Ann Grutman’s Post

👋Get to know the partners behind the HarvRESt project👋 Today we would like to introduce you to project partner Climate-KIC. EIT Climate-KIC is Europe’s leading climate innovation agency and community, using a systems approach to shape innovation to support cities, regions, countries and industries meet their climate ambitions. Together with partners across the globe, EIT Climate-KIC acts to bridge the gap between climate commitments and current reality by enabling decision-makers and investors to act. They find and implement solutions in integrated ways and mobilise finance. They build skills to accelerate learning and explore innovation, opening pathways to shift mindsets and behaviours. Through radical collaboration, EIT Climate-KIC orchestrates large-scale demonstrations that show what is possible when cycles of innovation and learning are deliberately designed to trigger exponential decarbonisation and build resilient communities. Learn more in the video below, where Laurène Lebelt, Project Manager at EIT Climate-KIC gives you a brief introduction to their organisation and their role in the project 👇 🔦For more information about the partners behind HarvRESt go to https://lnkd.in/dyptP7Er

< 🎤 Behind-the-scenes interview with Jason Jin>   We’re thrilled to share the story of one of our co-founders, Jason, and his passion that led to the creation of Go Green. 💚   👩🏻: Thanks for joining me today, Jason! What first inspired you to start Go Green? 👦🏻: Thanks for having me! My initial motivation was to give back a positive impact to our community. When I started meeting people in the DAP program, other co-founders(Stella, Yesong, Yelin) and I felt like we needed a way to connect beyond the surface level and support one another in navigating industry insights and cultural differences, like how to effectively present themselves in Canada. That’s how Go Green was born. 👩🏻: That is amazing to come up with the idea and make it come to life. What do you hope Go Green members gain from being part of this club? 👦🏻: I hope that Go Green gives our volunteers a chance to step up as leaders, engage deeply in our community, and understand the true impact of their contributions. 👩🏻: I’m sure everyone feels that inspiration! Let’s talk about the challenges. Have you faced any, and how did you handle them? 👦🏻: Oh, absolutely. One challenge I faced was managing a team with diverse personalities and opinions – it can be tricky at times! But I see it as an opportunity to learn. After activities, what I do is to ask for feedback from others and use what I learned to improve our next events. 👩🏻: Can you share your proudest achievement as the club’s founder? 👦🏻: The first thing that comes to mind is growing our followers to nearly 100 in such a short period of time! I think the booth event that we ran as a team played a huge role in that growth. Also, it is a lot of work behind the scenes—arranging activities, carrying equipment, and more—but it feels incredibly rewarding when I see our volunteers genuinely enjoying themselves and diving into the activities with enthusiasm. 👩🏻: Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Jason! #LeadershipJourney #GoGreenUBC #UBCDAP #EnvironmentalLeadership #UBCCommunity #StudentLeadership #TeamCulture

🇩🇪 Escaping budget day today at IMPACT FESTIVAL to host Impact Hustlers’ Climate Tech Happy Hour - bringing together 100+ climate tech founders from across Europe thanks to a lot of #serendipity. 💡 About Impact Festival: * 250+ investors ready to back sustainable solutions * Leading startups & SMEs showcasing green innovation * Corporate leaders committed to sustainability Impact Hustlers convenes founders at major events across the year and this time, there are 2 people to thank who have made tonight’s gathering of impact founders possible: ⭐️ Julian von Blücher from Talent Tree, a boutique recruitment advisory firm that specialises in the #climatetech and #impact space and who has been such a joy to work with. ⭐️ Rosa Schmidt - our Frankfurt nightlife navigator (who knew bars weren't keen on group bookings - even for world-changers? 😅) My agenda today 🇪🇺 Explore and feedback on Europe's sustainability and business resilience trends 💬 Lead a stakeholder engagement roundtable (2-3pm) where we'll tackle: - Adapting to the AI tunnel vision - Balancing tech solutions with behaviour change - Sharing success stories and honest lessons learned 🚀 Connecting with climate tech founders from The Built Environment | Clean Energy | AgriTech | Mobility | FinTech | Circular Economy and so much more... 🤔 #DiscombobulatedMe moment: I wouldn’t ordinarily come to Impact Festival given the distance. Then the irony of flying here (due to time/cost constraints) only to be delayed by Mother Nature's fog at Frankfurt. A good reminder that no matter what clever technologies we invent, we always depend on the physical world to operate in. I know very few people here but hoping to spot Karel J. Golta, 🦜 Laila Martins, Prof. Dr. Tobias Wollermann and Marc Buckley 🌍 from the CSO awards, Megan Thudium, who I met at ChangeNOW, and Brendan Spaun from Velvet Green Media from London, who connected me to Rosa Schmidt. The 🍒 on top? Meeting up with one of my best friends whom I met at university and who is also coming to IMPACT FESTIVAL. 🤩

