Environmental tech founders are uniting to tackle climate change

A group of leading Sydney tech organisations have vowed to ramp up efforts to tackle climate change and environmental issue with a new group, The Envirotech Alliance.

Advocacy group TechSydney, startup hub Fishburners, energytech org Spark Club, Girl Geek Academy and PR Launch Group are leading the alliance, which hopes to bring together hundreds of professionals and founders focused on building businesses with positive environmental impact.

They’ll meet as the Envirotech Alliance for the first time at the Fishburners Sydney Startup Hub on March 17.

TechSydney director Fleur Brown said technology has a crucial role to play in addressing the climate crisis effects and solutions

“There are so many enthusiastic founders working in this space and our aim is to generate community support for their efforts whilst encouraging more founders and investors into the space,” she said.

“If we can demonstrate by scale how big the market really is in Australia that is great for brand Australia, good for tech and will reap dividends for all Australians.

Alongside regular meet-ups, the Alliance plans to lobby government for support for Australian environmental technology solutions.

Spark Club founder Grant McDowell said Spark Club began in 2017 with the aim of bringing the leading minds in the future energy sector together and believes Australia is a “perfect petri dish for leading energy tech to emerge” and help address the nation’s energy problems.

“Our growing community of over 400 energy startup founders and industry leaders is working on groundbreaking solutions developed here in Australia to be exported to a global market,” he said.

 “No matter what the political climate, these solutions are world class and Australia has the opportunity to capture the financial and carbon saving success in the global energy transition we’re embarking on” he said.

Fishburners  believes as many as 15%  of their current startups are focused on environmental and sustainability solutions.