According to the 2019 UN Environment Programme report, the imminence of irreversible deleterious impact on the natural world as a result of climate change is immediate. Climate-related technologies face significant challenges in breaking the entrenched status quo and speeding up deployment cycles at scale.
CDL Climate will focus on innovation areas such as renewable/alternative energy, power storage, infrastructure, transportation, carbon/methane sequestration, select water, ocean and food initiatives aligned with climate solutions, and geo-engineering. The stream will operate from CDL-Paris (HEC Paris) and CDL-Vancouver (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia).
CDL’s objectives-based program has already supported founders building massively scalable climate positive companies such as Clir Renewables (an AI asset management software that increases optimization for wind farms), Ionomr (ion-exchange membrane and polymer solutions), Biome Renewables (a turbine retrofit that increases annual energy production by 13%), and Ecoation (a robotic and AI platform that detects pests, diseases, and deficiencies in crops at the earliest stage). CDL Climate will scale the volume to 50 Climate focused ventures per year, addressing a range of first order climate issues.
Applications for CDL Climate will be accepted online at creativedestructionlab.com/apply and are now open. Selected ventures will begin the nine-month CDL program in October 2020. To learn more about CDL Climate, please contact climate@creativedestructionlab.com.
QUOTES
“I have been impressed by the success rate of commercializing promising science and technology through CDL. In just four years of operating, CDL-Vancouver companies have raised over $20 million CAD of investment funding into start-ups during their 9-month CDL journey for every dollar of program operating costs. This has created a network of companies that have graduated the program with current value in excess of $650 million CAD of equity value – with the whole CDL network now in excess of $6 billion CAD. I have seen firsthand how CDL effectively helps transition breakthrough science from university labs to commercialization and societal impact – I’m excited to commit to helping CDL use this commercialization strength to help solve the climate crisis – one of the most important issues of our time.”
– Jeff Booth – CDL Mentor and Co-founder, BuildDirect
“I believe that advanced technologies, and especially Artificial Intelligence, can have a significant impact on stopping climate change. I am honored to join the Creative Destruction Lab, and I hope that I can help take impactful technologies out of the lab and deploy them so that they can benefit society.”
– Sasha Luccioni – CDL Mentor and Director of Scientific Projects and Postdoctoral Researcher, Mila AI Institute
“One of the most challenging hurdles for clean-tech companies is how to speed up deployment and implementation cycles at scale. Throughout our 9-month journey as part of CDL-Vancouver 2017/2018 Prime Stream, Clir harnessed invaluable support and mentorship from the CDL community, covering global expansion, sales strategy, technical roadmap, and financing strategy with CDL mentors participating in our seed round in 2018. CDL’s mentorship driven model helped Clir build a repeatable and scalable sales model, which directly supported our Series A round in 2019, also led by a CDL affiliated mentor at an institutional VC firm.”
– Gareth Brown – CEO and Co-Founder, CDL Alumni Clir Renewables
“The CDL model has demonstrated success in rapidly moving scientific breakthroughs from university labs to product-market fit. In doing this, the CDL marketplace for judgment helps set the trajectory for massively scalable, high impact businesses, de-risking early-stage investment and reducing cycle times. CDL is a mission-driven organization, and applying our collective efforts to the myriad of climate challenges facing humanity seems not only appropriate but also an obligation. This is why we are committing to CDL Climate in 2020.”
– Paul Cubbon – Site Lead, CDL-Vancouver and Assistant Dean Innovation, Sauder School of Business
ABOUT CREATIVE DESTRUCTION LAB
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month program allows founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success. Founded in 2012 by Professor Ajay Agrawal at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded to eight sites across four countries: Oxford (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford), Paris (HEC Paris), Atlanta (Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology), Vancouver (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia), Montreal (HEC Montréal), Calgary (Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary), and Halifax (Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University). Since its inception, companies that have participated in the CDL program have created more than $5.9 billion (CAD) in equity value. CDL alumni include North (Waterloo), Atomwise (San Francisco), Kyndi (Palo Alto), Xanadu (Toronto), BenchSci (Toronto), Kheiron Medical (London), and Roadbotics (Pittsburgh).
For more information:
Amarpreet Kaur
Marketing Lead
Creative Destruction Lab
Email: amarpreet.kaur@creativedestructionlab.com
ABOUT HEC PARIS
Specializing in education and research in management sciences, HEC Paris offers a complete and unique range of academic programs for the leaders of tomorrow: the Grande Ecole program, Specialized Masters and MSc, Summer School programs, the MBA, Executive MBA and TRIUM Global Executive MBA programs, the Ph.D. program and a wide range of programs for executives and managers. Founded in 1881 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HEC Paris has a full-time faculty of 140 professors, 4,500 students and 8,000 managers in executive education programs every year. For more information on CDL-Paris or CDL Climate at CDL-Paris, please visit https://creativedestructionlab.com/locations/paris/.
ABOUT UBC SAUDER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Located in Vancouver, Canada’s gateway to the Pacific Rim, UBC Sauder School of Business provides a global business perspective at a dynamic crossroads of the international marketplace. For more information about UBC Sauder School of Business, please visit www.sauder.ubc.ca. UBC Sauder hosts CDL-Vancouver, the first CDL expansion site after Toronto. In Fall 2020, CDL-Vancouver will be starting its fifth CDL year, with four cohorts and a total of 100 starting ventures. For more information on CDL-Vancouver or CDL Climate at CDL-Vacnouver, please visit www.creativedestructionlab.com/locations/vancouver.
