Liquidonate is a digital platform which helps retailers sustainably manage excess inventory and facilitates donations of unsold products to nonprofits, schools, or upcyclers. The platform offers retailers matching algorithms based on inventory and customer return information, a personalized dashboard and API integration into their existing systems, tax reciept automation, negotiated shipping rates, as well as a dedicated customer support agent. By facilitating the donation of excess inventory, Liquidonate’s approach benefits both retailers, who save on disposal costs and reduce environmental harms, and non-profit recipients, who gain access to valuable resources for their programs and beneficiaries.
- charities
- circular economy
- donations
- inventory management
- liquidation
- nonprofits
Pol.is is an open source platform that facilitates group decision-making by allowing large numbers of people to share ideas and opinions on a topic. Polis' real-time system gathers the contributions of large groups, and then leverages advanced statistics and machine learning algorithms to analyze the collective input and surface points of consensus and where areas of dissent occur. Unlike some social media platforms, Pol.is aims to encourage constructive dialogue and bridge-building rather than amplify existing divides. Pol.is helps groups identify common ground and reach collaborative solutions in areas like policy development, market research, and community planning. As an open-source tool available to all, Polis is already adopted by various groups including governments, academics, independent media outlets, and everyday citizens. Anyone can access, modify, and contribute to the Pol.is code base, ensuring transparency and fostering continuous development.
- democracy
- digital platforms
- gift economy
- governance
- participatory decision-making
Reef Relief Sunscreen protects people's skin while also nourishing coral reefs. The company was inspired by the dangers of chemical sunscreen ingredients to coral health, as Oxybenzone, a chemical found in 80% of sunscreens, has been proven to have a lethal effect on sea-life and can kill coral and coral larvae in even very small doses. Reef Relief's sunscreen was developed in collaboration with cosmetic chemists and marine experts to create a unique formula, containing nutrients used by coral farmers to help coral thrive. It has undergone university testing and boasts increased coral growth with their formula, and has developed the Reef Protection Factor (RPF) as a new certification for the sunscreen market.
- bioremediation
- coral
- sunscreen
Sway is a cleantech startup scaling seaweed-based, rapidly compostable replacements for plastic, beginning with flexible packaging. Sway's patented products match the vital performance attributes of conventional plastics and are designed to plug into existing infrastructure, enabling scale and competitive pricing. Unlike plastic, Sway's materials are made from an abundant, regenerative resource and decompose into healthy soil after use.
- agricultural tech
- bioplastics
- bioremediation
- nature tech
- plastics
Solutions, the game, is a collaborative online and physical board game focused on addressing climate change. Faced by the threat of rising temperatures, teams must collaborate and work together to deploy unique and surprising climate solutions to avoid climate catastrophe. Game events are based on cutting-edge research developed by Project Drawdown, and focused on real life climate issues, providing fun and team building while learning all about the world's leading climate solutions. Solutions sells to organizations, community and political groups and supports educators in teaching skills associated with collaboration, strategy, and prioritization, while keeping it fun and informative.
- collaboration
- community
- digital platforms
- edtech
- education
- strategy
BackMarket’s digital marketplace for refurbished electronics helps coordinate stakeholders to close the loop on e-waste and open up access to reliable tech for all. The platform connects buyers and sellers of smartphones, laptops, TVs, wearables, gaming, e-mobility, and countless other devices from all the leading manufacturers. Promising “better than new,” it partners with certified refurbishers to repair electronics for resale, at a ~70% lower price than new. The digital platform helps coordinate discovery, customer service, payment, logistics, tracking, a 25+ point quality assurance verification of authenticity, functionality, security, data erasure, battery, testing, cleaning, and more; and manages partners to refurbish products. Refurbished devices reduce an average of ~90% raw material extraction, emissions, water use, and waste relative to new devices.
- circular economy
- digital platforms
- e-waste
- electronics
- mobile devices
- refurbishment
Newlight Technologies is a biotechnology company that captures greenhouse gases and transforms them into valuable products, specifically in foodware. Their technology uses microbes to convert methane and air into a bioplastic called AirCarbon. This plastic boasts similar performance to traditional plastics but has a net positive environmental impact. Newlight uses AirCarbon to create various consumer products, helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint with a sustainable alternative to traditional petrochemical-based materials.
- bioplastics
- bioremediation
- biotech
- circular economy
- computational biology & chemistry
- conservation agriculture
- nature tech
- plastics
LemonGRAFT is a peer-to-peer marketplace that connects homegrown food growers with people who want to buy it and hosts who steward its preparation and pick-up. The platform enables a local supply chain to make it easy for people to buy fresh, local food directly from the people who grow it. The platform helps decentralize the food supply, foster community connections, and increase local food sovereignty providing tools for growers to improve biodiversity and source nutrient-dense produce, seeds, compost, as well as source animal products from local certified producers.
- digital platforms
- food sovereignty
- food tech
- local
DepolarizingGPT is a political AI chatbot that gives three answers to every prompt: one from a left-wing perspective, one from a right-wing perspective, and a third answer from a depolarizing or "integrating" perspective. DepolarizingGPT was created by data scientist David Rozado and political philosopher Steve McIntosh. DepolarizingGPT's left-wing responses have been fine-tuned with content from left-leaning publications and writers, while its right-wing responses have been fine-tuned with content from publications and writers. The model's depolarizing responses have been fine-tuned with content from the Institute for Cultural Evolution think tank, from McIntosh's inclusive political philosophy. The model's depolarizing responses are designed to transcend centrism and reach a "higher ground" balance by exposing users to multiple views across the political spectrum.
- civic engagement
- decision-making
- politics
- sensemaking
NatureQuant delivers technology solutions to assess and promote exposure to nature and to combat nature deficit with proactive tech tools designed to improve overall wellbeing. NatureQuant achieves this mission via their two apps, NatureScore and NatureDose. NatureScore® measures the amount of natural elements that optimize your health within a one-km radius of your location. NatureDose® is a personalized nature prescription mobile app that monitors your aggregate time inside, outside, and exposed to nature. Through new tech tools, machine learning, and big-data, NatureQuant provides tools designed to fully leverage nature's impact.
- artificial intelligence
- data
- digital platforms
- nature tech
SunHydrogen is a clean energy company in the development stages of creating a new technology to produce clean hydrogen fuel using sunlight and water. SunHydrogen utilizes nanoparticles to mimic the process of photosynthesis, splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The process itself is powered by sunlight, making it a truly renewable energy source. Through this process, the company aims to create a highly efficient and cost-effective method for hydrogen production, which could significantly impact the emerging hydrogen economy, supplying clean fuel for vehicles, data centers, and countless other applications.
- biotech
- computational biology & chemistry
- energy storage optimization
Fairphone is an electronics manufacturer that produces smartphones and headphones, focusing on social and environmental improvments across the entire mobile device value chain: mining, design, manufacturer, and lifecycle. They are focused on circumventing the use of conflict minerals and mining practices by prioritizing ethical sourcing of materials and fair labor practices and using recycled materials wherever possible; on designing for modularity, circularity, longevity and easy repair; and on reducing electronic waste. They also prioritize transparency, openly sharing information about suppliers and working conditions, enabling new relationships between people and their products, and prioritizing user data controls.
- circular economy
- electronics
- mobile devices
- modularity
