Minding partnerships - and minding politics
The 2023 cohort of entrepreneurs who participated in Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator, a program part of NWCIN
By Aina Abiodun
As Audre Lorde once said, revolution is not a one-time event. At VertueLab, we understand that the best climate innovations can come from those whose ideas are routinely discounted and sidelined. We are creating a region where low-income people and communities of color are driving climate solutions. Both partnerships and politics are key to our revolution.
Our local political climate is already fertile for climate innovation. Entrepreneurs in Washington and the Pacific Northwest are already seizing on federal programs and funding springing from the Inflation Reduction Act. Entrepreneurial ecosystems are taking shape, including a robust angel investment network in Seattle with a strong focus on sustainability-oriented enterprise. We also have the 2021 Climate Commitment Act in Washington, which is providing new opportunities.
Money helps a lot, yet we’ve come to realize that partnerships are one of the most strategic investments the region can make. Smart collaboration is a cornerstone of what VertueLab does and how we do it. We created a coalition called Northwest Cleantech Innovation Network (NWCIN) that includes university partners like the Clean Energy TestBeds at the University of Washington. Over three years, this facility has offered early-stage support for hardware-oriented entrepreneurs - no small feat in a region like the Puget Sound that’s the center of the software universe but is less known for hardware, especially for climate tech.
Through NWCIN and the Clean Tech Manufacturing Task Force, we’ve forged alliances with environmental advocates, labor unions, business, lawmakers, academia, public sector, and climate tech industry voices. Just this spring, we launched 45Camp, a climate tech startup program we developed in collaboration with Tabor 100 and Prosper Portland. It’s a first-of-its-kind climate tech accelerator that brings great ideas to life, welcoming in innovators from BIPOC and other underrepresented communities even if they have no prior climate tech experience.
Deep collaboration is how we can best support and accelerate climate startups in thriving vertical industries, with entrepreneurs focused on clean energy and the built environment, maritime and ocean technology, and food and agricultural innovation.
All the work we do as a builder of public-private paths to equitable decarbonization means we also work to support government initiatives including the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) in Washington, which holds polluters accountable and funds critical state programs that are transitioning us to a carbon-free economy. This year, we continue that work by supporting the “No on 2117” campaign, which would prevent the repeal of CCA and protect it from fossil fuel industry attacks. Programs funded by CCA are saving lives and advancing the health of our families and communities.
VertueLab’s ambition to be a global leader in equity-centered, place-based climate innovation and technology is only possible in community and partnership. Together, we are realizing nothing short of a revolution.
