Socialbnb is an online platform that allows people to book accommodations that support social and environmental projects around the world, and connect travelers with local communities in ways that directly support local economies and causes. Each overnight "Impact Stay" supports a social or ecological project and travelers can also book "Impact Trips," which are multi-day trips that combine socialbnb accommodations with activities. Socialbnb currently has 6 different types of projects: Nature conservation, animal welfare, education, health, equality or sports.
- digital platforms
- marketplaces
- rentals
- sharing economy
- travel
Celo is a decentralized platform designed to make cryptocurrency more accessible to the billions of people who are currently underbanked. By leveraging mobile phones and user-friendly technology, Celo's mission is to create a more inclusive financial system. Its focus on social impact and sustainability sets it apart from other cryptocurrency projects. Celo's native cryptocurrency, CEL, is used to power the platform and incentivize participation.
- blockchain
- data
- digital assets
- digital ledgers
- digital platforms
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
CivicAI explores how AI can enhance collective intelligence in relation to climate crisis mitigation and adaptation. CivicAI sees opportunities in several key areas, which have been illustrated in more detail through 3 distinct use cases. To address the climate crisis, CIVICAI works to increase the capacity for communities to organise and adapt to a new reality. This requires better tools and methods for mobilising large groups of people to take action, reducing associated costs, and advancing the value of collaboration.
- artificial intelligence
- cloud
- data
- digital assets
- edge computing
- social media / community
Olio a free app to reduce household and food waste by fostering a hyper-local sharing economy. People can list unwanted but usable items, including surplus food, as well as clothes, books, and furniture. Neighbors can browse listings and arrange free pickup, giving unwanted items a second life and saving it from landfills. This approach combats waste, promotes sustainability, and fosters a sense of community by encouraging people to share and connect with those around them. Because it diverts far more greenhouse gasses across the 49 countries it operates in than it produces, Olio is a carbon-negative company.
- circular economy
- digital platforms
- marketplaces
- reduced food waste
- sharing economy
- social media / community
Biohm is a research and development company working on broader applications of biotechnology that harmonize cultural and natural systems. Driven by the simple philosophy of allowing nature to lead innovation, Biohm's biotechnologies, which are patented in almost 60 countries, combine mycelium technology, organic refuse biocompounds, bioremediation and triagomy into high-performance materials, products and systems designed for local contextualization, social connection, and global scale.
- biopolymers
- biotech
- circular economy
- construction
- green chemistry
- material science
- open source
- plastics
The Indigenous Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Working Group is a program focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and Indigenous knowledge systems. The project’s interdisciplinary team of experts includes 37 co-investigators and collaborators who come from eight universities and 12 Indigenous community-based organizations in Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Most of the team members are Indigenous. They are motivated to expand the definition of intelligence by collaborating with Indigenous communities to integrate their knowledge systems with the AI research and development ecosystem to develop more integrated and practical approaches to building the next generation of A.I. systems.
- artificial intelligence
- indigenous peoples
- traditional ecological knowledge
Earth Species Project is a non-profit research lab and impact organization focused on using artificial intelligence to advance our understanding of animal communication, and ultimately to decode non-human languages. The organization is founded on the belief that understanding non-human languages will transform how we perceive the world and our relationship with the rest of nature. Their work involves developing machine learning models to interpret animal sounds and movements. While "decoding" communications are a long-term objective, the ESP supports other organizations along the way by supplementing animal and ecological research; supporting existing conservation efforts; and contributing to the fields of ethology, bioacoustics, and machine learning by making their research public.
- animals
- artificial intelligence
- bioacoustics
- conservation
- ethology
Matriark Foods is a social impact business that upcycles farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into healthy, low sodium vegetable products for schools, hospitals, food banks and other foodservices. Matriark works with farmers and aggregators to make use of the vegetables that would otherwise go to waste, to instead provide nutritious food for people and reduce the environmental harms of food waste. They are using technology to manage their supply chains, inventory, sustainability tracking, and data analysis to underpin auditability of Upcycle Certified products.
- certifications
- circular economy
- food waste
- foodtech
- supply chain traceability
Ecosia is a search engine that uses its profits to plant trees around the world. It functions similarly to other search engines, using Microsoft's Bing as a foundation, but distinguishes itself by allocating a significant portion of its ad revenue towards reforestation efforts. Users can support environmental initiatives simply by conducting web searches through Ecosia's platform.
- internet
- reforestation
- search
Loliware is the world’s first seaweed resin company providing products to replace single-use plastics. Loliware is a woman-owned firm partnering with experts in regenerative aquaculture from Maine to New Zealand to expand the ‘blue economy’ with its proprietary SEA Technology® resins. Made from compostable seaweed, Loliware’s Ocean Blue straws, utensils and other products are currently used by famous chefs, restaurant chains and eco-chic hotels. Their new category of materials are “Designed to Disappear”, offered to help advance our planet to a plastic-free, decarbonized future.
LoamBio is an agricultural tech company whose technology harnesses the power of microbes, specifically endophytic fungi, to create seed coatings which improve soil health and sequester carbon, which support greater crop yields, and potential income for farmers through carbon markets.. These coatings, applied during planting, boost the natural ability of plants to store carbon in the soil and promote their growth and resilience against environmental stressors like drought, disease, and high temperatures. Loam positions itself as a farmer-centric company offering programs like SecondCrop, which helps farmers earn additional income through carbon credits for the carbon sequestered in their soil, and CarbonBuilder, to enable farmers to integrate soil health analytics seamlessly with existing practices.
- agricultural tech
- bioremediation
- biotech
- computational biology & chemistry
- conservation agriculture
- nature tech
