Business partners join Undaunted to scale up climate solutions

Furniture retailer DFS, professional services companies EY and Slaughter and May, and investment firm Talis Capital have joined founding partners HSBC and the Greater London Authority as corporate members of Undaunted’s community of academic experts and entrepreneurs. 

We’re creating a new community around climate change innovation Alyssa Gilbert Director of Undaunted

Undaunted aims to help build an economy in which economic benefits such as job creation go hand-in-hand with technological, business and policy solutions to tackle climate change.  

The organisations in its corporate membership programme will gain insights into new technologies and ventures coming through Undaunted and its startup accelerator The Greenhouse and will have access to expert advice from academic climate science and technology experts. They will also provide sectoral expertise that will help guide the development of the climate solutions under development by the community. 

“We’re creating a new community around climate change innovation,” explains Alyssa Gilbert, Undaunted’s Director. “We have relationships with investors, businesses, professionals with expertise to provide mentor relationships. We are building relationships with corporations so we can understand barriers to innovation.” 

The corporate members, facilitated by Imperial’s corporate membership network Imperial Business Partners, will use networking events and bespoke seminars to help them combine commercial success with urgently needed solutions to the climate crisis. 

• DFS, which specialises in sofas and other soft furnishings, has joined Undaunted with a mission to explore innovations to their products and business models with a focus on improving circularity, for example through highly innovative materials and products designed for easy disassembly or reupholstery that can be embedded into circular business models.  

• EY, which provides accountancy and consulting services, is using its membership to add value for clients. Membership will be a particular asset for EY’s sustainability advisory service, which is helping businesses to harness the Net Zero opportunity, and will be sharing with clients the latest solutions, innovations, and insights under development across the business and academic climate change community.   

• Slaughter and May, the international law firm headquartered in London, supports innovation and innovators. It sees participation in Undaunted as a lens to see how policy and regulation can drive innovation and a valuable insight into the climate innovation system.
   
  “Climate innovation is a vital part of our collective response to the climate emergency,’ says Jeff Twentyman, the company’s Chair for Sustainability and Responsible Business. “We are enthusiastic participants in Undaunted and are pleased to support the Greenhouse through our Fast Forward programme.”
• Talis Capital, a venture capital company that leads investments at Seed and Series A across Europe and the US. Talis leverages the latest academic insights to guide its investment decisions in category defining companies in the climate space, such as Ynsect and Rubi Laboratories. 
  
  It is also lending its expertise to the Undaunted startup community and has already run a workshop for entrepreneurs on fundraising strategies. Matus Maar, Managing Partner at Talis Capital said: “We back founders who see the future differently. Working with Undaunted gives our portfolio access to the latest academic expertise and allows them to put it into businesses that help make tangible change.” 

“Often, our business collaborators have made climate commitments and are still working out how to reach them,” says Ms Gilbert. “We’re talking both to people responsible for climate targets and those responsible for innovation. In addition to helping them address their business challenges, it's really valuable for our climate innovation community to have their expertise and their challenges coming in.” 

Learn more about Undaunted and its corporate membership programme.