WHY CLEANTECH?

Climate change, population growth and resource scarcity have pushed environmental issues to the forefront of public and international Government awareness. We face huge challenges and these challenges present an opportunity for innovators to do what they do best – imagine, create and deliver solutions that will create profitable businesses and at the same time produce major environmental benefits. This pressure has also led to major corporations adopting clean technologies. Companies like GE, with its ‘Ecomagination Programme’ of clean technologies have aimed to lead the way. CEO Jeff Immelt said that “green is green” – meaning that producing green technology and the meeting of demand for such products and services, equals green dollars for GE.

Cleantech embraces a diverse range of processes, products and services that bring environmental benefits through substantial improvements in productivity and profitability. Cleantech creates more economic value with the use of less energy, less materials and with less waste.

Our aim is to generate excellent returns by helping entrepreneurs grow great companies that make a big environmental impact.

Barack Obama’s cleantech venture capital plan entails doling out $150 billion over 10 years to fund projects in a broad swath of cleantech sectors, including biofuels, plug-in hybrids, clean coal, smart gird and “renewable energy.” The fund would be aimed at later-stage opportunities with the expressed goal of developing technologies for rapid commercialization in the U.S. and deployment globally.

“Building a low-carbon economy is not just something to do with climate change. It is not just an energy security issue. It is not just part of economic policy. It is all of these things and more. It is nothing less than the basis for our future prosperity.”

Gordon Brown June 2008