Claire Veuthey

Very excited to share my latest piece in Forbes - "Adaptation and resilience in corporate climate agendas" If any of the below resonates, esp. with those working on adaptation + resilience and/or corporate climate + sustainability - our team at Riffle Ventures would love to hear from you! Main idea - climate adaptation and resilience can be an innovation driver for companies and we need to accelerate this agenda. 🏭 Most discussions around corporations and their climate agendas focus on if, how, and how quickly, big businesses are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as decreasing their own negative externalities on the natural environment. 💰 However, in parallel climate change is creating growing financial, infrastructure, health and other risks that could disrupt large companies, some of which is already happening. While the tools and strategies for decarbonization are fairly well-covered, we are only scratching the surface when it comes to building resilience and adapting to a warming planet. 🈺 Of course, emissions and corporate sustainability targets need urgent attention and commitment, but in parallel we need to make sure companies writ large are adapting to and building resilience against climate risks - e.g. droughts, floods, fires, grid instability and weakening infrastructure - are all a growing reality on a warming planet. 🆘 Corporations, regardless of industry and geography will require support across the board in navigating climate change's most pressing threats. The risk of not doing so could have near-term, material impacts on protecting critical infrastructure as well as access to necessary products and services - food and medicine - and could also negatively impact human's themselves - heat stress, job loss, etc. 🤖 There is a growing technology solution set focusing on climate adaptation and resilience, and we need to bridge the gap between between these climate tech startups and the corporate sector. In turn, corporations can have an enormous impact in helping to scale climate innovations and bolster the surrounding ecosystem. Many thanks to Jackie Roberts for providing time and insight for the article, Dhruv Jesrani for being the design wizard and to Suma Reddy Connie Bowen Abrar Chaudhury Alhan Fakhr Laith Kawar Madeleine Futterman Emmanuelle Palikuca Omar Saif Andrew Chang Hope Petraro Tom K. Deepa Lounsbury for their guidance along the way while we did the research for this, and for Dahna Goldstein for being the connection to Jackie! #ClimateAction #SustainableBusiness #CorporateResponsibility #SustainabilityGoals #ClimateLeadership #CorporateSustainability #SustainableDevelopment #ClimateInnovation #ClimateChangeAdaptation #ResilienceStrategies #SustainableSolutions #ClimateResilience #BuildingResilience #ClimateChangeResponse #AdaptationStrategies

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"There's plenty of capital available in multiple flavors for Climate Tech Companies..." 🌍💸 Did you know that in 2023, 50 VC deals for climate tech companies exceeded $150 million, with nine of those surpassing $500 million? Venture capitalists are increasingly turning their focus toward startups to tackle the climate crisis, marking a significant shift in investment priorities. Despite the challenging environment for venture capital in 2023, with overall investment in climate tech falling by 14.5% to $41.1 billion, the commitment to climate solutions remains robust. Key trends and insights are shaping the evolving landscape of climate tech investment. Are you an early-stage Climate Tech founder looking to fundraise? Curious about the main drivers for the industry? ⬇ Dive into my latest Forbes article to learn more. Special thanks to Hannah Sieber & Arun Gupta for sharing your invaluable insights! https://lnkd.in/gNhe8jew #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #Forbes Artyc Skyven Technologies

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“Can the market do the right thing?” Wrong question. The question we need to be asking is, Can social activism do the right thing? Riffing off American filmmaker Adam MnKay, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, social activism today “cannot seem to get out of this cultural framework that we’re trapped in, that won’t allow us to take in the enormity of” the changes taking place in our changing times in the 21st Century. That framework is constraining social activism to seeing only private choice and public protest in Markets and against Government as theories of social change. Civil Society gets marginalized. Finance gets trivialized. Bill McKibben tells us “They have money. We have bodies. That’s the fight.” Here's an Inconvenient Truth for Bill: money buys bodies So the fight Bill wants us to fight is really : they have money to buy bodies; we don’t. That’s a fight we cannot win. What a terrifying place to be, for people who care about climate and habitat and equity and a good future. There is another way. We can get the money on side. It doesn’t have to be a fight. It can be an evolution. An evolution that begins with innovation in social activism. The innovation of fiduciary activism. This is public engagement in conversation within Civil Society, about Money. Not Capital Markets Money. Fiduciary Money.

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This is a good and important read on #FOAK projects and the ClimateTech Valley of Death, with good insight from some very sharp investors. One often overlooks aspect of this challenge is WHO will build these early commercial projects that are smaller and don't often appeal to top tier EPCs. Developing and building these projects will be a critical, often binary factor in the outcomes. https://lnkd.in/gbedmkmt

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I have yet to meet energy transition, net zero, and climate change people who understand math and science. 1. The works need 700 exajoules of non-carbon energy by 2050. Solar and wind cannot scale that high, nor would that much land be available. It will require all the nuclear that can be built, along with hydro. No one of your group seems to understand that number, how large a number of energy that is. Each exajoules represents either 174 million barrels of oil, or 34.12 million tons of coal. 2. I see no plan that provides non carbon energy to industrial, energy intensive processes, like making iron, steel, cement, and fertilizer, without which 4 billion people would not have enough food. All those processes are done with fossil fuels. Other than SMRs, I see no answer to provide energy for these industrial processes. 3. I don’t think you folks have an answer on how to convert 4 TW of coal plants, unless you plan on nuclear power. Nothing else has the scale, that does not need backup power. Green hydrogen is too expensive, by 5x. 4. Also, what will be the source of energy for 120,000 large ships, critical to international trade, that use diesel or heavy fuel oil? And what about the energy for jet airliners, 25,000 that need a new source of energy. 5. And what about 50 million diesel farm tractors that provide food? What about 100 million irrigation pumps? These are run by diesel. And what about large combines, harvesters. 6. Fossil fuels will still be needed for asphalt, forblubricants,and backup power to solar and wind. And you will need 150 million tons or copper, the equivalent of 7 years of mining. 7. I see no solutions to these questions, as if a positive attitude is enough. Sorry, it is not. I don’t think clean energy, net zero, nor climate activists, have any real solutions to these big problems.

INVESTING IN CLIMATE TECH IS SOOO SIMPLE: PART I After a spectacular closing session to #ClimateWeekSF at 9Zero, I thought I'd share a few morsels from our sustainable VC session (organized by Niki Gastinel & moderated by Ron Erd w/ fellow panelists Joshua Posamentier Nare Janvelyan, PhD & Shaun Chaudhuri). Top 3 DD questions I seek to answer: I         Would I work for this person? I've been a founder 5x (3 startups, 2 VC funds) & always seeking to grow. When I'm being pitched by a founder, I imagine what it would be like to work for them, because, while team is important, the CEO is everything. The CEOs I back have: ·     Command of the Market: They are intimate with & drive discourse on distro channels, market players/dynamics, the competitive landscape & where the ball is going. All about founder-market fit! ·     Evangelical Sales Ability: They’re always selling, intelligently, whether it’s for recruiting, fund-raising, distribution... ·     EQ IQ: I back intelligent founders but I want that paired with street savvy & deep understanding of what to prioritize & when, not just how to do it. I look for emotional intelligence & how they read the room & adjust comms. I look for CEOs that have done the hard work on their own personal growth & have the right lens to make big decisions. ·     Battle-tested: I look for founders that are resilient & risk-tolerant. They have been tested in some aspect of their lives: personal challenges (athletics, hardship, military) and/or professional challenges. II        Is there a Big Accessible Market (BAM)? ·     Big TAM: I invest in companies seeking unicorn performance (financial & impact). Matters less where the TAM is today but more importantly where it's going. ·     Clear and Present Sales Channel: I want to see a beefy sales channel(s) with a clear decision maker; tangible, massive pain for this painkiller solution (not a vitamin); and an accretive path for the customer. Know who your actual buyer is. Hint: It’s not the sustainability exec! ·     Weighted Average Pipeline: I want to see a well thought out, organized sales pipeline that is dynamically linked to your financial forecasts & produces a justifiable exciting ARR forecast. ·     Product Market Fit: Because we do seed, we only see the beginnings of traction & sometimes focusing too much on fit can lead to a false negative. This is the time for risk-taking & iteration so you can learn. It’s more about DDing the product as an extension of how the team thinks & executes. III      Is There Big Accessible Impact? ·     Paul Hawken: We have Paul & he is unabashed about rooting out pretenders when it comes to impact. If he doesn’t buy your impact, we won’t invest. It’s that simple. ·     Qualitative: Because we are software first & seed stage investors, we don’t do hard core quant on your impact. We do our best to gauge the potential decarbonization impact of your company at scale. You know it when you see it. What questions do you ask?

