Early stage VC firm True Ventures creates practical framework to help startups decarbonize

Early stage venture capital (VC) firm True Ventures announced the launch of the True Climate Action Guide to help its portfolio founders and companies across the technology ecosystem reduce carbon emissions with practical tactics that both help the planet and drive business growth through climate initiatives.

The guide, which allows founders to navigate content by selecting their sector as well as the budget and level of time commitment they have to give, covers how to think about decarbonizing a business, where to start in creating an iterative carbon plan and reducing carbon hotspots, and ideas for growth-driving climate initiatives across operations.

Priscilla Tyler, Vice President and Investor, Climate Technologies, True Ventures: "It's a huge challenge for startup founders to know where to start in reducing their carbon footprint. We wanted to create a guide that not only debunks misconceptions about which decarbonization tactics can make the most impact, but also gives founders a clear idea of what success looks like. We believe doing something, even if minimal, to decarbonize at the earliest stages of company growth will have outsized impact down the line."

Tyler noted that decarbonization, as a space, is riddled with jargon and initialisms that add to the 'decarbonization learning curve' for startup founders. "But they're the ones building the companies of tomorrow," she added. "Helping founders gain greater climate consciousness could be one of the most important things we do in shaping the future."

True Ventures partnered with decarbonization expert Peter Nocchiero, owner of climate advisory firm Alternate Future, to create the Climate Action Guide. Nocchiero has close to two decades of experience operating at the executive level for growth stage startups.

While carbon emissions dipped in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, emissions still hover near record highs and the decarbonization movement has yet to take flight in a lasting way. Tyler and Nocchiero asserted that the gap between the scientific community and business community is where they see the most opportunity to influence change.

"The golden ticket is showing entrepreneurs that helping the climate and growing your business are one and the same," said Nocchiero. "We've distilled thousands of pages of climate frameworks into a guide founders can consume in a couple hours and quickly understand next steps for making an impact as they build their startups right now. We call this Climate Pragmatism, something that is desperately needed to bridge the business and science communities."

True Ventures, now in its 17th year, is currently invested in more than a dozen companies spanning climate technologies and sustainable alternatives, in addition to startups across software, robotics, hardware, consumer brands, security, and more.

Climate technology investments include carbon management platform Emitwise, power grid monitoring system Gridware, SaaS platform for energy suppliers Exnaton, carbon removal solution Carbo Culture, wildfire reinsurance company Kettle, and carbon-free energy procurement platform WattCarbon, among others. True has also invested in a growing number of startups with a focus on creating sustainable alternatives to products developed by various industry incumbents.

www.trueventures.com