Episode 91: Peter Hirsch - Head of Sustainability at 2150 - Investing in Tech to Remove 10M+ Tons of CO2 in 10 Years

EU-Startups Podcast

In this episode, we catch up with Peter Hirsch, Head of Sustainability at 2150. 2150 is a London-based venture capital firm investing in technology companies that seek to sustainably reimagine and reshape cities and the industries that power them. 2150’s mission to deploy ‘Constructive Capital’ is centered on the conviction that sustainability provides both superior returns and meaningful impact in the face of today’s challenges. To achieve this mission, they embed impact considerations across all aspects of their business from investment evaluation, to company and founder support, to investor engagement and our platform, and in their day-to-day operations. They developed the 2150 Impact Framework to help evaluate the impacts and sustainability of their investments, and to inform their decision making. They also publish an annual Impact Report, which catalogues and benchmarks the fund’s and our portfolio companies’ impacts and contributions to solving most pressing sustainability challenges. Peter and Marcin discuss the implementation of a carbon tax, the balance between immediate impact and long-term innovations, the challenges and opportunities within urban environments, and the importance of resilience in the face of climate change. Peter emphasizes the need for sustainable investments and the role of cities in driving innovation, while also addressing the risks of greenwashing and the significance of measuring Scope 3 Emissions and much more. Takeaways 1.The EU must foster sustainable innovation to remain competitive. 2.From 2022 onwards, 2150 has been among the first venture capital funds to self-impose a carbon tax of €100 per tonne across Scopes 1-3 - compared to most VCs who heavily discount Scope 3 Emissions. 3.2150’s unique investment approach: balance between both decarbonizing solutions for today’s stubborn, dirty industries and tomorrow’s moonshot tech. 4.2150 estimate the projected impact of their portfolio every year - to ten years ahead. 5.From 14 total investments, 2150 reduce or remove 481,500 tonnes of carbon per year, which will total a projected 38.9m tonnes by 2030. EU-Startups Podcast is brought to you by Vanta. Compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, with Vanta it can be super simple. Trusted by over 7,000 companies, Vanta automates the pricey, time-consuming process of prepping for ISO 27001,SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and more. Learn more here: http://vanta.com/eustartups