I was looking forward for this month’s editorial note, as I had such an exciting experience traveling to Frankfurt, Germany, and attend the ‘Impact Festival’. Actually, it was the first time, after the pandemic, that I was able to attend such an event and be able to have 1:1 meetings in person. Also, I have to give you the heads up that this note is longer than what I usually write.
Impact Festival’s aim was to bring together sustainability startups, business people, investors and people from other sectors, who are interested in making a change in the world. As we are all aware, climate change is at its peak, so all of us need to take action today.
I met lots of people and had the chance to talk about topics that are of concern nowadays. The main topic was climate change and how this year it hit many countries, in such a bad way, something that didn’t happen before; at least not to that extent. For instance, they were discussing about the floods in Germany, the massive fires that hit Italy, Greece and other countries around the globe.
It is impressive how young people, still in university or just got their first job are making a change. They seem that they do know how to make a change and they do have the right skills and tools to do so. So, that was one of the reasons that this event brought together these startups with potential investors, so they can grow and develop.
While, I was in the conference, I had the chance to attend few Masterclasses, which enlightened my knowledge. “The Roadmap from Market Access Compliance to Implementing Sustainability Goals” with Johanna Terry, Novaloop GmbH CEO & Co-founder. Johanna spoke about environmental compliance and sustainability strategy; and how these 2 aspects combined can help with manufacturing products in the future, so they can be environmental friendly.
“An Intro to Responsible Tech – How to use and build Technology with Respect to Humanity” with Olga Bratsun, Tech2Impact Program Lead and Sasha Lipman Tech2Impact Founder. Both spoke about the key pillars of responsible use of technology and identifying areas of growth for businesses through the Responsible Technology Assessment.
“YESS Impact: Blockchain for Sustainable Finance in Rural Uganda” with Luise Ammerschuber Yess Impact Director & Co-Founder. Louise spoke about how to make sustainable change in communities that live in poverty and be supported by blockchain technology.
“Eco Money – Ecological and Economic Business Models in Agriculture” with Jacob P. Bussman, Seed Forward GmbH CEO, Dominik Ewald MonitorFish Co-Founder and Ivo Degn Co-Founder Climate Farmers. Both spoke about efficient combination of human, financial and natural resources, in order to create innovation and enhance productivity. Definitely they believe that this to happen needs the collaboration between government, businesses and society, as a result for a better quality of life, making sure that sustainability is the main focus.
It is worth mentioning that the 17 Goals of Sutainable Development was one of the main things that the speakers were mentioning. What are the 17 Goals? Here is a brief explanation
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Good health and well being
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Clean water and sanitation
- Affordable and clean energy
- Decent work and economic growth
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure
- Reduce inequalities
- Sustainable cities and communities
- Responsible consumption and production
- Climate action
- Life below water
- Life on land
- Peace, justice and strong institutions
- Partnerships for the goals
On the other hand, I had the chance to meet exhibitors and have a chat about what they doing and how they planning to help with the climate change.
Here are few of the companies I did speak with:
On another note, as I always say stay tuned as more exciting things are coming!