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As the current co-GP of Juniper, the Climate Biotech Fund, I’ve spent the last week trying to wrap my mind around what Trump 2.0 means for climate tech. I wrote a newsletter with my thoughts. I’ve written a summary of that letter below, and if you’d like to read the full version, you can find that and subscribe to our newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eSrHFP-3 Big picture, Trump's return to the White House isn't the end for climate tech by any means. Governmental support for some climate initiatives may shrink, but support for others may actually grow. And climate tech is poised to continue to grow regardless of governmental support. I won’t pretend that Trump’s next term will be anything but a setback for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the short term. However, it’s important to remember that bad for climate change policy does not directly equate to bad for climate tech entrepreneurs. Say you have a sustainable aviation fuel company that's able to make fuel 10x cheaper than any of its competitors. This business is using bio-manufacturing and is 100x more energy-efficient and less pollutive than anyone else in the space. This business is eager to build production-scale plants across the United States. Both the Biden administration and the Trump administration want to support this business; they just use different language to describe why they would like to do so. In the case of our hypothetical business above, the Biden administration wants to support this business because it's climate-friendly and sustainable, and the Trump administration wants to support this business because it's onshoring supply chains capacity and competing with China. The means of support might also be different – whereas Biden may support this business through a DoE loan (like the one Tesla received in 2010), the Trump administration might be more likely to use a DoD grant and advance purchase order. In Juniper’s focus area, bio-manufacturing, the first Trump Administration was especially supportive. They promoted initiatives which aimed to boost domestic bio-manufacturing. As such, many climate biotech companies are in particular very likely to receive different types of government support.  Ultimately, the best climate tech companies are those that have figured out how to make the things we need in a way that is not only more sustainable, but more affordable than the legacy alternatives they replace. These companies will continue to get funded regardless of who is in office because they are great businesses. We may see companies label themselves more as ‘deep tech’ or ‘new industrials’ rather than ‘climate tech’ but make no mistake, the way we make everything is being reformed and made not only more efficient but also more sustainable, regardless of what we call it.

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The Climate Venture Capital Story Has A Major Hole Right Now Where are the exits for climate VCs and growth stage investors? Are they setting themselves up for them the right way? My latest in Forbes #privateequity #infrastructure #climateinvesting

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🌍💡 Embracing Interoperability: The Evolution of Carbon Markets 💡🌍 The landscape of carbon markets is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards fungibility and interoperability. What does this mean? We (at the SoHo Global Climate Fund) spoke with leading climate fund manager, Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners, to shed light on this important trend in the carbon markets. It's about creating seamless connections between compliance and voluntary markets, allowing for the exchange and recognition of carbon credits across borders and sectors. This trend marks a pivotal moment in our collective efforts towards combating climate change. By enabling carbon credits to be fungible and interoperable, we're fostering a more efficient and scalable approach to carbon pricing and emissions reduction strategies. Companies and organizations now have greater flexibility to participate in markets that align with their goals. #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #Fungibility #Interoperability #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalImpact

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We are hosting a small gathering to drive more capital into climate on Nov 14th at 4PM in NYC: "Leveraging DAFs for Climate Impact" Confirmed guests: RMI, Acumen, Activate, Elemental Impact, Neta's Foundation, Social Finance, Toniic and more with my co-hosts Liz Walsh and Rhett Godfrey. Please send me a private message for the link to the event if you are interested in the space and can benefit/contribute, thanks :) ***** Harnessing the Power of DAFs: A Guide to Driving Climate Change Solutions ​Discover how Donor-Advised Funds can make a tangible difference in the fight against climate change. ​Join us to explore the untapped potential of Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) in addressing the urgent climate crisis. ​Learn how to: ​Identify climate-focused nonprofits: Discover organizations making a significant impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation. ​Allocate your DAF funds strategically: Maximize your contribution to climate solutions through targeted giving. ​Engage with experts: Connect with leading climate scientists, philanthropists, and nonprofit leaders for valuable insights. ​Foster community impact: Explore collaborative opportunities to amplify your climate change efforts. Remarkable Ventures Climate

