IKEA and VISA Back Sustainiam in Greenr's Mission to Transform Sustainability
IKEA and VISA Back Sustainiam in Greenr's Mission to Transform Sustainability
Sustainium, a Bangalore-based climate-tech startup, was selected to join the famous Greenr Sustainability Accelerator program, sponsored by the IKEA Foundation and VISA Foundation. This equity-free accelerator, launched by TechnoServe, is seeking to take green startup companies to the next level in the development track with access to essential tips, resources, capital, and markets.
According to Greenr, the Sustainability Accelerator is a growth catalyst for high-growth, high-impact businesses that are making a dent in the space of environmental action. To this day, the program has engaged more than 130 startups from their inaugural cohort; those accrued funding of over $5 million through equity, debt, and grants. Now in the second cohort, the program continues to foster innovation and resilience among more than 150 startups working on mitigating India's environmental challenges.
Sustainiam was chosen out of 600 global candidates for its ingenuity in developing the carbon economy and for its expertise in carbon credit certification. This follows the earlier win by Sustainiam of a state-level grant from Karnataka's Elevate 2023 Call 2 program, further solidifying its lead in sustainability solutions.
Sustainiam's Founder and CEO, Sapna Nijhawan, reacted to the selection with the following words: "We are proud to be part of the Greenr Sustainability Accelerator. Not only does it validate our passion for working towards mitigating climate change, but also it pushes forward our mission to drive innovation in sustainability. With the IKEA Foundation and VISA Foundation on board in this journey, from priceless mentorship to funding and market opportunities, we just believe that we will scale globally. Strategic insights, financing, and the community enabled by Greenr will set us up to power any initiative to a level of ambition and progress in sustainability."
The choice of Sustainiam—for its main task—acts as a pointer to the important role carbon economy initiatives play in bringing transparency and verification into climate change solutions. It exemplifies the increasing incentives in the green economy that provide impetus for accelerated growth while acting as a catalyst in the fight against climate change worldwide.
The severe impacts of climate change on livelihoods can be mitigated only when businesses fundamentally transform the way of doing business—from how products are distributed to how consumer behavior influences it, Ajay Menon, Program Director of Greenr Sustainability Accelerator, said. "At Greenr, we intend to support and scale green businesses holding the key to economic and ecological sustainability. We believe that better value unlocking and wide diffusion of practices leading to sustainability will result from innovation, raising awareness, and financing."
In essence, the joining of the Greenr Sustainability Accelerator is only one phase of the various activities Sustainiam has been engaged in to try and achieve innovation-driven solutions for environment-related problems. With robust support from industry leaders and a global platform for growth, there is no doubt that Sustainiam will do its share in making its insight felt in shaping the future of sustainability.
This opinion piece recaps Sustainiam's recent achievement—that of joining the Greenr Sustainability Accelerator—all of this itself and its ramifications for the future of environmental actions and sustainable business practices.