Nighttime view of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and San Francisco skyline from Emeryville, CA.

Source: Pixabay

It is estimated that by 2050, Earth’s global temperature will increase by a staggering 1.5 degrees Celsius. With the urgency of climate change and the enthusiasm in Silicon Valley for a more sustainable future, many new startups focusing on sustainability are emerging. Sustainability is becoming more of a main focus than a charitable act for many companies, and the Valley is becoming a center for positive environmental change. On June 21, 2024, the area held its first annual “Sustainability Growth Summit,” a conference which brings together policymakers, business leaders, and innovators to discuss climate change and leverage the critical innovation Silicon Valley has to offer in order to align economic growth with the greater goals of sustainability. This article will highlight new startups that are emerging and helping to drive sustainable change, creating a meaningful impact on individual lives and the planet.

The Triabilist:
Co-founded by Vipul Vyas and Jill Czarnik, the company has a rich background in various startups and notable companies in the Bay Area, New York, and Chicago. They have a mission to significantly decrease microplastics and educate individuals on how to eliminate them in their homes and lives. They offer a series of different educational packages, from how to avoid microplastics as a new mother to plastic-free kitchen transformations, and many more. In addition, their website lists plastic-free and sustainable products that customers can use in their homes.

Aurora Solar:
The idea of installing solar panels is difficult and confusing for many. Aurora aims to make this process more straightforward and simplifies it for many. They provide solar companies with software and the capability to sell solar panels to customers remotely. This initiative will make the world of solar energy more efficient and accessible for companies and customers.

Grove Collaborative:
Grove Co. is an e-commerce store headquartered in San Francisco that curates and sells planet-first products to users. Each brand is vetted to ensure it is planet-friendly and sustainable. They are also a plastic-neutral retailer, meaning any plastic purchased from their company is matched with plastic recollection in collaboration with Repurpose Global. In addition, they prioritize social responsibility and people above all else!

Phykos:
Founded by Nico Julian and Jeff Zerger and a part of Y Combinator, Phykos is an ocean carbon dioxide removal company focused on cultivating seaweed and robotically positioning it depending on climate conditions and other factors. After the seaweed is grown and carbon is adequately collected, the plant is then sunk deeper than 1,500 meters into the ocean, ensuring up to 1,000 years of carbon storage. Using their platform, sensors, and satellite technology, they are able to track the progress of the seaweed and storage. They sell these as carbon offsets to many organizations and governments to help them meet their climate commitment goals. A great benefit of this is that it contributes to the deacidification of the ocean, cools it, and provides more habitat for marine life.

Living Carbon:
Also part of Y Combinator, Living Carbon, founded by Maddie Hall, is an innovative forest restoration company. They restore nature in areas that have been damaged by mining, fossil fuel extraction, and more. They are able to improve and restore these environmental threats quickly. The trees they plant are modified to store more carbon, grow faster, resist root rot, and drought tolerance.

Patch:
Headquartered in San Francisco, Patch makes it easier for companies to meet climate goals by purchasing climate credits with the simple click of a button. Companies can choose from a number of climate-friendly projects to support, ranging from reforestation in Uganda to ocean kelp farming to capture carbon in our waters. Companies interested in such credits can scroll through all available projects and access reviews by third parties and extensive data to make the best-informed decision on what cause they’d like to support. 

HolyGrain:
Also based in San Francisco and supported by Kyle Vogt (founder of Cruise) and Patrick Collison (co-founder at Stripe), HolyGrain is another company in Y Combinator. Their aim is to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere permanently. A modular scrubber is used (a machine that collects carbon), after which the collected carbon is mineralized, monitored, and stored.

Watershed:
Started in San Francisco, Watershed aims to close the loop on the complexities of understanding a company’s carbon emissions by creating a system that provides companies with an accurate data-driven audit of their sustainability measures. This will help companies understand their accurate climate-related data and lead to decarbonization. They are backed by many significant companies, including the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

There are concerns about the environmental impact that new technologies may have on the planet as new technology and energy use are on a rapid rise, but it is evident that many industry players are prioritizing the well-being of our planet, which is something that was not prevalent in the past. Investments in such innovation will streamline and allow for faster environmental action and prioritization. This presents a clear pathway to a future that can consist of sustainable innovation, job creation, and the preservation of our planet—all while being financially and morally beneficial to all parties involved. The well-being of our planet is finally being viewed to be as valuable as the goal of making a profit for many of these organizations. In addition, the synergy between the business world and the environment has created a market that will allow everyone on the planet to be a sustainable stakeholder and provide individuals and companies with the luxury of choice.