SF Bay Climate Tech: March 6 - March 13, 2023
Eighteen events this week! Design, fungal forests, fashion, algae, climate neutral cities, food, sustainable business, and more
Hi friends,
What a week! In San Francisco, start off the week with Practical Approaches to Sustainable Design on Tuesday, then on Wednesday head to a Climate x Design: Show & Tell or swing by Swissnex for a Cleantech Pitch Night. Thursday’s busy, with the a Women and Climate dinner, the Future of Fashion Conference, MCJ Drinks, and Green Drinks San Francisco. Save some room for the FoodHack Meetup on Friday.
In the East Bay, it’s Berkeley’s week. On Wednesday, check out the BERC Energy Summit, a talk on fungi and the future of forests in a changing climate, or a seminar on algal solutions for a sustainable future. On Friday, get a more social take a the hydrocolonialism symposium, and wrap up with a water themed youth art opening.
In the South Bay and Peninsula, head to Stanford on Wednesday for the Climate, Business & Innovation Summit or stop by the Calabazas Branch Library in San Jose for a talk on marine permaculture. On Thursday, head to Palo Alto for an event on Climate Neutral Cities as part of the Bifrost Summit. Wrap up on Friday back at Stanford with the Sustainability Reporting and Control Conference.
Looking forward to more events this month? Read on for the full list!
Cheers,
Alec and Sonam
Hot Take: Climate Change = Water Change
“If you see me, then weep” - inscribed on a hunger stone in the 15th century along the Elbe River in the town of Děčín in the Czech Republic was a hidden site until one of Europe’s longest rivers ran dry last summer. This centuries-old tale of despair was a sign of the times, now in the 21st century.
On the other side of the world in Pakistan, one third of the country was underwater in a matter of days. Months after the devastating floods in one of the world’s poorest countries, over 4 million children are still living near contaminated and stagnated flood waters, and hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, and public health facilities have been destroyed. As Sherry Rahman, Pakistan’s Minister of Climate Change aptly portrayed at the country’s COP27 pavilion in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt: What Goes on in Pakistan Won’t Stay in Pakistan.
Approximately 74% of natural disasters over the past 20 years were water-related, from hurricanes and floods to droughts and wildfires. Both the frequency and intensity of these events are expected to increase with climate change, with global weather patterns shifting drastically as planet earth warms up, getting dangerously close to a point of no return. While these disasters have an impact on the built environment and will cause upwards of $5.6 trillion in losses across the global economy by 2050, the effects are much greater on individual families and communities. About half the world’s hospital beds are occupied by someone with a water related illness. And by 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas → that’s in 3 years, folks.
While climate change is the problem, water is the chariot that brings that message to your streets and neighborhoods.
Whether it’s the intricacies of your municipal water system collecting, cleaning, and bringing clean drinking water to your tap at the flick of a knob to federal agencies like the US Army Corps of Engineers determining how to build green and gray infrastructure along our nation’s shorelines to protect your local community from rising seas - every single level of government is working behind the scenes to make sure you have just the right amount of water at your doorstep.
Beyond the H20 that you consume on a daily basis, as a society we need to take it one step forward and demand that governments, corporates, and startups build and invest in the sustainable water management practices that will help us adapt to climate change – fostering resilience and saving lives along the way. This means removing methane from water to use as a new source of renewable energy as our friends at Bluemethane are doing, creating natural coastal resilience barriers like Natrx’s adaptive infrastructure that’s tailored to each native habitat, or creating floating solar arrays like RETTEW’s 4.4 MW project in New Jersey that reduces evaporation AND provides clean energy (gotta love all that climate tech that provide the 2-for-1 deal!). Stay tuned for more – but in the meantime, we’ve got you covered with Parachute’s comprehensive piece on climate solutions that are changing the water industry and keeping our most precious resource intact!
Climate Change = Water Change. I’ll leave you with that!
Community Shoutouts
♻️ Clean Tech Open
Applications are now open for the 2023 Cleantech Open (the world’s largest cleantech accelerator!). Get access to expert and specialized mentors, a full business development training program, and investor networking! Apply today at bit.ly/cto2023. The application period is open until 11:59 PM PST on April 16th.
