Kat Borlongan

This article starts with..."Our flourishing cannot depend on economic growth." and "We need to make a fundamental shift, from reducing or offsetting emissions to avoiding emissions from the start, in the conception and design of products. It’s not clear we can do this while continuing to grow in developed economies." And it continues..."By prioritising social and ecological well-being over profits, degrowth does pose an intrinsic challenge to the current capitalist model, because it implies a societal move from excessive consumption and over-production to reduction, redistribution, and the values of care." Ending with...."We must rethink our ingrained assumptions and prioritise the avoidance of harms over the promotion of efficiency, look to circular models as opposed to green innovations, and demand companies drive consumer transitions rather than energy transitions. This is not a call for stagnation but a plea for responsible, sustainable growth that considers the well-being of our planet and future generations." Extremely interesting one by Christopher Marquis on Harvard Business Review and hard truths on Environmental Sustainability. As Albert Einstein said "A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it." 🌱🌿

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I have marveled at how ill-informed, misleading, and flat out wrong much of the media coverage on the #EUDR has been. This article is another case in point. It's critique of the EUDR boils down to a simplistic dichotomy of trade good, regulation bad. It erroneously frames the regulation as dreamed up by EU bureaucrats to impose onerous trade restrictions on impoverished former colonies. Let me try and correct some of the glaring errors. 1) Demand-side regulations, including the EUDR, did not just magically appear but were discussed and debated for years with a wide range of stakeholders, including from #forest countries. Indeed, tropical timber imports into the EU have long been subject to import regulations under the #EUTR. 2) Regulation became inevitable after decades of investment in voluntary measures failed to stem the tide of deforestation. And stopping #deforestation, is absolutely essential to avoiding catastrophic #climatechange. 3) The framing of the regulation as punishing poor countries and protecting rich ones does not account for that smallholder associations are supporting the regulation, seeing it as a path to formal land tenure recognition and technically simpler and cheaper to comply than achieving a voluntary certification standard. 4) Many, many major companies support demand-side regulations. These companies that have invested millions in monitoring systems and buying certified commodities at a premium, but currently compete with free riders who do not make these investments. Regulation levels the playing field and gives early adopters a competitive advantage. 5) Regulations have created a thriving due diligence service industry that is spurring innovation and lowering compliance costs. Ya know, FT, regulations don't just regulate markets, they also create them. All this is not to sat that the #EUDR is perfect. It isn't. The EU has committed some own goals such as not making more provision for smallholder support, properly preparing competent authorities, and starting the Due Diligence Statement system development much too late. But this article - including most like it - proposes no alternatives or fixes other than a delay. As a founder of a company that offers an EUDR compliance technology, we don't need delay. We'll be ready. And I am sure my service provide peers agree with me, because our customers are counting on us. https://lnkd.in/erZtNMzt

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🌍🔥 Unmasking Climate Mitigation: Debunking the Myth 🔥🌍 In my latest exposé, I delve into the enigmatic world of climate mitigation. Is it a savior or a deceptive charade? 🤔 Discover why placing all our bets on climate mitigation might be akin to trusting a four-faced liar. 🎭🌿 👉 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/e9_YQkfR

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These next weeks will be packed with events. One I'm particularly looking forward to is at home in Barcelona, where I live. I'll host the panel on impact investment at the Impact Summit of the French Tech Barcelona community at the Norrsken Barcelona space. I've been part of building the European Impact Investment space since it started picking up speed. I was very enthusiastic about it, and to some degree I still am. Impact Venture Capital (high risk/high return) has a role to play, but it's increasingly becoming clear that this role is limited. VC as an instrument is inherently limited to hypergrowth. There is one system change strategy at which VC excels: Build a new model that's so good that it can't be ignored (think Tesla). It's becoming clear that for many systemic change strategies, impact VC might not be the best fit. We need alternative models with longer time horizons, lower return expectations, and diverse funding options to create the changes our world needs. I appreciate the French Tech Barcelona community for their willingness to challenge ourselves to think beyond traditional VC frameworks and consider how we can collectively drive systemic change. I'm looking forward to this panel to explore new ways to optimise for systemic change over shareholder returns and ensure that our investments lead to truly positive impacts.

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7 bricks to accelerate climate tech The Climate Brick researched and documented the scaling and fundraising journeys of European climate tech companies, identifying 7 distinct types of companies, or "bricks". For each brick, they created a manual on scaling business models, addressing common challenges, and how companies have overcome them. It's a great resource for anyone tackling hard problems with hard tech! 🛸 Below is an overview of the seven bricks, with example sectors and companies. If you're building or investing in these areas, check out the brick manuals on the following slides. ✨ Thank you The Climate Brick 👏

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Some big moves coming out of the EU today! EU countries just approved the Nature Restoration Law, the first of its kind. It requires member states to establish and implement measures to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, prioritizing Natura 2000 protected areas for restoration. Also interesting: the Council of the EU also proposed requirements for companies to substantiate environmental claims about their products in their marketing. The goal is to address greenwashing and ensure consumers have reliable environmental information about their products. On a separate note: the Council also adopted an amendment to the regulation on European High-Performance Computing to make EU supercomputers more available for European start-ups and SMEs to train AI models. Moreover, hosts of supercomputer facilities will be entitled to financial support to cover up to 50% of the acquisition costs of supercomputers and up to 50% of their operating costs. Also, if you're interested in alerts and summaries of events in business/politics, check out Parsagon! #EU #Government #NatureRestorationLaw

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Did you know that more than half of the global economic system depends on healthy #biodiversity and ecosystem services?   For example, fewer bees 🐝 means lower pollination. Even just a 20% reduction in pollination could cut US agricultural production by 1.3%, which could in turn have a snowball effect on food security and hit the rest of the economy, too. Soil health is also crucial to the global economy: soil acts as a carbon sink for climate regulation, storage for organic carbon and aids in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.   In this context, addressing global biodiversity loss is essential, and the financial sector can play a key role in financing mitigation strategies. Take a look at our recent biodiversity reports to find out more: Read ⬇️ 🌱 Ashes to ashes, carbon to soil: https://lnkd.in/e8vVWkPw 📑 Biodiversity loss part II: Portfolio impacts and abatement measures: https://lnkd.in/eDaSFnxE https://lnkd.in/eidsBMxy 💰 The new risk frontier in finance - biodiversity loss: https://lnkd.in/eidsBMxy #BiodiversityDay #BiodiversityDay2024 #InternationalBiodiversityDay #Climate #ClimateAction #NaturePositive #Ludonomics #AllianzTrade #Allianz

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3rd IFRIC submission on IAS38 asset recognition of carbon credits and intellectual capital...cat and pigeons… Our 3rd IFRIC submission on climate-related commitments was made last week and published yesterday. https://lnkd.in/ee4pPiF7 The IASB's April Agenda Decision was confusing in explaining the asset treatment (and generally)—stating: "The Committee observed that if a provision is recognised,the corresponding amount is recognised as an expense, rather than as an asset, unless it gives rise to—or forms part of the cost of—an item that qualifies for recognition as an asset in accordance with an IFRS Accounting Standard" Sorry, what? This 3rd submission is therefore designed to clear that up—based on a real world commitment and explaining that the two primary means of meeting a 2030 commitment—carbon credits and innovation—meet the definition and recognition criteria under IAS38 (Intangible Assets). This one puts a very large and quite scary cat in amongst the pigeons. Despite an initial response that this discussion may not happen in September, we're being pretty insistent that it does. Thanks to Thomas Annicq for help in making carbon credits easy to understand. Nikhil Chouguley Saurabh Jain-Punamiya Paddy Linighan Vincent Huck Peter Hislop Speers Hillary Salo Cain Blythe Richard Peers Sophie Robinson-Tillett Mike Clark Nick Spencer Eric Israël Mark Runnalls Paul W Chan Dominic Endicott Mei Lin Fung Jacob Soll Rebecca Kershaw Tessa Vincent Lee Harris Simon Mundy Sasja Beslik Clara Miller Gillian Marcelle, PhD Andrew Griffiths Mark Cliffe Sophia Leonora Mendelsohn Natalie Hollier Narayan P.S. Lingaraj Dinni Radhica Kanniganti Daniel Schmid

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Unpacking Climate Tech I've been asked by several people, including my mentee, about what climate tech entails. So, I thought it would be helpful to provide a brief wrap-up for those who are new to the field or looking to get started. 1. Renewable Energy: Solar, wind, hydro, key players in cutting emissions & driving sustainable energy. 2. Energy Storage & Smart Grids: Revolutionizing renewable energy storage & distribution for a resilient future. 3. Sustainable Agriculture: Precision farming and regenerative practices are boosting yields & preserving the environment. 4. Electric & Hydrogen Vehicles: EVs and hydrogen fuel tech are curtailing pollution & oil dependence. 5. Circular Economy & Waste Management: Recycling & waste reduction innovations are fostering resource recovery. 6. Carbon Capture & Utilization: Technologies focussed on CO2 capture & reuse are critical for climate change mitigation. 7. Water & Resource Management: Climate tech's role in water conservation & sustainable resource use is invaluable. 8. Green Building & Energy Efficiency: Sustainable architecture & smart tech are reducing carbon footprints in buildings. 9. Climate Monitoring & Data Analytics: Advanced tools enhancing climate change predictions, aiding informed decisions. 10. Fintech for Climate: Driving green investments & incentivizing sustainable practices. Which branch of climate tech excites you the most and why? #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Innovation #RenewableEnergy #CircularEconomy #CarbonCapture #SmartGrids #ClimateAction

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Great insights on the value of #systemsthinking for #socialimpact entrepreneurs by  Erica Barbosa Vargas at #startupfest #montreal Sensor networks and weather forecasting infrastructure are a prime example of systems thinking. Making this infrastructure accessible to all opens doors to numerous impact initiatives such as addressing #waterscarcity, preventing #malaria and #denguefever, and reducing the health impacts of #heatrisk.

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Did you know it is the 200th anniversary #climate #change ... and it was the French physicist #JosephFourier. As in, for those interested in maths, #FFT. Fast Fourier Transformations. For everyone else, most of your world of tech depends on this and Laplace the ability to move between time and frequency. It was my first c++ code. Connections and interconnected world. Got to love the #french https://lnkd.in/eRyZezGH https://lnkd.in/e6_ETzQ3

📣 A few years ago when I first became chair of the IUCN Urban Alliance, I set myself a core goal to help cities across the planet better understand, measure and set targets to improve urban nature. Fast forward a few years, and with help of a brillant team of young researchers led by Jennifer Rae Pierce, and generous funding from Arcadia, we are delighted to announce the publication of the Urban Nature Indicies (UNI) in Nature - Urban Sustainability 😊. The UNI is a comprehensive tool that measures urban ecological performance under one standard framework linked to global commitments. We developed the UNI with a team of interdisciplinary experts before it was evaluated by practitioners from diverse cities to capture each city’s ecological footprint from local to global scale. The UNI comprises six themes (consumption drivers, human pressures, habitat status, species status, nature’s contributions to people, and governance responses) that encompass measurable impacts on climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem services, pollution, consumption, water management, and equity within one comprehensive system. Cities then adapt the UNI to their context and capacity by selecting among indicator topics within each theme. This adaptability and holistic approach position the UNI as an essential instrument for nature-positive transformations. With the institutional support of IUCN, the UNI offers an opportunity for cities to assess and enhance their contributions towards a more sustainable and biodiverse future. #urbanism #cities #urbanplanning #biodiversity https://lnkd.in/eTfyQWkS

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🌍 The Impact of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) In June 2024, the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has already sparked positive changes across various sectors. Companies and countries worldwide are adapting their practices to meet new requirements while promoting sustainability in their supply chains. Check out all relevant EUDR related news from June, 2024 at: https://lnkd.in/ek9XpGWz 🔹 Thailand: The Ministry of Agriculture and Michelin are collaborating to create a more sustainable rubber industry, resulting in record-high rubber prices. 🌿 🔹 Indonesia: PT New Kalbar Processor has shipped the first EUDR-compliant rubber consignment to Europe, marking a significant milestone in the industry. 🚢 🔹 Brazil & Uruguay: Brazil is positioning itself as a world leader in sustainable rubber production, while Uruguay has completed its first export of deforestation-free certified meat to Europe. 🥩 🔹 Europe: Companies like UPM, producer of WISA plywood products, are meeting EUDR requirements. PEFC is rewriting certification standards to facilitate compliance. 🌳 🔹 Argentina: Beef exporters are introducing a certification system for deforestation-free beef, supporting their exports to the EU. 🐄 🔹 Cocoa Sector: The EUDR is driving sustainable changes, despite challenges such as child labor and poverty. 🍫 🔹 Coffee Industry: India’s High Range Coffee Curing is leading the way by exporting the first EUDR-compliant coffee beans to Europe, opening new market opportunities. ☕️ The EUDR proves that sustainability and economic growth can go hand in hand. Now is the time to transform your business and become a leader in sustainable practices! Are you ready to be part of this sustainable transformation? Join the leading companies already at the forefront. Contact us to learn how you can make your supply chain more sustainable and comply with EUDR requirements. Together, we can create a greener future! 🌱 👉 **#EUDR #Sustainability #SustainableBusiness #GreenSupplyChain #Innovation #FutureFocused**

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👏 Highly recommend this excellent seminar by Prof. David Kanter on designing effective policies to reduce nitrogen pollution in the agrifood system 🚜. If you’re interested in understanding the intricate relationships among stakeholders in this sector, this is a must-watch. Prof. Kanter discusses how we need a more comprehensive regulatory framework 🌍, moving beyond the oversimplified notion that changing farmer behavior is the sole solution. #EnvironmentalPolicy #SustainableAgriculture #FoodProduction #NitrogenCycle 🌱

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I recently asked members of the Memo community, “How can startups effectively measure and communicate their social & environmental impact?” Some super insightful and practical contributions were gathered and published in a collaborative memo, from Tim Wolters, Cody Simms, Andrea Guendelman, and Ronobroto Dutta*. Learn from their diverse set of perspectives here: https://bit.ly/memo-esg *(Catch Ron's contribution, informed by his work at Neki in the memo's comments.) #ESG #socialimpact #climate #startups #metrics #comms

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Interesting experiment in #biodiversity uplift credits using bioacoustics and ground observation. There has been a lot of debate on an ideal unit for this nascent market and they may have landed on it.. 100 m2/yr at about $25. This can involve a lot of different intervention types, but it looks like it will be focused here on restoration. So it’s priced about right for a typical native forest restoration project ($2500/ha).

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