Something about Blackbird's Sunrise festival just makes me want to elevate my contribution and skillsets as a founder and operator in the wider Australian tech and impact ecosystem. The talent in the rooms is exceptional, the ideas push the boundaries and the energy is infectious. Day 1 was a blast 🎉 🦅 Lisa Kate Miller CEO of Wedgetail gave a powerful speech detailing the ways in which our financial systems are broken most notably through it's current focus on extractive over regenerative practices. It was prescient and drove home the importance of the need to accelerate solutions that prioritise repairing our natural ecosystems. Getting to see some of the work Wedgetail is doing over in Tasmania to pioneer tracking different forms of wildlife so that we can better understand how to interact with our natural surroundings was phenomenal. To anyone in my network looking for an impact VC fund walking the walk as well as talking the talk, look no further than Wedgetail. 🎭 Hearing from Kirsha Kaechele was an absolute hoot. Her ferocity of spirit and wit in handling the court case levelled against her for starting a Ladies Lounge at Mona - Museum of Old and New Art pumped me up and emboldened me to start sticking it to some of those archaic power structures that rear their ugly heads that little bit more. 🐕 Joe Brumm gave a masterclass in storytelling by telling his story of how the international sensation and most streamed TV show in the world, Bluey came to be by sticking true to his vision. It was the tone-setter that showed us what we can achieve from Australia. His humbleness, humour and willingness to briefly suspend his 'Commonwealth approach' was the perfect model for what we as Australian's can bring to the world stage when we surround ourselves with the right people and are willing to push through those 'knife-edge' moments. 🚗 Will Davies gave a powerful speech demonstrating how far listening to customers and not taking no for an answer can really take you. I was inspired by his willingness to make it work even when the odds were stacked against him. The fact that Car Next Door was acquired by Uber showed the value he created for his customers on his way to becoming the third largest car sharing service in the world. We've got some serious talent here, none more so than the next generation of awesome founders that were in attendance today. It was great to see some familiar faces, the usual suspects and make some new friends. Bring on Day 2 and make sure to pull me aside to say hi if you see me!

Calling all #sportchangemakers! Are you or is someone in your network fostering youth agency? Elevating intergenerational collaboration? Connecting youth to their inner purpose? Ashoka's Together Towards Tomorrow Challenge is accepting applications for innovative solutions that are bringing together people of all ages to blend the wisdom of the past with the vitality of the present, for young people to forge new paths as lifelong agents of change. This includes innovations that are: 👉 Enabling youth leadership for social impact  👉 Promoting equitable intergenerational collaboration  👉 Fostering agency in young people Check it out, apply, and share with your network using the link here: #socialinnovation #youthleadership #sportchangemakers

20 is just a number and it could seem small or big. It doesn't explain clearly the amount of passion we put into our job every day. Today, approaching another couple of deadlines set for next week, with a super high level of stress I would like to take a moment and be grateful for this achievement. It will make hundreds of future rejections easier to accept... 😉 Moreover, thanks to Mateeka Innocent and Olivia Murungi, because without them it would not have been possible. #HorizonEurope #EUProject #Proposal Writing #Winning #Losing

