New members applying for the climatetech incubator will be required to report on potential impact through Clean Energy Ventures’ open-access Simple Emissions Reduction Calculator (SERC)
BOSTON, December 19, 2023 — Clean Energy Ventures (CEV), a leading global venture capital firm funding early-stage climatetech innovations, today announced a partnership to offer access to the firm’s Simple Emissions Reduction Calculator (SERC) to Greentown Labs, the largest climatetech incubator in North America. As part of the Greentown Labs’ application process, new members will be required to report their CO2e emissions reduction potential as part of the incubator’s climate impact assessment.
Amid climatetech’s recognition as one of the fastest growing sectors today, there has been a glaring absence of standardized methodology to assess and screen each company’s claims to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. To close the gap, CEV developed SERC in 2021 to provide early-stage startups with an accessible tool and algorithm to quickly estimate their technology or business model’s emissions reduction potential. Awarded an honorable mention by Fast Company World Changing Ideas in 2022, SERC is now used as an essential screening tool by climatetech accelerators, incubators and investors across the globe, as well as by more than 1,000 companies that have leveraged the tool to assess their own climate impact.
“As climatetech investors, we are always eager to support the growth of an ecosystem of innovation and impact,” said CEV Managing Partner David Miller. “With the number of climatetech companies seeking investments today, startups that are able to estimate their innovation’s capacity to mitigate CO2e emissions truly stand out from the crowd and are more likely to secure investment. Through SERC, investors are able to gain critical insight to back the most impactful technologies with the potential to address climate change as quickly as possible over the next two decades.”
The largest incubator within the US climatetech ecosystem, Greentown Labs supports early-stage entrepreneurs, fosters collaboration with corporates, investors, government and other critical players while providing members access to labs and resources to innovate and scale. With incubators in both Boston and Houston, Greentown Labs has nurtured more than 525 innovative companies to date, with a 94 percent success rate for startups.
“As we continue our work to support the most innovative climatetech startups, we’re doubling down on how we quantify impact—both the impact Greentown Labs is having on the entrepreneurs we’re privileged to support, and the impact the startups themselves are having by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kevin Knobloch, CEO and President of Greentown Labs. “Having access to this timely tool that Clean Energy Ventures has created is elevating our recruitment efforts and helping us standardize how we quantify the projected impact of our member community.”
“Having this quantitative metric has enabled us to test our assumptions and understanding of the technologies we evaluate, adding a clear demarcation for high-impact applicants looking to enter our competitive membership program,” said Sam Crum, Senior Manager of Membership Growth at Greentown Labs. “We’re proud to incorporate this into our membership application process, and appreciate CEV for opening it up to the ecosystem.”
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About Clean Energy Ventures:
Clean Energy Ventures helps scale global climate solutions, transforming technical innovations into market-leading commercial success. As the only climatetech venture capital firm that requires portfolio companies to enable gigaton-scale emissions reduction, CEV backs early-stage technologies with the potential to mitigate 2.5 gigatons of CO2e by 2050. Trusted by global strategics since its founding in 2017, CEV’s climatetech entrepreneurial, investing and operating experience has been critical in helping companies scale technologies in hard-to-decarbonize industries. CEV funds companies across North America, Europe and Israel. For more information, visit cleanenergyventures.com.
About Greentown Labs
Greentown Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit catalyzing climate solutions through entrepreneurship, partnership, and collaboration. As the largest climatetech startup incubator in North America, Greentown Labs brings together startups, corporates, investors, policymakers, and many others with a focus on scaling climate technologies. Driven by the mission of providing startups the resources, knowledge, connections, and equipment they need to thrive, Greentown Labs offers lab space, shared office space, machine shops, electronics labs, tool shops, software and business resources, and a large network of corporate customers, investors, and more. With incubators in Somerville, Mass. and Houston, Texas, Greentown Labs is home to more than 200 startups and has supported more than 525 since the incubator’s founding in 2011. These startups have collectively created more than 24,000 jobs and raised more than $5.1 billion in funding. For more information, visit www.greentownlabs.com or follow Greentown on LinkedIn.
Media Contact for CEV
Mission Control Communications
Media Contact for Greentown Labs
Julia Travaglini, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications
