In April 2023, San Francisco hosted its first ever Climate Week, which included a series of events, gathering diverse climate organisations, leaders and the broader community working at the intersection of climate action and innovation. The effects of the climate crisis are affecting billions of people worldwide, including recent occurrences of record-breaking precipitation, flooding and fires in California. The crisis is an urgent reality, which needs to be addressed now, and in San Francisco, a wave of climate tech start-ups have emerged, aiming to develop ground-breaking solutions to alleviate and even reverse the most severe consequences of climate change.

Together with Heirloom, SF Climate Week hosted an event discussing how San Francisco is the epicentre of climate technology. The speakers included San Francisco’s Mayor, London Breed, as well as three climate tech entrepreneurs developing technologies to address the climate crisis. They each shared insights into why San Francisco is a frontrunner in the green transition and how the Bay Area is fostering start-ups and serving as an epicentre for innovation.

"San Francisco is not without its problems, but today is about how we are leading the country in the green transition."

London Breed

Mayor, San Francisco

Climate Action Plan

Mayor Breed proudly stated that San Francisco is in the forefront for innovative solution, where she mentioned the Climate Action Plan as a progressive factor. The San Francisco Climate Action plan, first adopted in 2004, is a comprehensive strategy that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2050. Since the adaptation of the plan, impacts of the changing climate have been irrefutable. Consequences such as increasing heat waves, worsening drought, and regional wildfires that blanket the city in smoke are becoming more commonplace, while racial, social, and economic inequalities also have become more severe and pronounced. These challenges are the driving forces for the development of the 2021 Climate Action Plan.

The city’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis has made it a frontrunner in sustainability and has served as a model for other cities around the world. “Mayors from all over the world called us after launching our climate action plan to ask about it, and even asked us to come to their cities to show them how it’s done,” said Mayor Breed.

Breed also mentioned a vital part of the plan being creating a whole new job sector within climate, and to attract climate tech start-up and companies to the Bay Area. During the panel debate, the three climate tech entrepreneurs shared reflections and suggestions why San Francisco and the Bay Area is the place to establish and scale a climate-focused business.

Strong Government Support for Climate Action

Diego Saez-Gil, originally from Argentina, was moved to action after witnessing wide-scale deforestation and the early impacts of climate changes first-hand, leading him to co-found and become the CEO of Pachama, where they harness satellite data and AI to help companies confidently invest in high-quality carbon credits.

Diego Saez-Gil highlights San Francisco’s long history of environmental leaders as a vital aspect of making it the ideal location for climate-focused companies. California’s history of supporting climate action and clean energy initiatives has created a regulatory environment that is highly supportive of climate tech start-ups. The state is one of the most ambitious in the US – even the world - in regards to climate goals, including carbon neutrality by 2040 and maintaining negative emissions thereafter. San Francisco is therefore actively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which can provide opportunities for collaboration and partnership between start-ups and local government. Mayor Breed also highlighted these collaborations as crucial when discussing the green transition. She continuously mentioned that the technology is already here:

"The time is to move forward and invest, because we already have alternatives to a green and cleaner future."

London Breed

Mayor, San Francisco

The city has created a foundation for innovation within climate technology, but now the challenge lies within scaling and implementing these alternative solutions.

Surrounded by nature

“There needs to be a new way of manufacturing things and a new way of creating prosperity,” says Neeka Mashouf, the co-founder and CEO of Rubi Laboratories. Apparel is the third most CO2 heavy industry and through reimagined supply chains that are symbiotic with the planet, Rubi Laboratories use biological machinery, enzymes, to capture CO2 and convert it to cellulose through a process which is net carbon-negative, water and land neutral, and fully traceable.

When asking Neeka Mashouf why San Francisco is an ideal location for a climate tech business, she mentions that the nature around the city is what inspires her.

"Growing up in San Francisco, I realised there is a high concentration of people who love being in nature."

Neeka Mashouf

CEO and Co-Founder, Rubi Laboratories

It might seem less significant, but nature surroundings could be a reason for the motivation towards a creating a sustainable future. By living and working in such a beautiful and biodiverse region, people can gain a deep appreciation for the importance of environmental conservation and become inspired to create innovative climate tech solutions to address the urgent challenges our planet is facing.

Equity and Diversity in Focus

One thing Saez-Gil, Samala, and Mashouf have in common is that they all have an immigrant background. The topic of equity and diversity circulated during the panel debate, and all three entrepreneurs stressed the importance of representation when building a business. Diversity can bring different perspectives to challenges, which can be vital when finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Samala mentions the variety and diversity of talents as one of San Francisco’s best assets. Not only does this include race and gender, but also social class. He reflects on growing up in an environment, where it was evident that the worst climate change consequences impacts the poorest.

"We don't want to build technology that only works for some people."

Shashank Samala

CEO, Heirloom

This is where the San Francisco Climate Action Plan stands out, as it focuses on aspects of equity and diversity. It implements a comprehensive plan that prioritizes equity for all communities, especially lower-class communities, who typically are most affected by the changing climate. Breed highlighted the Bay View Hunter Point community, that primarily houses African American citizens, as an example on how the plan is people-based and community-focused, as she wishes to roll out green initiatives beginning with this community.

A Green Combination

As mentioned earlier, San Francisco is not without its problems. Naturally, there are drawbacks to establishing a business in San Francisco, such as high costs of living and operating expenses, etc. However, when you combine San Francisco’s ideal start-up ecosystem, ambitious carbon-neutral goals, diverse talent, equity values, and incredible nature surroundings, the city has quickly become a frontrunner in the green transition and lays an exceptional foundation for establishing and scaling climate technology businesses. The Climate Action Plan sets the tone for the values of San Francisco, but what truly makes the difference are the diverse and motivated talents that are eager to find a solution towards a sustainable future.

Strengthening International Collaboration

At Denmark in Silicon Valley, we work to create bridges and knowledge-sharing between Denmark and California, as we strongly believe collaboration to be a key element to realising our climate goals. Therefore, during SF Climate Week we had the pleasure of hosting the event ‘Carbon Cocktail.’ The event circulated around the topic of decarbonisation and carbon removal from both a Danish and Californian perspective, and had keynote speakers sharing insights on the future of carbon innovation, as well as panel discussions discussing how Denmark and California can collaborate globally towards our climate goals. Denmark was the only country, outside the US, represented in the Climate Week, and approx. 250 guests joined the event. The large number of participants proved that the interest for Denmark within the carbon area is extensive, and that we need to build on this interest going forward.

If you are interested in learning more about our work or exploring how your start-up could work with or in San Francisco, feel free to reach out to our advisors.