The NatureBacked Podcast

In a wide-ranging discussion with Simona Simulyte on the sidelines of the Impact Day festival in Tallinn we talked about: How she took over her father's car component business at the age of 12 and launched environmentally friendly springs for breaks Early days of startup entrepreneurship in Lithuania, emphasizing the importance of diversity and impact How she launched the ChangemakersON network, a community for tech for good products, by leveraging traditional business experience and partnerships Her work in startups and sustainability highlights the importance of doing things for the right reasons rather than just for appearance or marketing ESG reporting helps expose greenwashing by measuring and documenting criteria, but companies need to be transparent and set clear agreements. regenerative organizations and decentralized business models the importance of listening to intuition and following nature's lead in business. Despite trying to copy nature, we've already made copies of nature before and are now returning to sustainable innovation. How small businesses should adopt a life-centric business model, prioritizing uniqueness and cooperation over competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

German startup The Ocean Package seeks to benefit from Europe's tightening regulations that support the re-use of e-commerce packaging materials, such as plastics that the company uses to make its shipping material."Our solution, the most important thing behind The Ocean Package, is that we have to find a way to clean up our world and to create a cleaner world for tomorrow. Because there won't be a tomorrow if there are no companies like us," said Joshua Linn, co-founder of The Ocean Package.The Ocean Package is a Munich-based startup that operates in several markets, aiming to make e-commerce more environmentally friendly and sustainable. To achieve this, they designed reusable packaging made of recycled polypropylene, some of which is collected from areas where it could have ended up in the ocean."We are mainly focusing on rivers and on post-consumer waste, where it could end up in the ocean. So we are kind of the waste management where there is no waste management. With real ocean plastic, you never know how long it has been in the water, how damaged it is by UV rays, by the sea salt." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wide-ranging discussion with Greta Monstavice we covered how Katalista Ventures supports entrepreneurs to create positive change. Startups accelerated through the programme are in 15 countries, with 69 startups accelerated, and 15 more in the pipeline. Early-stage startups are supported in scaling and understanding their business model, with a focus on impact and sales integration. The host, Tarmo Virki, and Greta Monstavice discuss the structured and unstructured nature of a startup programme, with a focus on the benefits and challenges of different approaches. Katalista Ventures offers tailored programs with chief mentors and flexibility to address the specific needs of each startup. Greta Monstavice reflects on her personal experience in startup acceleration and sustainability in Lithuania, discussing the ecosystem's lack of resources and opportunities. Details on the next two programmes Katalista is planning to launch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the episode Puro.Earth founder Antti Vihavainen takes the listeners to a deep dive into carbon removal space.Vihavainen tells us about the different types of carbon removal projects that Puro.Earth is working with, biochar, direct capture, and enhanced rock weathering. He also discusses the challenges and opportunities in the carbon removal industry, and how Puro.Earth is helping to create a more sustainable future."We are never going to get to net zero, or at least not during this century, unless we do radical action reduction as well. So that is the first and foremost priority," Vihavainen said in the episode. If you are interested in learning more about carbon removal and how you can support this vital work, listen to this episode of the NatureBacked podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biodiversity is the diversity of life on Earth, and it is vital for our planet and our well-being. But how do we know if we are having a positive or negative impact on biodiversity, and how can we improve it?In this episode of the NatureBacked podcast, Tarmo Virki spoke with Zoe Peden, partner at Ananda Impact Ventures, an investment firm that supports innovative solutions for biodiversity conservation and restoration.Zoe shared her insights on why biodiversity is important, the challenges and opportunities of measuring and verifying biodiversity impact, and how one of her portfolio companies, NatureMetrics, is using the environmental DNA method to provide accurate and reliable data on biodiversity in various ecosystems.She also discussed some of the lessons learned from the carbon market, and how to avoid some of the pitfalls and risks that have plagued the carbon credits system.If you want to learn more about Zoe's work and vision, listen to the full podcast episode or subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn for more stories about the people changing the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the episode, we deep-dived into saving the old forests with Rimante Paulaskaite-Digaitiene from the Sengire Fondas (The Ancient Woods Foundation), which aims to acquire the first 100 hectares of old forests in Lithuania by the end of this year and leave them for nature."So the organisation was founded in 2020 aiming to protect the last remaining forest plots of old-growth forests, the last remaining biologically very valuable forest plots, like fragments, and don't do anything with that, meaning leaving it to nature to develop naturally. So it really becomes the real old-growth forest," she said."It may seem that it's not much, especially when you sit near the computer and look at the data, look at the Excel, but when you get to those forests, you understand what you're doing, understand why you're doing that. And it seems a lot easier to understand when you get there," she said.The foundation was launched after "Sengire", a nature documentary Mindaugas Survila shot over many years, became an unexpected hit in Lithuania and abroad.The movie is available through Vimeo's on-demand service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Bosschaert, founder of Except Integrated Sustainability, unveiled in the episode how the consultancy is transforming itself towards creating entities that will kickstart thorough, long-term societal transformations."Time is no longer on our side and we can't just keep playing in the sandbox anymore. We have to take serious, serious action," Bosschaert said in the episode."We've pinpointed five specific intervention points within society that can use such a snowball effect transition that we are familiar with," he said.  The financial sector, to help them restructure and understand how long-term investment can benefit them towards financial revenue and increased returns, but also have a long-term societal impact, which has a risk profile that is much more attractive than just keeping on investing in the old linear economy. Agriculture and food production. The built environment, how we build and rebuild our cities. Manufacturing, industry and supply chains. Education and the tools needed to understand this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Bland from Nano Gas Environmental introduced the technology to clean wastewater with nanobubbles.The topics we covered: How did it come up with the idea of cleaning wastewater? Role of patents. The next milestones for the company Competition in the market Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CUR8 co-founder Marta Krupinska, a passionate advocate for carbon removal, believes that carbon removal is essential to addressing climate change, while it can also be a profitable business.CUR8 is building a marketplace for carbon removal credits. These projects can include planting trees, capturing carbon dioxide from the air, or storing carbon dioxide underground.In this episode, Marta and I will discuss the following topics: What is carbon removal? Why is carbon removal important? How does CUR8 work? The challenges and opportunities of the carbon removal market The cost of carbon removal and how it is expected to come down over time The role of governments and businesses in supporting the development of the carbon removal market “When I first heard of carbon removals in 2020, it genuinely rocked my world, for the reason that for the first time, I thought, Okay, hang on a second, well, we have to continue radically decarbonizing, we're doing everything we can, and we should do more. But also, we have a way of aiding that process with something that actively also pulls carbon out of the sky," Krupinska said."We have to mobilise everything that we've got. But we also know that the science is clear, there is no staying below 1.5 without carbon removals, and I put all of my work, and effort, and hope into that," she said.In the NatureBacked podcast, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Tarmo Virki talks with Danny Flood, the founder of School of Growth Hacking, a platform that teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their businesses faster and smarter.Danny is also the author of several books on entrepreneurship, marketing, and productivity, such as Hack Sleep, Hack Email, and Buy Your Own Island.Tarmo and Danny discuss the following topics:• How to apply AI for growth hacking principles to your personal and professional life• How to hack your sleep, improve your health, and boost your productivity• How a Yoga retreat in Nepal could boost your business• How to use AI to hack climate change and create a more sustainable futureIf you are interested in learning more about AI for growth hacking, or if you want to discover some practical tips and tricks to use AI to grow your business faster and smarter, then you don't want to miss this episode.For School of Growth Hacking use code naturebacked23 for 15% discount on any product or course on their site. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices