10 tech solutions for an eco-friendly 2020

To me, 2019 was the year of global awareness of climate change. The year the 16 year old Greta Thunberg became one of the 10 most influential people in science according to the journal Science. What many scientists with convincing research were not able to do, Greta did: she raised global attention for the urge of climate change and many others to take action with her. In July, Angela Merkel even acknowledged that the protests Thunberg ignited “drove them to act” after announcing measures to reduce carbon emissions. With Christmas however, our carbon footprint shows a steep peak: Research shows that the average Christmas carbon footprint in the UK was 650 kg of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) per person in 2007. This is 5.5% of a UK citizens’ average total annual carbon footprint.

Fortunately, our tradition following up on Christmas is to reflect on the past year and embrace new habits for the next year. Therefore I decided to participate in making New Year’s Resolutions, taking it a bit further than the common intent of minimising my cookie intake. With Thunberg as an example I’d like to see what I can do to combat climate change! Since scouting for solutions is at the heart of what we do at Venture IQ, I decided to help you and myself get started. Below, I listed 10 start-ups under 7 topics that might inspire you to reduce your footprint and make more eco-friendly decisions in 2020.

My selection of eco-friendly tech (re)solutions for 2022

Carbon tracking your transactions: Doconomy

This company offers a banking service that calculates the carbon impact of every transaction. And we all know the saying: knowledge is power. If you understand what your footprint consists of, it’s much easier to reduce it!

Automatically track your behaviour: Oroeco App

We all know we should shift our behaviour to an eco-friendly way. Breaking habits however, has never been easy. The Oroeco app automatically tracks the effect of habits, including eating, shopping, flying, driving, energy consumption and more. With their personalised tips, they help you break unnecessary habits, and ‘win’ too, as it allows you to connect and compete with friends.

Plant a tree: EcoMatcher

Planting a tree seems slightly ironic given our Christmas tradition of cutting down trees at scale to lighten up the spirit at home. However, wouldn’t it be considerate to plant a tree back in return? Ecomatcher allows you to plant that tree, and via the technology they provide, you can track the location, date of planting and the farmer. You can even virtually travel their with their app!

Prevent food waste: OLIO

Not sure what to do with all you Christmas dinner leftovers? OLIO connects neighbours to share food, and other things, rather than chuck them away. With over 1.6 million users across 48 countries, there is always someone in the neighbourhood to share your meal with. Connect with your local community and start reducing food waste together – sharing is caring.

Eat less ‘real’ meat: Beyond Meat, Meatable, Mosa Meat, and HappyCow

2019 was a vibrant year in the alternative meat industry. Cutting down on your meat consumption makes sense if you want to reduce your environmental impact. Beyond Meat went public this year and they provide their plant-based burger patties on a global scale. For those who really can’t let go of meat, there are positive developments on the cultured meat front, too. Meatable has just raised $10 million to further develop their technology, competing directly with Mosa Meat, who contemplates a similar goal. And if you’re eating out, but want to stick to your new vegetarian or vegan diet: HappyCow can help you find the best spots.

Living off the grid: HAUS

Do you still think it is way too complicated to become a more eco-friendly citizen? Then you can always decide to purchase a fully autonomous house and live off the grid. It’s not even necessary to hand in on comfort and style anymore with Haus’ houses. Every tech gadget you can imagine is integrated, its energy efficiency is 20x higher compared to a normal house. So, now all that remains is a location…

Buy less – fix more: www.repareer.com

The lifespan of products is becoming shorter. Many people tend to buy a new product instead of having that minor defect repaired, which has a negative effect on the planet and your carbon footprint. www.repareer.com is a platform where you can easily offer your product that needs to be repaired and matches you to professionals or hobbyists who can do a counter-bid. So, do you really need that new computer?