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As climate startups continue to grow and scale, understanding the cost of borrowing is crucial for making informed financial decisions.  We’ve talked with a lot of founders struggle with this, so we figured we’d share what we’re seeing: What are typical interest rates for climate businesses? - Venture Debt: APRs typically range from 9% to 15%+ (given a Prime rate of 8%), with banks like Silicon Valley Bank landing at the bottom of this range.  Venture Debt is generally senior secured, and also comes with warrants and covenants. - Bank Debt: APRs can vary widely, but you might expect rates between 8% and 14% for senior secured, personally-guaranteed loans to cash-flowing businesses. - SBA Loans: APRs vary by transaction size, typically around 11% to 14% (given a Prime rate of 8%).  These are generally senior secured and personally guaranteed. - Alternative Lenders: These lenders often offer faster approval times and less stringent requirements, but they typically charge higher interest rates. For example, OnDeck currently offers APRs as high as 27%. - Enduring Planet: for companies with government receivables, EP offers advances at 15-17.5% APR with limited collateral, no personal guarantees, no dilution, and no complex covenants. Common loan terms and their impact on pricing: - Collateral: This is an asset that a lender can seize if a borrower defaults on a loan; secured loans have collateral. The more valuable the collateral, the lower the interest rate.  For reference, most commercial banks will require an all-assets lien on the business to lend. - Personal guarantees: These are promises by business owners to repay a loan personally if the business defaults. Personal guarantees can often lead to lower interest rates but put the founders at risk if things go wrong. - Loan term: The length of time over which a loan must be repaid. Longer terms generally result in higher interest rates. - Repayment schedule- The frequency of repayment will impact the cost of capital, with some lenders requiring monthly, weekly, or even daily repayment terms, while others tie repayment to some future outcome (a receivable, a fundraise, etc). How do these factors impact pricing? A combination of these factors will influence the overall cost of borrowing. For example, a well-established climate business with strong financials and substantial collateral will be able to secure a loan with a much lower interest rate than a startup in their first few months of operations. Are you seeing anything different in the market?  Please share your thoughts below!

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Last week was the "why", this week is the "what" - what data can be helpful in building FOAK projects smarter & more efficiently. This includes: ✅Modularity score ✅Mean cost overruns of comparable projects ✅Estimate size of project ✅Cost of production ...etc. The table in the article is just a sample of what we could use...thinking through what more metrics might be helpful. And again, looking for collaborators / partners in this endeavor. Please reach out if you're interested in contributing! Caleb Cunningham Christian Okoye #FOAK #Scalinginfra #infradata #newinfra

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“If you’re not making money, you’re not having impact” ArcTern Ventures's recent $335 million fund raises an interesting question: can climate solutions be both impactful and financially successful? Their answer is a resounding yes. ArcTern understands urgency. They're backing startups that leverage proven technologies in innovative ways to slash emissions quickly. This strategy stands out from approaches that rely on theoretical, long-term solutions. Their commitment is clear. They're eyeing sectors like decarbonized mobility, recognizing the potential for electric vehicles to follow Norway's explosive EV adoption trajectory. Sure, there will be debates – is hydrogen the next big thing, or a pipe dream? But ArcTern's success with previous funds speaks volumes. They're a global team with a proven track record, and their growing investment power positions them to be a major force for good. By backing businesses that are good for the planet and good for the bottom line, ArcTern is paving a profitable path to a sustainable future. This is the kind of climate action we need to see more of! #climatetech #sustainability #innovation #electrification https://lnkd.in/eUwF9ZMJ

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DestinE is out! This is significant in itself, but also on a Meta Level: The AI Genie is out of the bottle, and I strongly believe there is no technical solition (anymore) to contain its dangers. The answer is governance, and Purpose! As every technology, AI is a tool, and its risks and benefits depend on what it is used for. Much as a blade can be a sword or a scalpel, AI has great risks and even greater opportunity to benefit humanity and the planet. What we use it for thus depends on our purpose: money, power, or public good? In that light, DestinE can be seen as a step towards a use of AI for the public good, beyond the wet dreams of Plutocrats and Autocrats alike, one that benefits humanity and the Planet, and is subject to some sort of collective democratic governance. Onwards!!

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Stand.earth and 80 leading NGOs urge Science Based Targets initiative to keep the science in SBTi and not sell out to companies looking to short cut reducing their climate pollution. SBTi has been a reputable org helping set real targets so one can only hope this disaster by the CEO (who is now leaving by the end of July) and the SBTi Board will be averted and the SBTi reputation rehabilitated. What is this all about? In the most simple terms here is what SBTi proposed: Let's say you are a fashion brand. You have structured your business so other companies actually make your products in Asia (thus this pollution is Scope 3). But the pollution created is your responsibility and you must work to reduce it with your manufacturers. This is really important bc, for example, many fashion brands have 95-99% of the pollution they create in Scope 3! OR..... under the new SBTi proposal, you could just buy cheap offsets and while they do little to nothing to actually reduce climate pollution, you can now claim you are net zero. Hmmm - that's bad enough. But let's think about how this could be gamed out. What if Amazon, rather than build its own server farms, structures its business so those server farms are run by contractors so Amazon doesn't "own" them. Magically this is now Scope 3 pollution! And it could just be offset cheaply and easily rather than having to run that server farm on renewables in order to be climate neutral. This is a climate crisis - real action, not gaming the system, is what is required. https://lnkd.in/gZKkwhtw

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