Stepping Further into the World of Corporate Partnerships It’s been an exciting few month as I continue to grow into my role at Sustrans, and I wanted to share some thoughts and experiences as I learn the ropes of corporate sponsorship. Since completing the Brightspot training, I’ve been really focused on aligning Sustrans' mission with potential corporate partners' needs, and it's been eye-opening. It’s not just about what we want, but about finding that common ground where both sides benefit. Recently, I’ve had the chance to work on some potential partnerships that address shared challenges, like the lack of quality resources around the health benefits of active travel. When both sides come together to solve a problem like this, the impact can be incredible. One key lesson I’ve learned so far is that saying “yes” to everything isn’t always possible (even though, as someone new to corporate partnerships, I really want to!) In a new opportunity, I've got to manage expectations and negotiate a middle ground that works for both us and the partner. It reminded me that building a solid foundation is key—and once that’s in place, the partnership can grow over time. Looking ahead, I’m eager to keep learning. One of my goals is to build a bank of stories and case studies that showcase the real-world impact we’ve made when we’ve had the right funding and the right partners. Within the next year, I’d love to land my first deal to support our ecology work along the National Cycle Network, increasing biodiversity and fighting the impacts of climate change. A key takeaway I’d like to share is that listening is everything. Sustrans has a value of “Always Learning,” and I’ve been doing just that. When you truly understand a partner's needs and can show them how you’re the solution to their problem, everything just clicks. It’s a simple concept, but in reality, it takes time and a bit of digging to get there. After 9 years at Sustrans, I’m still learning, still excited, and still finding new ways to make a difference. Autumn has definitely arrived, but I’ve got plenty of conversations lined up and partnerships to explore. The journey has only just begun! #CorporatePartnerships #Sustainability #LearningJourney #AlwaysLearning #Sustrans The image is what AI thinks our NCN Biodiversity looks like. I like it!

One of my favourite things at IGL is bringing together people from across our partner organisations and watching the conversation develop and evolve. Always a bonus when this can be done at such a great location 😀 I've walked away with lots of new ideas that we can bring into our collective learning agenda to embed policy experimentation. But it's also not long to the next Partnership Steering Board Meeting when we have to prioritise those actions to be taken forward! One area I'll be digging into more falls within the exploratory stages of experimentation. In particular the internal systems that are and can be used to source, test and select new ideas.

🌟 Reflecting on an Inspiring Talk at Connected North: Building Digital Scotland 🌟 Today, I had the privilege of attending an incredibly informative talk on "Building Digital Scotland" at the Connected North event. The insights shared were eye-opening, and it got me thinking about the immense potential right here in our own backyard. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland: A Land of Talent and Innovation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 We're not just a picturesque landscape of rolling hills and historic castles. Scotland boasts a vibrant ecosystem of talent—from brilliant minds in tech to creative entrepreneurs. Our start-ups are pushing boundaries, disrupting industries, and making waves globally. But how can we harness this energy and turn it into something even greater? 🤝 The Power of Collaboration 🤝 I firmly believe that the answer lies in collaboration. When we pool our resources, share knowledge, and work together, magic happens. Whether it's fostering partnerships between academia and industry, supporting local initiatives, or creating networks that bridge gaps, collaboration is the key to unlocking Scotland's full potential. 🌐 From Local to Global Impact 🌐 Let's leverage what we have at home—the talent, the start-ups, the passion—and channel it towards meaningful impact. By collaborating across sectors, disciplines, and borders, we can build a Digital Scotland that not only thrives locally but also resonates globally. 🚀 Join the Conversation 🚀 I invite you all to join this conversation. Share your ideas, connect with fellow change-makers, and let's propel Scotland into a new era of digital excellence. Together, we can create a future where innovation knows no bounds. David W. Sime 👩🏼🚀 Lina Srebrova MSc Ahmed Mohamed Roger Hinkson

https://lnkd.in/e5FY8Sgw Great to read this report from PwC and SustainabilityWorks making it clear that support, enablement and investment for innovative, climate tech companies are imperative if the country’s ambitions of net zero by 2050 are to be achieved. This validates the core purpose of Bord na Móna’s #AccelerateGreen programme which has supported 42 Irish innovative STEM start-ups and SME’s since its inception at the end of 2021. I’m proud to be a part of this team and excited to meet the next cohorts joining the programme over the coming weeks to see how we can help them achieve deep impact. Specifically, we are interested in established, scaling, climate technology companies. They will ideally be high-growth SMEs who are pivoting to the climate change economy. Earlier stage, innovation-driven enterprises are interesting too, preferably in the technology, engineering or science space. More information and programme application forms can be found at www.accelerategreen.ie.