accelerate Collective, had...more
Foundation: Gates Foundation
Melinda French Gates is stepping down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she founded with her ex-husband Bill Gates more than 20 years ago. As part of an agreement made...more
Ahmad Al-Mallahi is a professor of agricultural engineering and sensing technologies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and he's spent the past five years developing technology that could...more
Deforestation in south-east Asia could slash the region's GDP by 35%, according to a new report from Reuters. And that's not all. The report also finds that $100 billion pledged to fight...more
"At a time of multiple crises and scarce resources for development, this is a unique value proposition for governments everywhere." So says the head of the African Development Bank in praising...more
The People's Bank of China says it will start allowing people in China to use the country's new digital currency, the Digital Yuan, to buy goods and services starting next month, the BBC...more
When it comes to corporate social responsibility, India's government and public sector companies are at the top of the list. But when it comes to companies of all sizes, they're at the bottom,...more
The world's biggest state investors are getting into the business of making positive social and environmental impact investments. Singapore's Temasek Holdings, one of the world's largest state...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver Backs Social Saturday
UK will be celebrating its first national celebration of social enterprises dubbed as Social Saturday. World famous celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who founded the Fifteen restaurant chain.
