Startup Series: Watershed

Watershed is a leading provider of carbon accounting software. They help large companies such as Walmart, Airbnb, Sweet Green, BlackRock, and many others measure, report, and reduce their emissions. They announced a $70 million series B financing on a $1 billion valuation co-led by Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins in February 2022. And Steve joined Watershed shortly after that in July 2022.

Steve spent the last decade as a professor in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California Irvine. At Watershed, he works to help close the gap between science and business, ensuring that the pathways that Watershed offers to its customers are scientifically viable. He's also a contributor to the Energy Systems chapter of the most recent IPCC report and the lead author of the National Climate Assessment mitigation chapter.

In this episode, Steve and Cody dive into his background, why he jumped into a startup from academia, what Watershed is and does, an overview of carbon accounting, the decisions Steve sees companies make around decarbonization priorities, and the advice he has for startups hiring their first climate scientist and vice versa.

In this episode, we cover:

[2:18] Steve's climate journey from law to science and climate
[3:57] What makes the Rocky Mountains particularly unique (Steve's Ph.D. focus)
[5:28] Steve's decision to transition to work on climate
[7:13] His primary research focus at the University of California Irvine: international trade and its effects on emissions
[10:22] Steve's transition to the private sector at Watershed
[13:19] Challenging areas for decarbonization
[15:10] The National Climate Assessment and Steve's work on it
[17:28] An overview of Watershed and its mission
[19:40] Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
[21:47] Reporting standards and requirements for company disclosures
[24:32] Watershed's acquisition of Vital Metrics
[26:02] The data challenge of Scope 3 emissions
[27:50] Creating roadmaps for how companies can reduce emissions over time
[29:17] The lowest-hanging fruit of direct decarbonization
[31:56] Advice for companies considering emissions reductions and some examples including Sweet Green, Imperfect Foods, etc.
[36:26] How data usage factors into a company's footprint
[40:49] Opportunities for scientists to get involved in climate tech and solutions

Get connected:
Cody Simms Twitter / LinkedIn
Dr. Steve Davis Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on June 26, 2023 (published on July 13, 2023)

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.

Connect with MCJ:

*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant