The heat on certain July afternoons was almost physical, like walking into a wall. The streets between the tall buildings formed corridors that trapped it. The asphalt radiated it upward. The buildings reflected it sideways.

There was no escape that didn’t involve an air conditioner, and every air conditioner running made it worse for everyone outside. Living in Upper Manhattan, seeing kids running in the streets where they’d opened fire hydrants for some relief from the heat was a common sight.  Even with some 18,000 trees in Central Park and another 39,000+ trees mapped throughout Manhattan, NYC is still known as a top urban hot spot.

What I didn’t appreciate then was how much worse it’s supposed to get. By 2100, cities worldwide could be as much as 4.4 degrees Celsius hotter than they are today, according to climate modeling. While I wish this were a future in some other world of the Multiverse, unfortunately, it’s a countdown already underway, playing out in hospital admissions, energy bills, and the quiet daily suffering of people who can’t afford to escape.

Here’s the uncomfortable flip side: we already know the fix, and it grows out of the ground.

The case for the urban tree

A single healthy person is a performing asset; we simply haven’t been accounting for it that way. Research by the USDA Forest Service found that urban trees in Modesto, California, returned $1.89 in measurable benefits for every $1 invested in their management, through reduced air pollution, energy savings, and increased property values.

Peer-reviewed research published in Urban Science found that urban trees sequester between 10 and 20 kg of CO₂ per year, with larger trees capturing significantly more. Nearby commercial areas have been shown to see retail activity rise by 16–18%, and properties on tree-lined streets command 3–10% higher valuations, according to McPherson et al. in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

When it comes to the heat island problem, a 2023 study published in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening found that full tree canopy cover reduced human heat stress by a mean 5.5°C, rising to 8.8°C during extreme heat events when air temperatures reached 40°C. Trees don’t just cool cities. They make them survivable.

That’s the reframe I want to offer: trees are not amenities. They are load-bearing components of urban systems, as functional as a stormwater pipe or an electrical conduit. When we treat them as ornamental — nice to have, first to cut in a budget — we are making an accounting error with compounding consequences.

The infrastructure failure hiding in plain sight

So why don’t more cities have more trees? Part of the answer is policy and funding. But a large part is physical. Urban streets are biologically hostile environments for trees. Research across the US, UK, and Canada documents high mortality rates — with newly planted trees especially vulnerable during the first five years. A comprehensive literature review by Hilbert et al. found annual mortality rates reaching as high as 68.5% in some newly planted cohorts. Perhaps most striking: many street trees live only 20 years or less, a fraction of their natural lifespan, because the compacted, sealed, utility-dense ground beneath city pavements starves root systems of the soil volume, oxygen, and water they need to survive.

This is the infrastructure failure hiding in plain sight. Cities are not just losing trees; they’re running a replacement treadmill, replanting in the same inhospitable conditions, spending public funds over and over for an outcome that compounds their problems. Every tree that dies young takes its ecosystem services with it: years of CO₂ capture, commercial vitality, and heat mitigation that only a mature canopy can deliver.

The investable premise

This is where the nature-as-infrastructure framing stops being philosophical and becomes financial.

If trees are infrastructure, then the systems that enable them to survive and thrive are infrastructure technology. And right now, that category is nascent, under-capitalized, and about to be turbocharged by legally binding planting mandates.

I recently spoke with the founders of TreeTube. This Israeli company has been quietly building exactly this: a patented, below-ground system that creates the conditions trees need to survive in urban environments. Made from high-density polyethylene with 25% recycled materials, TreeTube installs beneath paved surfaces and provides root systems with adequate soil volume, aeration, and water access, giving each tree its own underground life-support module. It supports heavy traffic loads above ground while protecting surrounding utilities from root damage below.

The concept sounds simple, but the execution is not. TreeTube holds patents across the US, EU, Australia, Japan, Israel, China, and more. It has been approved by utilities companies and municipalities in Israel, the Netherlands, and Estonia, and has completed dozens of projects worldwide, including alongside Tel Aviv’s light rail corridor.

What struck me most in talking with them was how naturally the product fits the infrastructure metaphor. You’re not installing a plant. You’re installing a system — modular, customizable, engineered — that happens to grow something alive inside it.

The regulatory tailwind

Investable ideas need catalysts, and this one has two.

The European Union passed Regulation 2024/1991 on nature restoration in July 2024. Starting January 1, 2031, EU member states are legally required to achieve a measurable increase in urban tree canopy cover every six years. Beyond being a goal or guideline, this is a compliance obligation with a hard timeline.

These mandates transform a discretionary purchase into a procurement requirement. Municipalities don’t need to be persuaded that trees are good; they need systems that actually work in the ground conditions they have.

The investor mismatch — and the opportunity

Here’s the honest challenge: companies like TreeTube don’t fit neatly into most VC frameworks. The returns are long-term and linked to municipal procurement cycles rather than software-style growth curves. The buyers are cities. The product solves a public goods problem. Traditional investors often see this and move on.

But impact investors should see something different. The asset here is a mandated, recurring infrastructure need, backed by regulatory law, aligned with multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, and supported by technology with strong IP protection and real-world proof points.

What the urban tree economy needs is patient capital that understands infrastructure timelines — the kind that built water networks and electrical grids over decades, not quarters. What it offers in return is something rare in impact investing: a product that is simultaneously climate-critical, commercially validated, and legally locked in.

I left that call thinking about my Manhattan summers differently. The trees were there, just stunted and doing their best in four inches of compacted soil. Nobody had built the ground beneath them to last. That’s still true in most cities, but it doesn’t have to be.

The post Nature as Infrastructure: Why the Urban Tree Is an Investable Asset appeared first on Medika Life.

As someone who works in communications, I’ve watched this all unfold with a growing sense of urgency, not just because it affects my work, but because it affects the work of the entire ecosystem, from startups trying to commercialize to scientists and innovators trying to solve our biggest planetary problems.

We often talk about climate solutions needing scale. But before they scale, they need visibility. They need resonance. They need the world to understand why they matter.

Communicators as Ecosystem Builders

Marketing and communications professionals in the climate space have always worn many hats: translator, storyteller, advocate, pressure-tester. But lately, I’ve started to see our role differently: we are infrastructure. The strength of the message can determine the strength of the movement.

In Israel, where I work with several climate tech companies, there is no lack of innovative ventures; startups are tackling everything from water quality and waste to sustainable food systems and energy efficiency. But too often, their stories don’t reach the audiences that matter.

Whether it’s a lack of media attention, limited investor familiarity, or messaging that doesn’t translate across markets, the result is the same: solutions that could make a global impact remain under the radar. Recent research highlights that communication barriers, including conflicting values and lack of emotional engagement, are among the biggest obstacles to climate action.

This is a stark reminder of how critical effective, strategic communications is for companies needing that break. We can’t assume the science will speak for itself. Our job is to help it connect.

Tell the Story Behind the Science and Tech

Technical breakthroughs are important. But if we don’t communicate the human stakes — if we can’t answer “why does this matter, now?” — then even the most brilliant solutions will get buried in white papers and pitch decks.

Take Amai Proteins, an Israeli innovator creating sweet proteins that offer a healthier alternative to sugar. On the surface, that’s a biochemistry story. But it’s also a public health story; excess sugar consumption is linked to rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, all of which disproportionately affect low-income communities and strain healthcare systems.

It’s a consumer behavior story, too. Shifting tastes and nutritional preferences are driving the food industry to rethink its ingredients, and “clean label” alternatives are in high demand.

Even RFK Jr., despite the controversy surrounding many of his opinions, is taking on food system reform, moving to eliminate dyes and other additives and expressing that he’d love to see sugar eliminated from the American diet.

And yes, it’s a climate resilience story. Sugarcane and sugar beet farming are resource-intensive crops that require large amounts of land, water, and fertilizer, all of which are vulnerable to climate disruptions. Replacing them with a low-footprint, precision-fermented protein could ease pressure on ecosystems and improve food system sustainability.

These are opportunities for communicators to widen the frame and show how innovations intersect with public values. That’s how a single ingredient becomes part of a bigger story.

Make Climate Action “Cool”

In a world drowning in doomscrolling, climate urgency isn’t enough. People want hope, and they want to feel like they’re part of something that’s not just necessary, but exciting.

We saw this with Tesla and the early days of the electric vehicle market. EVs didn’t catch on because people suddenly got worried about emissions; they caught on because someone made them desirable.

As marketers, we have the power to do the same for other sustainable technologies: to make algae cleanup, biodegradable packaging, or atmospheric water generation feel like the future, not a compromise.

Speak Across the Divide

Many of us are communicating in fragmented markets. Different regions, different priorities, different regulatory directions. But the best messaging finds common truths: Clean water. Job creation. Community resilience.

If you start the story with a universally accepted premise, you’ve created a foundation of trust from which to build.

FireDome, an Israeli startup inspired by the country’s Iron Dome missile defense system, offers a perfect example of this approach. FireDome has developed an AI-assisted solution to detect and suppress wildfires autonomously, addressing the increasing frequency and intensity of such events due to climate change — something we saw clearly in Israel last week.

FireDome’s story tightly aligns a climate solution with community benefits. Everyone can agree that defending against wildfires is a necessity to protect property and lives.

That’s because the impacts are clear. Last year’s wildfire, which raged through Southern California, left entire communities in ashes, dozens of people killed, over 150 thousand people displaced, and damages estimated between $250-$275 billion, according to AccuWeather.

The value of proactively defending against wildfires quickly becomes obvious. The alignment between technological outcomes and community values exemplifies how climate tech can build long-term momentum and break through with target audiences by highlighting these tangible benefits.

Building Communications into the Business Model

Startups often focus intensely on R&D, product-market fit, and fundraising — and rightly so. But communications can’t just be an add-on, revisited only when there’s “good news” to share.

If we believe climate solutions are essential, then we need to treat communications as essential, too –not an afterthought or a slide at the end of the pitch deck, but a foundational part of the company’s infrastructure.

Strategic communications, embedded early, does more than explain what a company does; it shapes how it’s understood by investors, partners, policymakers and the public.

The right narrative can open doors, build credibility, and help a startup punch above its weight. Because climate solutions don’t just need to work. They need to land. And that’s where strong, unifying, value-driven messaging makes all the difference.

The post Why Israel’s Brilliant Climate Solutions Are Still Invisible appeared first on Medika Life.

This year’s Climate Week theme is, “It’s Time.” It’s time for the leading designers of climate policy, the most creative innovators, and the top financial houses to push for rapid implementation at the scale of the solutions to our unprecedented environmental challenges. Climate Week NYC, coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), will be the focal point for global leaders, entrepreneurs, corporations, NGOs and activist communities committed to driving climate action.

Just as Fashion Week dictates what we’ll be wearing, Climate Week will shape the future of our planet. Here’s a sneak peek at the five key “looks” we can expect to roll out on the Climate Week runway.

1. Sustainable Finance: The New Power Suit

In the world of climate action, sustainable finance is emerging as the “power suit” of the future. Expect to see discussions centered on how financial institutions, governments, and businesses can direct capital flows toward sustainable investments. Additionally, private-public sector collaborations combined with creative financing vehicles may offer an opportunity to advance implementations of new solutions to key environmental challenges at scale.

Sustainable finance will take center stage with new frameworks and regulations being unveiled.

2. Decarbonization: Minimalism with Maximum Impact

Minimalism is a timeless trend in fashion, and this year, it’s making waves in climate policy. Decarbonization will be the mantra of Climate Week, with a focus on achieving net-zero emissions.

Look for commitments from corporations and governments alike, with strategies ranging from renewable energy adoption to nature-based solutions to protect and reinvigorate biodiversity, improve water quality, and efficiently capture carbon through nature’s most powerful carbon sinks.

The message is clear: less carbon, more impact.

3. Resilience: The Weatherproof Wardrobe

Just as fashion adapts to the changing seasons, climate action must adapt to a warming world. Extreme weather events and the enduring impacts of climate change are increasingly affecting individuals, businesses, economies, and infrastructure on a broad scale.

As such, resilience and climate adaptation are set to be a major theme, with discussions on how to protect communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. Key approaches, including reforestation, greening urban environments, and developing climate-resistant crops may enter the conversation. We’ll be on the lookout for new innovations in this space, but one thing is certain: expect resilience to be the “weatherproof wardrobe” essential for the future.

4. Social Equity: Inclusivity on the Runway

Fashion is increasingly embracing inclusivity, and Climate Week will reflect this trend through a focus on social equity. Climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities, and this year’s agenda will spotlight the need for just and equitable solutions, including ensuring healthcare access, strengthening health systems to face emerging climate-related health issues, and creating new economic opportunities in underserved communities.

Whether it’s in policymaking, funding, or innovation, inclusivity will ensure that no one is left behind in the transition to a sustainable future.

5. Innovation: The High-Tech Fabric of the Future

Innovation has always been the fabric that drives fashion forward, and it’s no different in the climate action space. Expect to see groundbreaking technologies and solutions showcased, from clean energy advancements and discussions on the emerging hydrogen economy to zero-emissions vehicles, green cement, sustainable and scalable alternatives to plastics, and AI-driven environmental measurement tools to ensure climate action is effectively measured.

Like a high-tech fabric on the runway, innovation will weave through every conversation, setting the stage for the next generation of climate solutions.

As Climate Week NYC approaches, the world will be watching New York again — not for the latest fashion trends but for the visionary ideas and bold commitments shaping our planet’s future. Just as Fashion Week defines the trends that influence what we wear, Climate Week will define the trends that influence how we live.

This is a crucial moment for stakeholders interested and invested in climate action to listen and observe where the conversation is going. For companies working on new solutions to an array of climate challenges, it’s an important time to assess if you are supporting and building on the trends, or if you have a new approach that has not yet been considered. If the latter, this is the time to start mapping out a strategy to ensure these ideas get on next year’s agenda.

So, as we prepare for the unveiling of these “collections” of ideas and actions, let’s remember that what happens in New York this September will ripple across the globe, influencing the future of our climate for years to come.

The post Climate Week NYC 2024: The Runway of Global Climate Action appeared first on Medika Life.

She didn’t know how to answer but said something like, “Trees can become very old, and they carry a lot of wisdom.”

I suppose as a 3 or 4-year-old, I found that to be a satisfactory answer.

When I think about that question now — which seems like a pretty deep question for a 3- or 4-year-old — I still don’t know the answer. But what my mom said back then remains true. Trees have a lot of wisdom to share.

What Trees Teach Us About Climate Change

Many of us learned in grade school that you could know a tree’s age by counting its rings. In fact, these rings tell us a lot more about the environment over time than just a tree’s age. NOAA Climate.gov is home to the International Tree-Ring Data Bank (ITRDB), which includes ring-width data from forests globally. The data bank has information from over 4,600 locations across six continents!

Climate scientists use these tree growth records, statistically matching the data with local weather records to estimate past temperatures or precipitation. This provides valuable climate histories that extend back hundreds or even thousands of years! More importantly, these insights help us understand natural climate variability over time and can help us create a baseline to assess human-induced climate change.

But Wait, There’s More: The Roots of Sustainable Development

Trees are nature’s record keepers. But, they are also an important resource that has driven the development of societies. Our use of this natural resource marks the birth of sustainable development as a concept.

The earliest notions of sustainability reach back over 300 years. In 1713, the German mining director Carl von Carlowitz wrote Sylvicultura Oeconomica, an essay on forestry, in which he called for sustained use of the forest to feed industry. However, Carlowitz stipulated that the use of trees should be limited to “only as many trees as would allow a continuous replenishment of an equivalent number of mature trees…allowing the forest to be maintained and managed over the long term.” In short, we can use trees, but only as quickly as we can replenish forests for sustained use.

3 Sustainability Principles We Can Learn from Trees

1. Resilience and Adaptation

Trees are masters of resilience and adaptation. They endure harsh climates, pests, and human interference, constantly evolving to survive and thrive. Some species, like the bristlecone pine, can live for thousands of years, adapting to changes in their environment over millennia and building resilience to harsh weather and bad soil.

Resilience and adaptation are also key focus areas in developing sustainability strategies on a global scale. Technology will help societies adapt to more arid climates, drought, desertification, and other impacts.

Desalination, drip irrigation and atmospheric water generation are helping to ensure water security for human consumption and agricultural and industrial needs. Agronomists are developing more robust fruit and vegetable varietals that can withstand climate changes and developing innovations to support desert farming, and the food tech industry continues to develop more efficient methods for alternative protein cultivation to ensure our future food security.

2. Resource Efficiency

Trees are remarkably efficient in their use of resources. They optimize water and nutrient absorption through complex root systems, the efficiency of which can inspire sustainable practices in human systems. For instance, adopting water conservation techniques in agriculture, including wastewater cleaning technologies to ensure we maximize use of every drop, optimizing energy use in buildings, and creating more efficient transportation systems can all contribute to a more sustainable future in which we maximize use of all our resources.

Moreover, trees rely on an almost limitless energy resource — the sun — to manage energy through photosynthesis. It’s not a new idea that we must extend our use of renewable resources as much as possible — solar, wind, hydrogen and even waves can serve as renewable energy sources. We must, however, ensure that the economic case also make sense for these energy sources if we are to phase out the use of oil and gas.

3. Models for Circular Economy

Trees embody the principles of a circular economy. They recycle nutrients through leaf litter, support diverse ecosystems, and create habitats for countless species. In a circular economy, waste is minimized, and materials are reused and recycled, much like how trees operate within their ecosystems.

So too, circular solutions can come in the form of materials we use — and ensuring everything is designed from the start for reuse. Companies are doing this by creating a new life for household waste, textile waste, and agricultural waste. The circular economy must go beyond this.

John Elkington, the grandfather of sustainable business uses a fish-and-water metaphor. We may clean up individual fish — finding ways to reuse waste, clothing and agricultural waste — yet, if the ocean is dirty, these fish will not be able to thrive. Our markets must also heed circular economic principles.

By embracing these principles, we can develop systems that reduce our environmental impact and foster sustainability.

So, Do Trees Have Souls?

While I’m still not certain trees have souls, what I do know is that trees have inspired humanity for millennia, from the Garden of Eden’s Tree of Knowledge and Tree of Life to Newton’s apple tree to the beauty of Japan’s cherry blossom trees and the wonder of the great Sequoia trees in California.

Let’s ensure we continue to learn from their wisdom and keep our planet healthy enough for them to thrive.

The post Do Trees Have Souls? appeared first on Medika Life.

The global healthcare industry is responsible for two gigatons of carbon dioxide each year, which amounts to 4.4% of net emissions worldwide. Hospitals generate about five million tons of medical waste annually from everyday trash such as medical packaging and food to regulated medical waste, surgical gowns, gloves, syringes, IV bags and more.

The recent panel discussion, “Sustainability + Health Systems,” facilitated by mHealth Israel, brought together an impressive roster to discuss this issue. Panelists included:

• Dr. Reed Omary, MD, MS, is the Carol D. & Henry P. Pendergrass Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) with over 25 years as a practicing interventional radiologist. Dr. Omary stepped down from his position as Chair of Radiology to make a full career pivot towards sustainable healthcare to motivate US healthcare to decarbonize their operations and adopt sustainable practices. You can follow Dr. Omary’s blog on making healthcare more sustainable: The Green Leap
• Dr. Elizabeth Morris, MD, is the Chair of the Department of Radiology at UC Davis Health, an institution with a history of commitment to sustainability. Dr. Morris approaches sustainability through the academic lens, exploring how to think holistically about planetary health within our healthcare system.
• Bert Hartog, Interim VP of Sustainability & Transformation at The Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), a professional society for the digital medicine community that focuses on driving scientific progress and broad acceptance of digital medicine to enhance public health.
• Philip Guster, Director of System Sustainability at Henry Ford Health. Philip previously worked at DTE Energy, which partnered with Henry Ford in 2021 to help the health system reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through DTE’s voluntary renewable energy program with the purchase of wind and solar energy at increasing rates over the years.

Below is a selection of insights to questions raised during the webinar. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. You can view the full panel discussion here:

https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FBjCpeI45wfc&display_name=YouTube&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBjCpeI45wfc&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FBjCpeI45wfc%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtubeSustainability + Health Systems: U.S. and EU Perspectives Webinar

What made you decide to turn your focus towards sustainability in healthcare? And what do you see as the greatest challenges facing healthcare when it comes to sustainability?

Bert Hartog, DiMe: I’ve spent my career in clinical research, looking at clinical trials and ways to make them not only scientifically robust but also very attractive for participants to take part in, and part of that is convenience for the participants. That’s where digital health technologies can make a huge difference.

The light bulb moment for me was when I realized that many digital health solutions come from digital health devices produced for single use. At the beginning of the 2020s, 100 million devices were newly issued into the global market. I realized this is a mountain of electronic waste that nobody has given much thought to.

Everybody acknowledged that this is an underserved part of the digital health transition we see happening. It’s something that warrants attention.

Dr. Morris, UC Davis Health: When I took the job at UC Davis, I found myself in an environment highly geared towards sustainability. UC Davis is number one in the country for sustainability, and being in that environment made me start looking around at our department. As chair of radiology, which is one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in healthcare, I realized we need to figure out how to make our machines work more sustainably.

I am also interested in AI research, which, as Bert pointed out, is a double-edged sword. AI can help us achieve greater sustainability, but these storage systems can consume significant energy.

Sustainability is our number one problem. We need to start talking about it, communicating, and working together. It’s crucial to collaborate with industry partners to get this right. The biggest challenge is that doctors tend to be conservative. New technology often takes 16 to 20 years to gain traction, but we cannot wait that long. This issue is imminent, and we need to be nimble and act fast.

Dr. Omary, VUMC: I used to think about being green in my personal life, but I didn’t consider how to bring that mindset to my work as a physician. It felt like I was living two separate lives. The pandemic made me realize that as healthcare professionals, we have not just an opportunity, but a responsibility to step out of our medical centers and benefit our communities and nations.

During the pandemic, we saw how events in one part of the world could impact another, seemingly unconnected part. This realization hit me during lockdown — I wanted to do everything I could to help during the pandemic and take on the larger, more complex challenge of climate change.

The more I read about it, the more I realized that climate change, like COVID, disproportionately affects those who can least tolerate it. This led me to pivot my career towards generating the most impact. In healthcare, we think about our patients, but with climate change, we suddenly have 8 billion patients to consider, including future generations.

Philip Guster, Henry Ford Health: Midway through my career, I was working for the largest utility in Michigan, one of the largest in the country. My background is in manufacturing, and then I moved to utilities, working there for 13 years. My expertise is in engineering, energy efficiency, and systems. Healthcare has large systems behind the scenes that are crucial to patient care.

At Henry Ford Health, I’ve seen the crucial role we play as a safety net hospital in Detroit’s revitalization. Our hospital has been here for over 100 years, and we’re building a new 21-story tower that will anchor Midtown Detroit. This project will change the skyline and address the health and poverty challenges in our population. Our patients expect us to lead the way in sustainability and healthcare innovation. I’m excited to be part of a team with a culture of inclusion and collaboration, and our success will depend on our partnerships.

Clinicians have a lot on their minds — patients, improving outcomes, integrating new technologies, dealing with burnout, and staying up to date with the latest research. How does sustainability even have space in your mind as a clinician?

Dr. Morris, UC Davis Health: Sustainability shouldn’t be an additional burden. It needs to be pervasive in all aspects of our work. Sustainability can make a clinician’s day better by improving efficiencies. For example, in my area, we can improve patient protocols to make them shorter and more efficient. Small initiatives like installing motion detector lights can collectively make a significant impact across the system. These small steps create a better working environment and improve patient care.

Dr. Omary, VUMC: Dr. Morris is right. We don’t want sustainability to be seen as separate from our other duties. There’s a massive staffing crisis in healthcare — two-thirds of nurses are burnt out, and roughly half of physicians, depending on their specialty, are burnt out too. One-quarter of physicians in the US are clinically depressed. If we think about these statistics, it’s clear we need to improve our work environment.

When we care for the planet, we care for our patients. For example, telehealth reduces the need for patients to travel and deal with parking, which can be stressful. Telehealth is a sustainable intervention that benefits both the environment and patient care. Measuring the carbon cost of our care algorithms is a great opportunity for research and innovation. Sustainable practices can save money, enhance workforce satisfaction, and benefit our patients.

Philip Guster, Henry Ford Health: This is my first time working with clinicians, but we’re all focused on continuous improvement. The key is making sustainability visible and part of our daily operations. Accurate data is crucial for this. For example, we’ve been working on our energy data for three years to ensure it’s accurate. This visibility can engage hospital presidents, clinicians, and staff.

We’ve made significant strides, such as reducing the use of harmful anesthetics like desflurane. From 2019 to 2023, we reduced its usage from 25 down to one. This data-driven approach can prevent greenwashing and help us track our progress accurately.

We need to continue working on reducing single-use plastics and other waste, but having concrete data like this helps keep everyone motivated and aligned with our goals.

Policy and regulation are crucial for ensuring that our efforts in sustainability and innovation have the intended impact. How is policy either helping or hindering the advancement of sustainability initiatives in health systems? And who’s learning from whom here? Is it the US learning from the EU, the EU learning from the US, or is it a little bit of both?

Bert Hartog, DiMe: The short answer is, the US is learning from Europe, Europe is learning from the US, and we’re both looking at the rest of the world for further inspiration.

The difficulty is scale. We need to transition from point solutions, proof of concept pilots, individual clinics, individual hospitals, and individual networks doing their own thing, which is good and should continue. But we need to move up to the network level where we start addressing issues at state level, country level, and region level to really have the impact we’re looking for. Every little bit helps, but we need to start transitioning from innovation into scaling. That is important, and that’s where policy can make a difference.

One example in Europe is the electronic waste resulting from digital health devices. This was the beginning of a consortium with academics, hospitals, business schools, pharma, med tech, and startups, funded by the European Commission to work on designing these technologies for recycling — be it reuse, repurpose, or any of the “Rs.” We look at incentives for people to return these devices after use, considering a behavioral science component. Downstream, we work with waste management companies so they are equipped to handle this medical waste properly, allowing for recycling and recovering rare earth materials and precious metals when the product has reached its end of life.

Dr. Morris, UC Davis Health: In my area, radiology, we have very big machines like MRI and CT machines. So there’s a lot of effort or thought put around refurbishing these machines so that we’re not just recycling them but making them better. This requires a huge amount of effort and connecting people who normally weren’t connected in the past, and creating new regulations and guidelines.

In the medical space, societies can be very strong in this area, putting out suggested guidelines for machines, for example. There’s the Energy Star program here in the US, which could impact regulations and guidelines. Building these relationships is crucial, and normally, I would never have talked to an Energy Star person until several years ago. But this is critical because we need to speak the same language and get guidelines that are used not just in the US but globally.

We look to Europe because they are usually ahead in environmental policies and ideas. For instance, in MRI, we use gadolinium, a contrast agent that gets excreted into the water. Europe is very concerned about rising levels of gadolinium, which we weren’t even measuring in the US. Now that Europe has highlighted this, we’re starting to think about it too. We can learn a lot from Europe as they often lead in these areas, and I tip my hat to them.

What is the role of innovation in accelerating the sustainability transformation? And what’s the business opportunity in it?

Dr. Omary, VUMC: There’s a lot of money being left on the table when sustainability isn’t considered. Proper sustainability practices save money by reducing waste, and those savings can be reinvested into new growth areas. Entrepreneurs have a crucial role here. They bring a finance lens that can lead to faster adoption of sustainable practices.

If we pitch sustainability as an economic benefit, we meet the needs of the audience better. Entrepreneurs also teach us how to scale and grow quickly, which is essential for expanding sustainability initiatives.

Philip Guster, Henry Ford Health: As we’re building our new campus, sustainability is a priority. At Henry Ford, we’re implementing sustainability upfront in the contracting phase. When we seek partners through RFPs, we hold them accountable for sustainability. This approach ensures that sustainability isn’t an afterthought but a core part of our projects.

We understand there are incremental costs, but having the option to choose sustainable solutions and holding vendors accountable for innovation is crucial. It’s about integrating sustainability into every phase, from contracting to the materials we use in construction.

Bert Hartog, DiMe: In clinical research, which is the prelude to clinical care, we have an opportunity to scale sustainability benefits exponentially. We’ve started quantifying the environmental impact of clinical trials to establish a baseline and identify what good looks like. By understanding these metrics, we can address logistics, utilities, and packaging without compromising patient safety or scientific integrity.

For example, remote monitoring in clinical trials can reduce carbon footprints by 20%. If we multiply this impact across millions of instances, the benefits are substantial. Offering remote options for assessments and trials can significantly reduce environmental impact. More companies are becoming interested in this approach as they see the data proving its effectiveness.

How do we ensure these efforts and technologies are accessible and equitable to all communities, marginalized populations, and developing countries? How do we address these disparities?

Dr. Morris, UC Davis Health: It’s only recently that healthcare systems have started to address inequities and systemic racist policies. It’s crucial that we factor in these disparities completely to ensure we don’t leave behind marginalized communities.

As we scale up initiatives globally, particularly in lower and middle-income countries, we have the opportunity to improve healthcare access. For example, in our area, we’re investing in vans to reach remote communities, utilizing telehealth for primary care, and establishing clinics in rural areas. Shared best practices and collaboration are essential to make healthcare accessible for everyone, although I don’t have a perfect solution yet.

Bert Hartog, DiMe: Sustainability can be a byproduct of changing practices. Initiatives like hospital-at-home and telehealth not only improve access to care but also contribute to sustainability. Equity means reaching those populations who currently lack routine access to healthcare due to various barriers. By embedding sustainability in different practices, we can address both access and environmental concerns simultaneously.

Dr. Omary, VUMC: The transition to green technologies allows us to redesign systems with an equity lens. Sustainability and equity can go hand in hand, offering win-win solutions.

What gives you hope for healthcare’s ability to make the needed changes?

Dr. Omary, VUMC: What gives me hope is knowing that younger generations prioritize climate change, making it a top issue facing humanity. This mindset shift will lead to a workforce that’s committed to sustainability. When healthcare professionals see themselves as part of climate solutions, it gives me hope.

Bert Hartog, DiMe: What gives me hope is the blurring of traditional boundaries and the interconnectedness of the world. With knowledge sharing and collective efforts, we can address systemic issues and scale up solutions globally.

Philip Guster, Henry Ford Health: From a Henry Ford perspective, executive support for sustainability initiatives is encouraging. Top-level commitment ensures that sustainability is integrated into our practices from the ground up. It’s a significant shift from when production was the sole focus, and it gives me hope for our future.

Dr. Morris, UC Davis Health: Leadership plays a vital role, and I’m hopeful to see leaders across industries prioritize sustainability. There’s a growing market for green initiatives, which further drives change. It’s reassuring to know that sustainability is becoming a best business practice.

A Hopeful Future for Sustainable Health Systems

Following this conversation, three points stood out to me.

First, everyone has a role to play in making healthcare more sustainable. Clinicians can ensure their areas of health are optimizing resources to ensure their most efficient use (and reuse). Making practice more sustainable can bring an economic benefit. Optimizing costs means funds can be reinvested in other areas of care.

Second, professionals from other industries — the energy sector, materials industry, or waste management — can also “work in healthcare,” enabling the sustainable transformation of healthcare systems.

Finally, often what is good for patients can also be good for the environment. Remote care and telehealth can make care more accessible, equitable and convenient to patients while having an impact on emissions reduction related to transportation to and from healthcare institutions.

As health leaders continue to drive the integration of sustainability into every aspect of healthcare, from clinical practices to large-scale infrastructure projects, we begin to reveal a hopeful future for the global healthcare industry. Leveraging technology, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and prioritizing equity will enable healthcare systems to address climate change and improve health outcomes globally.

The post Sustainability + Health Systems: US and EU Perspectives appeared first on Medika Life.

In the quest to combat climate change, innovative solutions are not only desirable but essential. From clean energy to sustainable agriculture, there are myriad opportunities to mitigate the impacts of climate change while simultaneously fostering a healthier planet and population. However, as we navigate this landscape of climate innovation, it’s crucial to remain vigilant against potential pitfalls, particularly within the realm of carbon markets.

A recent article in The Guardian shed light on the overestimation of carbon reduction benefits associated with clean cookstove projects. Indeed the “non-carbon” benefits have always been the goal of initiatives like the Clean Cooking Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves). However, progress in Africa has been slow as population growth outpaces the roll-out of clean cooking programs.

However, in more recent times, and specifically in trying to build a business case around clean cookstove initiatives, some of these programs have morphed into something far different from the initial idea of implementing clean cooking in rural communities in Africa to engender sustainable development.

Clean Cookstoves Role in Sustainable Development

Clean cookstoves offer tangible benefits that extend far beyond carbon reduction. They improve air quality, mitigate the chronic respiratory illnesses associated with open cookstoves, and alleviate the burden on women and girls who traditionally bear the responsibility of gathering firewood. This task often takes hours every day — so a lack of clean cooking prevents many women and girls from accessing education, earning a wage or starting a business that would deliver financial autonomy.

Beyond the health, education and economic benefits offered by clean cookstove programs, making this shift preserves forests and woodlands and contributes to biodiversity conservation and climate resilience. However, clean cookstove initiatives need to be genuinely community-driven initiatives, not a top-down imposition.

While the transition to clean cookstoves holds immense promise for improving human health, reducing deforestation, and empowering communities, the incorporation of these initiatives into carbon markets raises significant concerns. There needs to be a clear recognition that the primary benefit of clean cookstoves is people’s health, not carbon reduction. A lack of clean cooking contributes to 3.7 million premature deaths every year, mostly women and children.

When these initiatives are commodified within carbon markets, their focus can shift from genuine impact to profit-driven ventures. The discrepancy highlighted in The Guardian article of what are called “ghost credits” or “phantom carbon credits” underscores the potential for misuse and misrepresentation within the carbon offsetting industry.

While the intention may be to incentivize positive change, there is a risk of prioritizing profit over impact. Indeed, this is why many believe that carbon credits should stay within the community that generate them.

Maintaining the Balance of People, Planet and Profit

The principles of sustainable business, People, Planet, Profit, should remain in balance for any project geared at improving planetary health. True sustainability ventures must prioritize the well-being of communities and ecosystems while also considering economic viability, striking a balance between innovation and accountability. Private sector involvement can drive innovation and scale solutions, but it must be guided by a commitment to genuine impact and the involvement of the communities in which they work.

In the case of carbon markets, transparency and accountability are essential, ensuring that such projects deliver on their promises and prioritize the well-being of communities and ecosystems, and importantly, do not simply take advantage of developing nations to gain profits.

Transparency and Accountability

The journey towards sustainability is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires collaboration, innovation, and a deep understanding of the complex interplay between human societies and the natural world.

This does not mean that there is no place for business within climate innovation. On the contrary, private sector involvement can catalyze innovation and scale solutions more rapidly. To achieve this, transparency and accountability are paramount. Robust monitoring and verification mechanisms must be in place to ensure that carbon offset projects deliver on their promises. Additionally, stakeholders should ensure community engagement and empowerment are part of the planning process for these projects, ensuring that the benefits of climate initiatives are equitably distributed.

As we confront the challenges of climate change, we have a collective responsibility to pursue solutions that make a meaningful difference. Clean cookstoves represent just one piece of the puzzle, but their potential to improve lives and safeguard the environment is undeniable. If we can move forward, guided by transparency and accountability and ensuring the benefits and opportunities created by these programs remain in communities, clean cookstoves still offer the potential to drive genuine, lasting change for the well-being of future generations.

Nicole Kaufman Grubner is a Partner at FINN Partner, heading the organization’s Environmental Innovation Group from its Israel-based office. Working with innovators across health and sustainability, Nicole communicates on behalf of world-impacting companies working towards healthier people and planet.

James Snodgrass is an expert with over 20 years’ experience in policy and advocacy issues related to global health and the environment. He has worked with a wide range of clients including multilaterals, bilaterals, philanthropies and the private sector on improving health outcomes in lower income countries. He helped launch the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in 2010.

The post Carbon Credits – The Dirty Word for Clean Cookstoves appeared first on Medika Life.

Yet, Al Jaber has thoughtfully restated the importance of oil and gas companies having a seat at the table and being held responsible for a sustainable future. Indeed, if we are going to develop and implement a strategy for phasing out fossil fuels, it would stand to reason that they should be part of the conversation and provide realistic solutions and a timetable for action.

Criticism, debate, and questioning are crucial in understanding the global dialogue and negotiation’s various sides and coming to an actionable agreement.

How to stay current and have at your fingertips analysis ensures wise, objective decisions. One of the best ways to get closer to the COP28 thought leaders and follow their statements, positions, and conversations, and the priority issues being discussed is to track — follow — their public exchanges.

Interested in COP28 and its impact on your strategy and progress? Here are 28 voices to follow.

7 Voices “Repping” COP28

1) COP28 UAE Official Account

The official COP28 accounts will give you the most up-to-date information on what’s happening and the conversations that COP28 is following.

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2) Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber

President of COP28, Al Jaber, is tasked with setting the agenda for this year’s meeting.

“We must be brutally honest about the gaps that need to be filled, the root causes, and how we got here today.”

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3) Simon Stiell

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Executive Secretary is actively posting about COP28. He will keep you in the loop on what’s happening.

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4) Hana Alhashimi

The UAE Chief Climate Negotiator for COP27 & COP28. She is active at events leading up to COP28 and posts key takeaways and updates. She’s also a senior adviser to the United Nations General Assembly on the environment, climate action, and sustainable energy.

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5) Alok Sharma

President of COP26 and is a current Member of Parliament in the UK. He provides insightful commentary. He is UK policy-focused but a global voice of influence.

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6) Manal Nadeem

A Top 10 UAE-based youth delegates out of 500+ applicants focused on advancing youth inclusion at COP28. She’s involved in planning events at the Youth Pavilion and helping to equip young delegates to navigate the complexities of COP.

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7) Damilola Ogunbiyi

On the COP28 Advisory, she was the CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (UN SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She’s a mover and shaker and has helped secure $600 billion in commitments for energy finance. Ogunbiyi is a pivotal player to watch, with a significant emphasis on the transition to renewable energy.

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7 Journalist Voices to Follow

1) John Ainger

John’s been covering climate at Bloomberg for years. As an attendee at COP27, he shared frequent live updates, so keep him on your news radar screen as one-to-watch to stay in the know.

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2) Valerie Volcovici

Covering climate at Reuters, Valerie attended COP27 and shared articles throughout the event. We can expect to see similarly comprehensive coverage.

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3) Akshat Rathi

Writing for Bloomberg Green, Akshat is fearless in adding his two cents to the conversation. He was at last year’s COP and will likely be following closely again this year. Also, he’s released a book, “Climate Capitalism,” with the thesis that capitalism may be the answer to advancing climate solutions at the needed pace.

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4) Fiona Harvey

Fiona has been covering the environment since 2004. As the environmental editor for The Guardian, Fiona has covered stories on topics spanning ecological issues, from plastic waste and the impact of heating on agricultural systems to climate financing and energy transition. She’s also attended almost every COP event since 2004.

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5) Josh Gabbatiss

Covering climate policy as a correspondent at CarbonBrief, Josh covers climate policy, energy, research, finance, and more. He was at COP27 and was not shy to share his takes. He asks good questions and keeps a global perspective in his analysis.

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6) Leon Lidigu

Leon is a global health and climate journalist for Nation Media Group in Kenya. He looks at the impacts on the environment and climate change on human health. He’s tapped in with the broader journalistic community in Nairobi and adds a critical perspective representing the global South.

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7) Patrick Galey

He’s a senior investigator for Global Witness, a non-profit challenging abuse of power to protect people. He’s also a former AFP reporter who brings a critical viewpoint.

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7 Business Leaders to Follow

1) Adam Elman

He’s the Head of Sustainability for Google EMEA. He is solutions-focused and in a position to affect change. He attended COP27 and presented on a Google collaboration to support mapping and understanding seagrass ecosystems and their ability to absorb carbon.

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2) Pascal Barollier

He’s the Managing Director of the Public Engagement & Information Services Department at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a dedicated advocacy and public policy team. Pascal is the Gavi representative leading on climate and health and plans to be at COP28, where he will oversee activities, particularly during health day.

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3) Vanessa Kerry, MD MSc

She’s the CEO of Seed Global Health, a non-profit that invests in health system strengthening by training needed health professionals in resource-limited settings. She is also Special Envoy on Climate Change and Health to the World Health Organization. Dr. Kerry is a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and is the associate director of Partnerships and Global Initiatives at the hospital’s Center for Global Health.

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4) Lynn Loo

She’s the CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, a non-profit to accelerate the international shipping transition to an alow-zero-carbon future. This topic is set to be a focus area at COP28, so her feed is one to watch. Based in Singapore, she’s a chemical engineer (Ph.D. from Princeton) and served as a Professor at Princeton in Engineering and at the Adlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.

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5) Vojtech Vosecky

He’s a circular economist and co-founder of the Institute of Circular Economy. He’s focused on building a world without waste. He is a Chairman of a Steering Committee for Circular Economy, helping Prague transition to circularity. He is also an Associate for Circle Economy, focused on the Nordics and the CEE. Vojtech was a Top Green Voice on LinkedIn in 2022.

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6) Mohamed Adow

He’s an international climate policy expert, and the Founder and Director of Power Shift Africa, a climate and energy think tank communicating from an African perspective. He is committed to advocating for those in developing nations, especially as climate change disproportionately impacts these populations.

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7) Kate Raworth

She’s a heterodox economist working to transition economics, which has contributed significantly to climate change, into a science capable of transitioning our societies to a sustainable future. Her scholarship is dedicated to balancing vital human needs and planetary boundaries, known as Doughnut Economics. This work ensures climate change is combated equitably to improve lives. She founded the Doughnut economics action lab and is on the World Health Organizations’ Council for ‘Economics for Health of All.’

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7 Climate-Focused Academics & Researchers to Know

1) Dr. Aisha Al-Sarihi

She’s a non-resident fellow of The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a research fellow for the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute. She focuses on the Middle East and offers a measured approach from her perspective.

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2) Prof. Katharine Hayhoe

She’s a climate scientist, the Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy, and a Co-Director of the Texas Tech University’s Climate Center. She provides a lot of interesting information via X as well as her website: https://www.katharinehayhoe.com/

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3) Renzo Guinto, MD

He’s a physician interested in global health and sustainable development; Dr.Renzo Guinto is a third-year Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He offers a global perspective and strategic thinking, offering ideas on various topics from universal health care, medical education, and migrant health to international health diplomacy, noncommunicable diseases, and climate change & energy policy.

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4) Naomi (Sheehan) Sheehan

She’s a sustainable development scientist, planetary poly-crisis theorist, climate action, and social justice advisor. She is the founder of the behavioral science group “Climate Communicators.” A Top Green Voice and thought leader for European Thought Leadership on LinkedIn 2022/23, Naomi’s intersectional work focuses on the current planetary poly-crises of climate breakdown, biodiversity collapse, economic loss, and humanitarian meta-crises.

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5) Roberta Boscolo

She’s the Climate and Energy Science Officer for the World Meteorological Organization. She previously worked for the World Climate Research Programme. She led a team of scientists applying climate change research to develop climate adaptation strategies. This contributed to shaping the vision of the UN lead initiative led by the WMO — Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS). She’s a Top Sustainability Influencer on LinkedIn.

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6) Dr. Adelaide Lusambili

She’s part of the Climate Health and Maternal Neonatal Health Africa (CHAMNHA) consortium of researchers from the UK, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Burkina Faso, USA, and Kenya studying the effects of heat exposure on the health of pregnant women and their newborns. Dr. Lusambili also serves as Associate Professor at the African International University within the Environmental Health and Governance Centre. She’s adding an essential voice to the conversation on the intersection of climate and health.

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7) Dr. Maria Neira

She’s the Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment at the World Health Organization (WHO). She is focused on the impact of climate change — notably air pollution — on human health. Dr. Neira was rated one of the 100 Most Influential Voices in Climate Policy in 2022/23 by Apolitical.

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Looking Toward COP28 — Have a Plan

This list represents a cross-section of geographies and themes, from energy transition and phasing out fossil fuels to advancing circularity in the built environment to decarbonizing trade and climate financing. For the first time this year, human health will receive a full day of focus. Michelle Williams, Dean of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said best, “Health is the human face of climate change.”

If you are in the planetary or human health business, this year’s COP28 will be an essential focal point of decision-making. Following these 28 powerhouses will give you a window into the COP28 conversations and the next phase of efforts to tackle our climate challenges.

Regardless of your industry sector or where you hail, if you’re a COP28 “watcher,” climate tech innovation or policy maker, tracking with these 28 voices centered around COP28 will elevate your perspective and ensure you have an informed voice at whatever table you sit.

Appreciation

Thanks to my colleagues Richard Hatzfeld, Senior Partner, Global Public Health, and Christopher Nial, Senior Partner, Global Health Practice | EMEA Public Health Co‑Lead, who each contributed key influential voices to this list. They are both influencers in their own right and worth following for perspectives on the intersection of climate and public health.

The post COP28 Conversations — Join the Community in the Know – 28 Influencers to Follow appeared first on Medika Life.

No longer are the table stakes only about return on investment. Corporate leaders, NGOs and governments recognize that climate tech can serve two distinct roles, providing: 

1. A needed path to intervene around climate change
2. A business development laboratory for future products leading to profits.

Several prominent private equity groups have begun to recognize that climate technology and sustainability information platforms offer fertile ground for return on investment – promising returns for limited partners and essential benefits to the planet. In a recent visit to Israel, a nation noted for cultivating a bounty of start-up companies and “unicorns,” we met several of the country’s leading incubators, accelerators, and equity groups that have made climate tech their investment priority.

Seven Powerhouse Investment Groups

While many of the world’s leading equity groups have headquarters and branches in Israel, these seven organizations have prioritized climate tech. If you’re tracking the environmental innovation sector, make sure you’re following these venture capital groups that span the incubator, accelerator, and equity fields:

• Capital Nature is an Israeli private equity group – a front-runner – investing in environmentally focused startups and businesses. Launched as an incubator by the Israel Innovation Authority 10 years ago, Capital Nature, led by one of Israel’s top investors, business executives, and entrepreneurs, Anat Tsour, empowers entrepreneurs to develop scalable ventures by providing financial support, strategic guidance, and connections. The group actively seeks startups that address critical environmental challenges such as renewable energy, waste management, water conservation, and sustainable agriculture, fostering a vibrant ecosystem of green innovation in Israel. LINKEDIN

• Doral Energy-Tech Ventures has emerged as a key player shaping the landscape of climate technology. With its focus on sustainable innovation, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures has consistently invested in – and sought connections with – early-stage solutions that address pressing environmental challenges. Its strategic collaborations with startups and established companies have propelled the development and deployment of groundbreaking technologies spanning renewable energy, carbon capture, and efficient resource management. Roee Furman, managing director of Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, offers portfolio companies a welcomed combination of expertise and funding. Doral Energy-Tech Ventures is a lead global catalyst accelerating the transition to a more resilient and low-carbon future and the vital role private enterprises play in advancing climate tech. LINKEDIN

• Gravity Climate Fund focuses on climate change and sustainability. The fund was launched by one of Israel’s leading voices in climate technology, Bracha Halaf, formerly chief scientist at the Ministry of Energy. She brings her expertise as a principal at Qure Ventures, an OurCrowd fund, to the much-needed effort to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy by investing in early-stage startups and disruptive technologies. Gravity Climate Fund supports ventures that tackle climate challenges head-on, including renewable energy, energy storage, electric mobility, and sustainable infrastructure. Their strategic investments and support help drive technological advancements and create a more sustainable future.

• Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) is a government agency that promotes technological advancements and innovation across various sectors, especially the environment. The Authority supports initiatives focused on environmental sustainability, offering grants, funding programs, and mentorship to startups and research institutions – even supporting “laboratories” to field test promising innovations. The problems facing cleantech companies are not unique to Israel. IIA is sponsoring some 100 Israeli-based companies heading to COP28 in Dubai. IIA has a solid track record in clean technologies, resource efficiencies, and sustainable practices as the nexus among academia, industry, and government. LINKEDIN

• Mass Challenge Israel is the largest and most diverse zero-equity accelerator in Israel and has included a climate tech track among its operational priorities. Its comprehensive programs enable climate-focused startups to thrive by providing strategic mentorship, resources and connections to investors and industry leaders. Mass Challenge Israel accelerates the development of cutting-edge solutions addressing the world’s pressing climate challenges through collaboration between entrepreneurs and experts, and by doing so, contributes to the growth of sustainable technologies and the global effort to tackle climate change. LINKEDIN

• PLANETech is a nonprofit innovation community for climate change technologies – a joint venture of the Israel Innovation Institute and Consensus Business Group. Its power team, led by Noam Sonennberg, offers tailored acceleration programs, strategic mentorship, and access to a vast network of investors and industry leaders; PLANETech provides companies with the tools and resources needed to succeed in the complex world of capital and policy. Through its community, it emphasizes knowledge exchange so sponsored companies can refine solutions, scale their impact, and address the pressing challenges of climate change. PLANETech support is instrumental in laying the groundwork for groundbreaking technologies that contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future. LINKEDIN

• Start-Up Nation Central, an Israel-based non-profit organization, has fostered innovation and technological advancements in the field of climate tech. By connecting startups, researchers, investors, and corporates, they are accelerating the development and deployment of solutions addressing climate change challenges. Along with supporting companies at the forefront of climate tech innovation, Start-Up Nation Central has developed a visual inventory of 760 early-stage enterprises developing climate solutions. The go-to voice for the sector at Start-Up Nation is Yael Weisz Zilberman, who leads sector efforts.  LINKEDIN

The climate-tech community is tight-knit, and ready access to private equity leadership is a given. The conference platforms are many, and the post-panel conversation offers plenty of opportunities to connect and chat. Israeli-based private equity groups have shown leadership and gravitas in advancing environmental innovation.

Follow the Money? Not Quite.

Through financial support, strategic guidance, and collaboration, these entities nurture startups by opening their bank accounts and, perhaps more importantly, their contact databases. As Israel continues to prioritize sustainability and environmental innovation, investors and partners outside the “Start-Up Nation” will look at the hundreds of companies entering the climate tech sector and, most importantly, the private equity group portfolios doing the due diligence and counseling behind the scenes. Follow the money and the wisdom!

The post Israel Incubators, Accelerators and Private-Equity Groups Champion Pressing Climate-Tech Innovation appeared first on Medika Life.

Today, wind power influences the global transition toward sustainable and renewable energy sources. Its status as a key renewable energy technology is expected to grow in importance in the coming years. The potential of wind power lies in its ability to generate clean electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to energy diversification. Now, it is one of the fastest-growing infrastructures in history.  

One of the primary advantages of wind power is its abundance. Wind is a limitless resource, available in varying degrees across the globe. Harnessing this power efficiently through wind turbines can provide ample electricity alongside other renewable energy sources to meet the power needs of homes, businesses, and, possibly, entire communities.  Following the Paris Climate Accords, international climate governance was organized around three pillars: mitigation, adaptation, and implementation. While fossil fuels will not disappear entirely from the energy portfolio, the global goal is diversifying into other sources. Wind and solar power are the go-to possibilities.

Energy Diversification is Key to Meeting Paris Climate Mandates

Necessity is the mother of invention.  While the Dutch sought to prevent flooding, Israel used wind turbines to pump water to arid communities.  Then in the 1980s, the Start-Up Nation installed its first experimental wind turbines. Wind energy plays a growing role in Israel’s renewable energy mix as the nation seeks to reduce reliance on fossil fuels as part of its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

Enter First Airborne – Combining the Power of Drone Technology with Monitoring Performance

Now the country is championing bio-convergence – marshaling its peoples’ skills across the sciences – to explore how to make wind power an efficient energy resource.  Perhaps one of the leading players on the world measurement scene is First Airborne.  Headquartered in a small, picturesque village in Central Israel, First Airborne has developed a first-in-class patented wind measurement sensor called Windborne™. The 60-gram instrument, shaped like a small rocket ship, may transform wind farm monitoring and performance.

Attached to a moveable drone, Windborne, moving from wind farm section to section, enables short-staffed wind farm operators to obtain precision wind measurements across large-scale facilities at an unmatched scale. This validated level of accuracy and coverage has never been recorded before, making Windborne a possible game-changer for the renewable energy industry. It is the only robotic device in the wind-power industry to take direct measurements rather than provide a model measurement.

The potential of wind power to complement existing forms of clean energy is vast.  But how much wind is available, and what direction should the turbines face? As the renewable energy industry grows, accurate wind measurement data across large wind farms become vital to this growth sector.  Experts predict wind power offers the most significant future for energy. They suggest that even hydrogen will be fueled by wind farms. Green hydrogen is created by wind/solar power, and to meet our carbon-zero targets, green electricity must be used to produce hydrogen.

Wind Farms are Growing Exponentially

In speaking to Medika Life, First Airborne Founder and CEO Boaz Peled reflected on the possibilities of alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.  “The growth of wind power today is between eight and 12% annually. In the offshore sector, it could reach as much as 30% annually, and with what’s expected off the Eastern Coast of the United States, that growth could exceed even that optimistic estimate. That’s like owning 10 airports and building another every year.”

While initial investment costs for wind farms are significant, the operational costs are relatively low compared to fossil fuel-based power plants. But profitability is razor thin.  Economics remains one of the key obstacles to making the shift away from fossil fuels.  As technology advances and economies of scale are achieved, the cost of producing wind energy will continue to decrease, making it economically viable and competitive.

Peled says, “Solar and wind energy have infinite and abundant potential. But among the challenges is determining how operators go from managing 300 to 3000 wind turbines and doing that efficiently to ensuring a sustainable business model.”

Wind (and solar) power faces challenges that must be addressed to realize its fullest potential. One of the primary challenges is that wind is intermittent. The other is that it’s a rapidly growing energy sector with a limited talent pool to operate and maintain wind farms.  Large companies in the wind sector are operating their portfolios on low margins. Every failure has a substantial financial and confidence-loss impact. Every additional hire has a significant effect on successful operations. Efficiency guides the effective utilization of staff and the potential for greater societal and operational outcomes.

Addressing these issues through improved technology, proper planning, and community engagement is crucial to maximizing the positive impact of wind energy while minimizing the pitfalls.

Israel – Innovation Perfected By Necessity

Like Israel, many nations are pursuing on- and offshore wind energy development as a renewable energy strategy. Denmark, German, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom lead the way in Europe with operational offshore wind farms. In North America, the United States is making strides with efforts underway in the Atlantic Ocean.

But then there is the pressing challenge of maximizing the operational investment in equipment.  Wind turbines generate electricity only when wind speeds are sufficient, and this fluctuation requires backup power sources or energy storage systems to ensure a stable energy supply. Leaders in this ever-growing sector are asking critical questions about metrics: How do we know what the wind is? If I know what the wind is, do I know the value of my wind resource? Am I producing correctly or not?  Even how wind arms can are possible risks to birds and bats, leading to potential collisions with turbines. Proper site selection, direction and mitigation measures reduce these conservation concerns.

Technology advancements are crucial to tap the full potential of wind power. Ongoing research and development efforts aim to enhance turbine efficiency, increase capacity factors, and improve energy storage solutions. Additionally, advances in offshore wind power are expanding its reach into new areas, where winds tend to be stronger and more consistent.

On the Way to Dubai and COP28 – Wind Power Validated

“The earth has enough sun and wind to meet humanity’s energy consumption,” says Peled, who managed wind farms in Eastern Europe before returning to Israel to launch his company.  “Now, the prime business question is operational.  Are there enough solar panels – probably not. Currently, the rate of solar panel energy access is low – one megawatt-hour of solar power compared to one-third to half of the megawatt capacity of wind. Wind is more efficient as an energy source.  Real-time measurement is critical to shifting this industry with its great potential into a high-performance sector,” he adds.

Wind power offers a great future for diversified energy sources. Measuring wind power is crucial to secure its place as an effective solution.  Our dominant economic model is from extracting crude oil from the earth, but this chapter is coming to an orchestrated close.  As the world convenes soon in Dubai for COP28, calls for renewable and sustainable energy will grow louder. It’s not enough to suggest that wind is a sustainable alternative.  That must be proven.

Accurate measurements – amassing that data – will determine whether wind power will become a global priority and how nations and corporations assess farm site suitability, optimize turbine placement and evaluate energy output. Only accurate and validated data can enable that level of informed decision-making, planning, and, ultimately, the great potential of wind power as a renewable energy source.  This visit to First Airborne was a conversation with pioneers whose robotic engineering attention to detail will likely take the hot air out of wind’s significant renewable energy potential.

The post Harvesting the Breeze: Unleashing the Power of Wind Energy appeared first on Medika Life.