The NatureBacked Podcast

Garden for Wildlife is an e-commerce business that simplifies the process of learning about and purchasing native plants for customers' yards.Founder Shubber Ali shares his personal journey from a career in management consulting to becoming passionate about gardening and the environment after reading a book called "Nature's Best Hope." This book highlighted the issue of native plants being replaced by invasive species, leading to a decline in pollinators and birds. Shubber's mission with Garden for Wildlife is to educate people and make native plants accessible, aiming to restore natural habitats and support wildlife.Shubber emphasizes the importance of native plants and compares the growing interest in them to the rise of organic and non-dairy products in mainstream stores. He encourages people to start small in their own yards to see the positive impact on local wildlife.Shubber Ali highlights the benefits of exposure to nature for mental and physical health, referencing the book "The Nature Fix" and the concept of forest bathing. Shubber also addresses the critical role of insects, particularly pollinators like bees, in our environment and food production, emphasizing the alarming decline of native bee species. Garden for Wildlife, his company, aims to address these issues by making native plants accessible, creating habitats, and educating the public. They've expanded to 41 states and are working on localizing plant production to reduce carbon footprint and support local growers.Shubber's passion for the environment is evident as he discusses the interconnectedness of various environmental issues and the simple, actionable steps individuals can take to make a difference.We discussed the business and environmental strategies of Garden for Wildlife. Shubber Ali emphasizes the importance of applying business acumen to environmental issues and describes the company's innovative crowdfunding campaign, which allows customers to become investors.The campaign also encourages the distribution of native plants through gift cards, aiming to increase biodiversity and support wildlife.Additionally, Shubber outlines the company's new platform for not-for-profits, which helps them raise funds through an affiliate program. Garden for Wildlife is expanding its reach through partnerships with retail chains and aims to sign up growers on the West Coast to cover all 48 states. The overarching goal is to promote the planting of native plants globally, starting with a focus on the U.S. and Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gregory Dewerpe, the founder of A/O, a venture capital firm, talks about his company's focus on "positively transforming" the built world, which includes real estate and construction.A/O, launched in 2020, is the largest VC firm in Europe and globally in this sector. The company invests in various solutions, including satellite companies and AI, to address the industry's challenges, such as its significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.Dewerpe emphasized the urgency of sustainable transformation in real estate and the current market conditions that create opportunities for innovation and change."40% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from real estate. So when you compare that to cars, everyone's so excited about electric cars, cars are high single-digit emissions. So when you think about aviation, it's 2%. So the order of magnitude is so staggering that it has to be a wake-up call for people," Dewerpe said."Okay, we're running out of time. Supposedly, by 2030, we'll need to be in a much better place than we are today. Where are we going to spend our time and our money?"However, he noticed that the climate sector has become overheated lately, as many investors have raised climate funds over the last few years and startups have been unable to keep up with the investors."There's too much money for the amount of bankable opportunities right now," he said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Concrete is one of the most widely used and important materials in the world. It is essential for building infrastructure, improving human development, and providing shelter. However, it also has a huge environmental impact, as it accounts for about 8% of the global CO2 emissions due to the use of cement, its main ingredient.But what if there was a way to make concrete more sustainable and profitable at the same time?What if we could use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize the design of concrete mixtures, reduce the amount of cement, and lower the cost and the carbon footprint of concrete production?That is exactly what Concrete.ai, a company founded by Alex Hall, is doing.We had a thorough deepdive into the vision, the concrete manufacturing technologies, and the challenges of transforming the concrete industry with AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With international actions on halting climate change showing no signs of progress, the mission to save the planet and the environment has been left to startups, said Jana Budkovskaja, the head of Beamline Accelerator."That's why I'm here — because I truly believe that these are the only ones who can save, only startups. All the, in a good way, crazy guys who don't believe that something is impossible. They have passion. They have ideas. These are the scientists, these crazy scientists, the ones who argue with obvious things, the ones who argue with corporations who say, but we have done like this," Budkovskaja said in the episode.Beamline is a Tallinn-headquartered accelerator working with pre-seed and seed-stage cleantech startups across Europe.We covered a wide range of topics ranging from pandas and climate change to greenwashing. What is cleantech? How does it differ from greentech? Beamline invests in teams and provides them with a 3-6 month program and an alumni club. Beamline's current batch is focused on deep tech and material science and uses non-equity money from Estonia's Ministry of Climate. Jana shared her personal journey into the cleantech sector, starting from her love for nature and animals as a child. In Kiikla, Mäetaguse abandoned mines are used as a renewable energy source for heating a village. Beamline aims to be a bridge between the startups and the policymakers, governance, and corporates, who have a high level of inertia and resistance to change. The future challenges with growing the fund, accelerator and the alumni club of Beamline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leo Treadwell, a visionary who has developed an organic intelligence language model, shares his story, his insights, and his tips on how to use AI and programming language to heal yourself and the world.Treadwell is the founder of the Organic Intelligence Language Model, a system that uses artificial intelligence and natural language to understand and reprogram the human mind. He describes how used this system to heal himself from a life-threatening illness and to create a successful business and a happy family.In this episode, we cover topics such as:• How the human mind works like a computer program, with pre-cognitive commitments and emotional responses encoded in syntax.• How to use numbers for creativity and problem-solving, by focusing on what you want to create or solve, asking the right questions, making agreements, and taking action.• How to be aware of the manipulation of thoughts and beliefs, and how to reclaim your sovereignty and freedom.• How to use language to program your thoughts and emotions, and how to rewrite your life story using human nature and computer language.• How to act on climate change and other global issues, by bypassing the limbic system and operating from choice, pleasure, and potential.• How to balance your masculine and feminine energies in the digital age, and how to connect with the natural law and values that govern the universe.• How to discover the hidden connections and patterns that exist in nature, mathematics, and philosophy, and how they relate to your perception and reality.If you want to learn more about Leo Treadwell and his organic intelligence language model, visit his website or follow him on social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The year 2024 looks promising for both, startups and investors, says investor Helery Pops from Practica Capital, a pan-Baltic investment firm which has backed several green tech startups in the region. "It's going to need a lot of work, it's going to need a lot of effort because money isn't that easy to come by at the moment, investors are doing much more due diligence: it might take up to six months or a year to raise a round. But if all the chips fall into places, then you have less competition," says investor Helery Pops.Practica Capital launched a new 80-million-euro fund in January 2024.Helery shares her insights on the startup landscape in the Baltics, her passion for nature, and some of the challenges and opportunities for green tech investors and founders in 2024. You'll learn about topics such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, circular economy, and more. You'll also hear about some of the successful and promising green tech startups in Practica's portfolio, such as PVcase, a grading software for wind turbines, and Heavy Finance, a platform that helps farmers switch to no-till farming with zero-interest loans. Whether you're a green tech enthusiast, a startup founder, or a curious listener, this episode will inspire you with fresh insights and practical tips on how to make a positive impact with green tech. Don't forget to subscribe to NatureBacked and leave us a review. You can also follow us on social media and visit our website for more content and resources. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for the next episode of NatureBacked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kenny Kaluiji, a seasoned professional in carbon markets, talks about fixing carbon markets, the emerging market for biodiversity credits, the trust challenge of carbon markets, and how local communities should benefit credit markets. He shares insights from his work in the carbon space and discusses the unfair distribution of funds in carbon projects, the link between biodiversity and carbon markets, and the lessons that can be learned from the carbon market for the emerging biodiversity market. Kenny also explores the development of carbon markets and pricing, trading carbon credits, and his goals for 2024.

Caroline Zaoui, co-founder of Novobiom, discusses how the startup is using fungi to clean contaminated soils and raise funding for a fungal fermentation pilot. They aim to turn waste into high value applications and provide solutions for the end of waste in the textile and cosmetic industries. Novobiom's main product is a soil mycoremediation solution that is more ecological, efficient, and economical than conventional treatments. They are focused on developing bio-inspired restorative innovations to solve environmental challenges.

Jens Sørensen, winner of the Future is Fungi Research Award and researcher at Aalborg University, discusses creating a biosynthesized battery from fungi pigments for renewable energy storage. The podcast explores scaling up battery production, collaborative efforts, and overcoming challenges in scaling up fungal batteries.

Near 8,000 companies globally have certified themselves as B Corporations, where B stands for "benefit for all", with even major corporations and publicly listed entities putting all stakeholders on par with investors."It's still very much an SME-led movement. However, I think more or less since 2015, we've seen a lot of momentum and interest in large companies and multinationals joining the movement," Sarah Garcia, head of market development at B Lab Europe, said in the NatureBacked podcast."The movement started back in 2006 when our founders were becoming increasingly disillusioned by seeing purpose-driven companies change drastically after they either changed ownership after they went public or the direction of the CEO or the priorities of the CEO change," she said.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices