Greta Thunburg being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year (and pipping Donald Trump) capped a remarkable year. Thanks to Greta and a series of worldwide protests at long last there seems to be acceptance of the dramatic action needed to get to net zero emissions. However, while Greta and Extinction Rebellion would see business as the enemy, it is actually through business that we have the best chance of developing the solutions to solve the crisis.

Enlightened self-interest

Businesses and investors have the ideas, power and motivation to develop new profit-driven enterprises and business models driven by sustainability. You could call it enlightened self-interest. After all if climate change isn’t tackled companies cannot viably function in the future. We are now beginning to see the repercussions with floods, hurricanes, fires and polluted seas, with the costs for businesses starting to mount. They will also be impacted by tougher environmental legislation coming down the pipeline, necessitating action now to preempt changes.

Reframing what business means

New business models will have to value slower, steady growth and also a better understanding and appreciation of the trusted relationships with stakeholders who all need to work together. This includes the supply chain, employees, customers and the ultimate stakeholder – the environment.

So rather than demonising business, we need to take them on the journey with us to get to that sustainable future. This includes industries like mining that may have a questionable environmental record, but will absolutely be needed in the future. If we are to replace petrol cars with electric cars, lithium will need to be mined on an industrial scale to meet demand.

Each one of us has the power to affect change

And it’s not just industries but individuals who have power. While the ability of individuals to affect change was questioned by Naomi Klein recently in ‘On Fire, The Burning Case for a Green New Deal’ she can’t have been thinking about investors. After all they provide the funding for startups, who are the lifeblood of any economy. At Angel Investment Network we saw investor searches rocket for impact-related terms up to an average of 24.9% from 2017. Profit at all costs is being replaced by profit with purpose.

Enabling the growth of profit-with-purpose businesses

To cater for this rising tide of demand we launched and ethical investment platform, SeedTribe, we support start-ups who integrate at least one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development goals into their business model. Brilliant businesses that have won funding include:

– Teysha Technologies who have created a patented, renewable, fully biodegradable plastic substitute, using waste from landfill to creating polymers for hundreds of different applications.

– Renovare Fuels is a company that designs, manufactures and markets a new technology for converting biogas into liquid fuel.

– Or CCell who are a cleantech company that grows coral reefs using energy from the waves to form rock from seawater minerals.

These startups have big dreams and the power to create transformative new industries. Let’s avoid fatalism and work with businesses to build our sustainable future.

By Olivia Sibony

About Olivia

Liv is an award-winning entrepreneur ethical investment champion who left a career at Goldman Sachs to launch her foodtech startup, GrubClub, which she sold to Eatwith in 2017. She joined Angel Investment Network to launch and grow SeedTribe, a spinoff platform focused specifically on connecting “impactful” businesses with investors and the support they need.

She is also a Board member of UCL’s Fast Forward 2030, which aims to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to launch businesses that address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She was recently named one of the UK’s top 10 Women Entrepreneurs. The accolade came from Business Game Changer Magazine

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