A number of startups (incubatees and alumni) of the Dutch business incubator of the European Space Agency (ESA BIC Noordwijk) had an invitation to ESA this month. They joined the afternoon session of a C-suite level event organised by the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC) held at ESA/ESTEC. The ESA BIC startups participated for part of the programme to meet and mingle with the CEOs from multinational companies. One of the event’s key takeaways emphasised the need to collaborate with startups in accelerating transition as so many of them focus on sustainability from the outset.

The DSGC’s main aim is to accelerate the development of sustainable business models through knowledge sharing and collaboration. Furthermore, the organisation often brings together Dutch leaders to facilitate discussion. The most recent such event – entitled “Leadership in transition” – was held in the heart of the Dutch space ecosystem. Located on NL Space Campus, ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is where space technology and innovations help shape transition. This was an inspiring environment for 60+ CEOs and leaders from knowledge institutions, government and business to put sustainability into focus. Equally important, the programme included a tour of ESA’s robotics labs and startups affiliated with ESA were present.

Leadership in transition

Society is currently facing numerous major transitions and action needs to be taken with priority. There was hardly any discussion required about whether something needs to be done, nor about what needs to be done. Consequently, the “what” and “why” are clear – it is crucial the focus needs to be on the “how” and the role of the leaders in this transition. The discussions led to a number of insights and, as a result, the key takeaways from the meeting covered:

• Nature as a guideline
• Connection and authentic leadership
• Just distribution and climate justice prioritised
• Balance between short- and long-term goals
• Collaboration is crucial
• Narrative of a sustainable future

View the full DSGC key takeaways here and watch the aftermovie here.

Space and transition science experts

The event included two keynote speakers. Dr André Kuipers, ESA astronaut, inspired the audience and his speech was summarised by DSGC in the initial event report as:

“From space, I saw how beautiful our planet is, but as soon as I looked past it, into that black universe, I also realised how insignificant the Earth is, a small blue ball in a hostile universe: cold , empty and with a lot of radiation. We have nowhere else to go and so we must realise that we really have to be very careful with our planet.” Dr André Kuipers, ESA astronaut

In the post-event key takeaways report, the DSGC highlighted the message from the other keynote speaker, founder of transition science Prof. Jan Rotmans:

“It’s not the critic who counts. The credit goes to the man/woman who steps into the arena, who makes mistakes and falls short, but still tries to achieve something…. In times of chaos, companies must become agile and resilient.” Prof. Jan Rotmans, captain of transition

ABOUT DSGC: The Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC) accelerates sustainable development through collaboration since its foundation in 2012. It is a partnership of eight globally operating companies that stimulates the development of sustainable business models in collaboration with stakeholders in society. In this way, the coalition contributes to the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on three transitions: climate, circularity and social equality. dsgc.nl

Key takeaway focusing on collaboration

As the key takeaways report pointed out, sustainable transitions are chain issues and therefore require cooperation from all parties in the chain. In relation to collaboration being crucial, the effectiveness of industry leaders working with startups was highlighted: “Collaboration between large companies and startups is very effective in accelerating transitions, partly because startups often have sustainability in their DNA from the start.”

As such, this event was a great opportunity for a number of ESA BIC startups to join discussions in the afternoon with the business leaders and to make new connections. Niels Eldering, head of Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation in the Commercialisation Services Department at ESA, was pivotal in making the introductions of the startup CEOs with the business leaders. He comments: “ESA BIC startups connected with CEOs of multinationals to find common ground achieving sustainable growth, which is a great starting point for doing business.” Taking part were the current ESA BIC incubatees Agtuall (soon-to-graduate) and Inframent, along with the ESA BIC alumni Carble, ExxFire, Orbital Eye, SkyfloX and smartQare. A number of the entrepreneurs were also interviewed on site by the film crew (watch soon via the SBIC Noordwijk YouTube channel).

Sustainability key for space startups

The Dutch business incubation centre of the European Space Agency (ESA BIC Noordwijk) was the first set up by ESA 20 years ago and now the network has expanded to 30 ESA BICs across Europe. With 20 years powering entrepreneurship, this is a time to look back at the first two decades and look forward to the next 20 years, with sustainability and diversity at the forefront.

“It was fantastic to have the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition with us at ESTEC, in Noordwijk, with some 60+ CEOs from multinationals coming together to debate how leadership and new business models can sustain a modern, profitable, social and sustainable planet, “ commented Niels Eldering about the event. “In particular, considering the UN Sustainable Development Goals – clean energy and climate impact (SDGs 7,13), responsible consumption (SDG 12) and production (SDG 10), and maybe even a new consideration, space for all (possibly a future SDG 18?) – are all cornerstones of responsible leadership and entrepreneurship, and are also encouraged by the ESA BIC startup community. In our #20yearsESABIC existence, sustainability has become increasingly one of the most important USPs for many of our startups and we continue to support their role as a change agent for a sustained Earth.”

Click here to view the Dutch government page with information about the SDGs

APPLY TO ESA BIC NOORDWIJK
The Dutch business incubation programme of the European Space Agency, ESA BIC Noordwijk, runs an open call for startups to apply to join as an ESA BIC incubatee and reap the benefit that brings – funding, plus technical and business support – as well as being part of our community at SBIC Noordwijk. In this programme, entrepreneurs work with upstream space tech or space related technologies to create impact on Earth. There are two selection rounds per year; the next deadline to aim for is 16 October 2024. esa-bic.nl

Do you have a business idea that incorporates space data or tech?

Apply to join ESA’s incubation programme by the next selection deadline!

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The incubation hub is based on NL Space Campus in the heart of the Dutch space ecosystem (next to ESA/ESTEC). You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to join the ESA business incubator (you can be but it’s not a requirement). Is your innovative (and ideally validated) idea based on space tech or data? Then, you could be in with a shot of being accepted into the programme to receive funding and business and technical support.

If you don’t have a space tech background, you will not be alone. Many current startups in the incubator are business and financial professionals and building their business alongside engineers and tech experts. Want more info? Join the info sessions! You will be surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs. People from different backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Join the info sessions to hear about ESA BIC experiences

A number of info sessions are happening that could help you to take action and transform your business idea into a commercial success. Why not visit SBIC Noordwijk sometime to listen to the (inspiring) experiences of space business entrepreneurs and ESA BIC alumni such as:

• Daniel Spils of Soilspect (industry: infrastructure & smart cities); the startup produces an innovative tool for monitoring ground settlement to accelerate sustainable construction.
• Sander Reuderink of Carble (industry: food & agriculture); the startup helps coffee brands reduce their impact on the climate by rewarding farmers for storing carbon.

Who knows what new business ideas will come in via the next selection round. Your proposal can incorporate space tech (for upstream or downstream applications) or utilitise space (satellite) data to benefit life on Earth – covering industries, such as agriculture, construction, energy or transport. Space data can help businesses address environmental indicators and sustainability targets. Your business idea and ambition could be the solution the planet needs!

Attend the webinar on 7 March for application tips & tricks: register here.

Get tips about preparing your ESA BIC application

The webinars and info sessions are hosted by Martijn Leinweber, ESA BIC programme manager, who will be on hand to answer your questions and whom you can meet in person at the informal ESA BIC Open House at SBIC (details here). The best chance of your application being successful is to be well prepared.

ABOUT ESA BIC NOORDWIJK
The Dutch business incubation programme of the European Space Agency, ESA BIC Noordwijk, runs an open call for startups to apply to join as an ESA BIC incubatee and reap the benefit that brings – funding, plus technical and business support – as well as being part of our community at SBIC Noordwijk. In this programme, entrepreneurs work with upstream space tech or space related technologies to create impact on Earth. There are two selection rounds per year in spring (March) & fall (October). Full details at: esa-bic.nl

Prepare your space business idea for lift-off!

Don’t miss out on the support that can lift off your space business. Before the ESA BIC 2024 spring deadline, you can join the info sessions (online webinars and in-person at SBIC) to find out more. Start preparing your application.

The post Apply to the Dutch business incubator of the European Space Agency appeared first on Space Business Innovation Centre Noordwijk.

Carble, one of the companies in the ESA BIC Noordwijk programme, is countering tropical forest loss with Earth observation. Earlier this month, Carble secured €300K of funding in a round led by Antler, a global early-stage venture capital investor that has already helped over 600 startups across various industries and technologies. The company now aims to launch its technology in the market and expand its operations.

From November 6–18, the United Nations annual Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held in Egypt. Government ministers and negotiators from nearly 200 countries came together to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals. Next to the renewable energy transition, deforestation remains one of the biggest global challenges. Last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report indicated that ending tropical deforestation is the second most impactful intervention to reduce climate change. One powerful tool that can help protect forests is satellite remote sensing.

Tropical forest loss is the main driver of the high carbon footprint of commodities like coffee, cocoa, tea and rubber. Carble has found a way to steer the industry towards storing more carbon. The company combines satellite imagery containing information on carbon storage in agroforestry farms, with a machine learning algorithm to process the data. The outcome can then be presented to tropical commodity buyers like coffee and cocoa brands in an actionable format so they can reward deforestation-free farming at scale. This is not only beneficial for farmers, but also in the best interest of brands because it allows them to decarbonise their own supply chain.

Small-scale farmers grow coffee under the shade of the forest canopy and without the use of chemical fertilisers. It is estimated that a hectare of a shade-grown coffee farm can sequester 70–80 tonnes of carbon per hectare, which is more or less equivalent to the carbon stored in an equal area of forest. The problem is that these small-scale farmers cannot compete with the more productive industrial farms, which have a massive carbon footprint. Carble aims to address this market failure by rewarding farmers for the carbon they store. Instead of cutting forests and switching to industrial farming or other crops, coffee brands can reward farmers and report on the reduction of carbon emissions.

Ultimately, the solution allows major brands to reduce their negative impact on the climate, but also contributes to reducing poverty in tropical commodity farmers by financially compensating them for preventing deforestation. Carble’s platform aims to help the world avoid 1000 megatonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2035 – equivalent to the emissions caused by the whole aviation industry in 2020. By reducing deforestation on the one hand and addressing poverty amongst farmers on the other, the company aims to make a social and environmental impact across the tropical commodity industry.

For more information, visit: carble.co

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