Issue 5: News, funding and events

Hi Everyone, 

Welcome back to the Above & Beyond newsletter, this time it’s our monthly digest of the latest happenings in the UK climate scene. 

Last time I wrote this intro there were a lot of unknowns; with both the UK budget and the US election result yet to be revealed. Now we have clear outcomes from both events, it will be interesting to see how they impact UK business confidence over the coming months. 

The increase to employers NI rates is one that I’m particularly interested in hearing Founders’ thoughts on, and whether it will materially impact their decision to hire more people over the next 12 months. So please do get in touch in the comments and let us know your thoughts. 

On a personal level I’m noticing the chill in the air as Christmas comes around faster than I’m really prepared for. My diary is full of Christmas drinks, school nativity plays and I’m feeling seriously behind on my present buying! 

The temperatures are set to drop to below freezing this week, and there’s talk in the news of energy prices increasing further this January. Recently, I was listening to Greg Jackson on Question Time calling for an overhaul of our wholesale energy markets to better incentivise the adoption of green technologies and make it more affordable for people. High energy prices are looking to be the ‘new normal’ and I am personally feeling the impact of moving to a plug-in hybrid car, which has led to a significant uplift on my energy bills.  

I’ll be at the London Climate Technology Show next Thursday and would love to meet up with any Founders or Investors in my network that fancy a coffee and a general chat about the world of climate, startups and employment. Let me know!

Cherry

There are so many fantastic companies, investors and individuals in the climate space. We’ll be featuring some of them here, in our Spotlight section, so you can make new connections and keep track of the wider industry.

This month, we’re spotlighting Elbow Beach Capital – a private investment company focused on decarbonisation, sustainable energy and social impact businesses.

They support exceptional founders and their teams in scaling their businesses through capital investments, coupled with ESG and go-to-market expertise. Backing innovative entrepreneurs who are building businesses that will have a positive impact on our planet and society. 

Their investments have included MedTech, AgriTech, energy and water. They’re always on the lookout for early-stage businesses whose technologies have the potential to solve our planet’s biggest challenges and achieve significant commercial growth. 

You’ll be able to catch CEO, Jonathan Pollock , on series 8 of the Climate Pioneers Show on 16th January, as he joins me to take a look ahead at the 2025 funding landscape.

Every week we speak to exceptional people who are looking for new roles within climate and we want to do our best to showcase them to our founder community.   

Each issue we highlight climate jobseekers that have stood out to us over the last month, and who we think would add significant value in an early-stage startup.   

If you’d like to learn more about them and maybe even arrange an introductory call with them, please get in touch on cherry@aboveandbeyondrec.co.uk or via DM.   

This is just a snapshot of some of the brilliant people we speak to each month. So, if your current hiring needs are different to the skills found below, do get in touch. There’s a good chance we’ll know someone to match your requirements. 

Operations / Project Management / Consulting 

Salary requirement: £60,000+ 

Hybrid: London 

• MSc in Climate Change, Management and Finance. 

• Worked at Citi Bank and did an internship at Goldman Sachs. 

• Experienced in client relationship management and consulting. 

• Experienced in data analytics and sustainability analytics. 

• Passionate about the intersection of Climate, Finance, Nature and Risk. 

Head of Project Management / Programme Management 

Salary requirement: £80,000+ (flexible for the right tole) 

Remote-first (can travel to London monthly) 

• Experienced running major projects and programmes of work on a global scale.

• Has worked in large corporate, public sector regulatory and not-for-profit sectors. 

• Has managed projects worth tens of millions from concept design through to timely completion, managing broad ranging stakeholders in both public and private sector. 

• Is acutely aware of how to operate in a strict regulatory environment. 

• Has a good working knowledge of freshwater, oceans and natural environment projects. 

Congratulations to all the fantastic companies that have closed rounds recently. There are too many to mention them all, but here are a few that caught our eye this month:

🎉 Bendi , a London-based ESG and supply chain platform, raised $1 million in Pre-Seed funding from Midven , Chasing Rainbows , HEARTFELT_ and Innovate UK . 

🎉 Econic Technologies Ltd , a CO2-to-polymers service, raised an undisclosed amount in growth funding from Taranis Carbon Ventures, CM Venture Capital , Capricorn Partners , GC Ventures and ING Corporate Investments . 

🎉 Concretene , a Manchester-based reinforced concrete production, raised $4 million in Seed funding from Molten Ventures and LocalGlobe .

🎉 London-based CULT MIA , a sustainable online luxury fashion marketplace, raised $2 million in seed extension funding from investors including H&M Group Ventures, Morgan Stanley , Fuel Ventures 🚀 and David Wertheimer (son of Chanel-owner Gérard Wertheimer). 

🎉 Circuland raised €750,000 Pre-seed funding to accelerate the development of its digital material passports, which enable circular economy practices in the construction industry by tracking materials' lifecycles for reuse and recovery. 

🎉 Hometree secured a £50 million mezzanine facility from CPP Investments to finance the installation of solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps in 35,000 UK homes over the next two years. 

🎉 Leeds-based MicroLub , which is developing protein microgel technology for alternative meat and reduced-fat foods, raised £3.5 million in Seed funding. Northern Gritstone led the round and was joined by investors including Praetura Ventures and LIFFT. 

🎉 Basecamp Research , a biodiversity mapping platform, raised $60 million in Series B funding from Singular , Hummingbird Ventures and True Ventures . The startup hopes its database will enable new computational discoveries in fields like drugs and novel materials. 

🎉 Vested Impact , founded by Kimberley Abbott , raised a £1.1 million Seed round led by Impact Shakers to expand its platform for rapid, data-driven ESG and impact assessments.

🎉 Neutreeno , a Cambridge-based emissions tracking and decarbonisation platform, raised $5 million in Seed funding from Regeneration.VC, Remarkable Ventures Climate , Closed Loop Partners , Prequel Ventures , Scania Group Invest and others.

🎉 measurable.energy has secured £4 million in new funding to accelerate their mission of eliminating wasted energy and carbon emissions globally. Co-led by Vertex Holdings ' Exploratory Fund - making its first investment in the UK clean tech sector - and existing partner Clean Growth Fund .

Here are some of the events our team will be at over the next few weeks.   

If you see us, come over and say hello  👋 

Please also drop a comment if there’s something we’ve missed, or somewhere you think we should be. 

Nov 27th and 28th – London Climate Technology Show 

Nov 28th – Green Angel Ventures Winter Party 

Dec 9th – Women and Climate Christmas Drinks 

Our events:  

Thursday 5th December  – Working in Sustainable Technology (virtual): Decarbonising Freight Transport 

Speakers will be announced shortly but you can register to join now, here. 

Have you joined our new community for UK-based founders, C-suite and investors in climate tech? If you’d like to join us and get access to our bi-monthly roundtable sessions, either comment CTP or drop me a DM and we’ll send you a link to join.