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Climate Catastrophe – is Capitalism to Blame?

11/6/2019

by Nick Lyth, CEO and Founder of Green Angel Sydicate

Capitalism is blamed for the climate crisis by many who know most about it. One article in the Guardian ran the headline: Ending climate change requires the end of capitalism. Have we got the stomach for it? Naomi Klein led on a similar theme: Capitalism Killed Our Climate Momentum, Not “Human Nature”. Bloomberg attempts to argue the opposite position, but accepts that: “It has become fashionable on social media and in certain publications to argue that capitalism is killing the planet. Even renowned investor Jeremy Grantham, hardly a radical, made that assertion last year.” But is capitalism really to blame?

Infinite growth on a finite planet?

10/3/2019

by Jonny Hughes, Chief Executive Officer, WCMC and honorary member of Green Angel Syndicate

It is autumn, and as sure as the leaves on the trees turn from green to gold, so begins the retailers’ inevitable long haul towards Christmas. John Lewis Oxford Street unveiled its Christmas display on 26th September, just three days after the official start of autumn and a full three months ahead of the festival itself.

Despite all the effort that retailers have traditionally put into persuading us to buy and buy more over the last three months of the year, the peak of the shopping season, it seems that not everyone is convinced. There is a growing movement of conscious consumerism that is gaining support, particularly amongst young adults and those overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ in their lives.

September 2019 pitch event review

9/30/2019

Our 26th September pitch event at Urban Innovation Centre in Clerkenwell, London, was packed with more than 90 attendees and a fantastic line-up of five companies. The companies represented very different sectors, from buildings to industry to electric vehicles to online second-hand shopping. However, all of them had not only a very strong investment case but also a very clear contribution to make to solving the climate crisis – so all were perfectly aligned with Green Angel Syndicate’s objectives:

IndiNature – 100% plant-based home insulation system;
Coomtech – Energy efficient drying technology for bulk materials;
Ventive – Naturally intelligent ventilation for new buildings;
Flexible Power Systems – Enabling the optimal deployment of electric vehicle fleets;
Thrift+ – Innovative circular economy model for the second-hand clothes.

Investor interview: Julia Davies

9/6/2019

In this, the next of our occasional series of Green Angel Syndicate investor interviews, we talk to Julia Davies about her motivation for investing in the green economy.

I am new to angel investing but not new to caring about environmental issues. As a mother my absolute highest priority is helping to protect my children’s future and I am trying to do that on a multitude of fronts, one of which is investing in green start-ups.”
Julia Davies, Green Angel Syndicate member.

Designing out waste, designing in value

8/7/2019

The business world is starting to recognise that recovery and reuse of resources in efficient circular business models, as an alternative to the using-up of virgin resources, is a major opportunity. Whether it is the flow of materials, component parts or entire products, circular principles allows us to make and do more with less, and offer the potential to reduce (or even reverse) the negative environmental impacts of our economic activity.

Green Angel Syndicate has already invested in two circular business companies, Alusid and BuyMeOnce, and is close to completing a third, Smile Plastics.

What your membership meant in 2018/19

7/4/2019

As Green Angel Syndicate celebrate our second-year anniversary and winning ‘Syndicate of the Year’ at the UK BAA Awards on 2 July, what a perfect time to review the progress we have made so far.

Ultimately, we will judge ourselves on the success of the businesses that we will collectively have funded – and it is still too early for any meaningful track record, notably in terms of exits.

However, like last year, we wanted to report on our investment activity for the benefit of our members – including how many proposals we have received; how many investments have been completed and for what amount; and finally, how we have selected the companies that we have invested in and how they fit with our strategic mission.

June Pitch Event review

6/10/2019

Our 6th June Pitch Event at Browns Covent Garden in London was another record-breaking success, with a packed, engaged audience of more than a hundred, five new excellent pitches and a very positive update from one of our existing live deals.

Of the six presenting teams, three focused on segments of the renewable energy value chain, and the three others on equally essential sectors of the green economy: energy efficiency, the circular economy and clean agriculture.

Can Climate Change you 2?

6/7/2019

Can climate change you? It can. It will. It already is. Ask yourself what choices you are now making for food, transport, clothes, packaging, recycling, and you will see what I mean.

But we are now being asked to contemplate a different scale of change. Since the news emerged at the end of last year, in the IPCC Report and at COP 24 in Katowice, that we have already reached 1.5 and are almost certain to breach the long-held red line of 2 degrees increase in global temperature, we have been introduced to a new note of fear.

Towards zero carbon heating: keeping our options open

5/17/2019

Heating accounts for half of energy consumption globally, and over a quarter of total CO2 emissions – so decarbonising heat must be an urgent priority.

However, this is a complex, multifaceted, thorny issue – with no single one-size-fits-all solution, but rather a variety of possible technologies which are both competitive and complementary; and the real-life impacts of the transition to zero carbon heating will be significant, in terms both of investments required and of disruption at customers’ premises.

Time to rethink Angel Investing

5/14/2019

Modwenna Rees-Mogg, founder of Angel News and the VCT & EIS Investor Forum, shares some of her thoughts and insights with Green Angel Syndicate, including why she thinks the world of angel investing needs to change.

In a fascinatingly varied career, from corporate finance through motherhood to blogger, author, publisher, serial entrepreneur, non-executive director and commentator, Modwenna Rees-Mogg has gathered more knowledge and experience of the angel investor market than most.

April 2019 - Pitch Event Review

4/5/2019

Our 4th April pitch event at Browns Covent Garden in London was undoubtedly the best so far, with the best investment propositions, the highest quality and best rehearsed pitches, and the largest and most engaged audience of Green Angel Syndicate members.

The five companies pitching represented a broad sample of sectors, but they were all perfectly aligned with our core mission of supporting startup companies benefiting the green economy, and they all shared impressive levels of ambition.

Towards the Green Economy - there is another way

3/26/2019

Of course we are all doing our bit to help the environment – cutting back on waste to landfill, recycling what we can, walking and cycling more. By doing so, we are each taking active steps to reduce our environmental footprint. Albeit individually small steps, collectively they add up but they can still feel insignificant when faced with the scale of the problem. For BIG impact we rely on Government and major corporations to be doing “the right things”. We can of course use our democratic right to vote for individuals and parties which are oriented towards greener policies, and we can invest in corporates which are developing and delivering greener products and services. But, in each case, our involvement is at best as observers and lobbyists.

Making the case for angel investment in the Green Economy

3/7/2019

Imagine the world in 10, maybe 20 years time. What will it look like? If we are to believe the conclusion of COP 24 in Katowice at the end of last year, and the publication of the IPCC Report shortly before it, the natural world is now irrevocably committed to the warming trend.

Wind power: cost reduction challenges are creating great angel investment opportunities

3/6/2019

Sometimes, it seems as if the decarbonisation of power generation is so well advanced, notably in a country like the UK, that we can all sit back and relax – or rather, focus on other pressing priorities.

However, with global carbon emissions continuing to rise to new records and the impacts of climate change becoming ever more menacingly obvious, urgent action is needed – and no stone must be left unturned. Anything that can accelerate the transition to zero carbon energy must be done.

In this article, we focus on large scale wind power. Installed capacity is growing fast globally, fuelled by ever more competitive costs. In a fast-growing list of countries, deploying onshore wind power is now cheaper than fossil fuel-based electricity.

Investor Profile - Michael Anderson

2/28/2019

Green Angel Syndicate is the first angel syndicate in the UK to specialise in making investments that are of benefit to the green economy. In this the first in a new series of investor interviews, we talk to individual members about their motivation and their experience investing in the green economy.

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