🟧 Green IT Challenge by Orange Silicon Valley
The Green IT Challenge 2023 by Orange Silicon Valley is seeking to identify and engage with the most innovative North American startups in Green IT sectors. Finalists will have the opportunity to conduct paid exploratory projects with one or more business units of Orange.
Events This Week
San Francisco
✍️ Practical Approaches to Sustainable Design: Tue, Mar 7
🇨🇭 Startup Bites - Cleantech Pitch Night: Wed, Mar 8
🖌 Climate x Design: Show & Tell: Wed, Mar 8
👩🔬 International Women's Day with Women and Climate: Thu, Mar 9
👖 Future of Fashion Conference: Thu, Mar 9
🍻 MCJ Drinks & network in San Francisco - March 2023: Thu, Mar 9
🍸 Green Drinks San Francisco: Thu, Mar 9
🍱 FoodHack Meetup in San Francisco: Mon, Mar 13
East Bay
⚡️ BERC Energy Summit 2023 - Making the Energy Transition Work: Wed, Mar 8
🍄 Mycorrhizal fungi and the future of forests in a changing climate: Wed, Mar 8
🧩 Algal Solutions for a Sustainable Future: Wed, Mar 8
💧 Hydrocolonialism Symposium: Fri, Mar 10
🎨 Art/Act: Youth - Water is Everywhere Opening Event: Fri, Mar 10
South Bay / Peninsula
🌱 Climate, Business & Innovation Summit 2023: Wed, Mar 8
🌊 Marine Permaculture: Sea forestation to regenerate offshore kelp forest ecosystems from Canada to Mexico: Wed, Mar 8
🌆 Climate Neutral Cities - It Starts with You and Me: Thu, Mar 9
📊 Sustainability Reporting and Control Conference: Fri, Mar 10
Read on for more details about this week’s happenings and upcoming events this month
Events This Month
🥙 Food and Beverage - Silicon Valley Sustainability Selection Week: Tue, Mar 14
⚛️ Fusion Energy: An Alternative Generation Method: Tue, Mar 14
⚡️ Energy Innovation Forum: Low Carbon Innovation: Wed, Mar 15
🚆 The Future of Public Transportation in the Bay Area: Wed, Mar 15
🇺🇸 Whitehouse National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi at the Commonwealth Club: Wed, Mar 15
🧠 Climate Masterminds: Wed, Mar 15
🚗 Future of Mobility - Design Thinking Hackathon: Thu, Mar 16
🛢 1.5 C - Methane: the 100x threat: Thu, Mar 16
🌾 Food System Career Fair: Planting Seeds of Connection: Fri, Mar 17
👩🌾 The New Farmer's Almanac Vol VI Book Release at Cafe Ohlone: Fri, Mar 17
🏗 A Discussion on Risk-Taking, Failure in Construction Startups & VC: Mon, Mar 20
🌳 Nature X Carbon Bay Area Monthly Meetup: Mon, Mar 20
🌿 Resilient & Sustainable Foster City Community Workshop: Tue, Mar 21
🎊 Climate Reality Bay Area: Art and Climate Party!: Wed, Mar 22
📚 An Evening with Rebecca Solnit: An Energizing Case for Hope About Climate: Wed, Mar 22
⚡️ New Member Meet & Greet Happy Hour: Thu, Mar 23
⚛️ Our Fusion Future—Lawrence Livermore Director Kim Budil: Mon, Mar 27
Events This Week
✍️ Practical Approaches to Sustainable Design
When: Tue, Mar 7th from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Where: Holland & Sherry, 135 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Learn more about Make It Home and the GFDA and how you can practice design and help end furniture poverty while protecting the environment.
⚡️ BERC Energy Summit 2023 - Making the Energy Transition Work
When: Wed, Mar 8th at 12:00 PM to Fri, Mar 10th at 3:00 AM
Where: Spieker Forum, Chou Hall 2220 Piedmont Ave, Haas School of Business Berkeley, CA 94720
Join us at the 2023 BERC Energy Summit: Making the Energy Transition Work on March 8-9. At the Summit, you will engage with leading experts with nuanced perspectives who will discuss the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, the financing of up-and-coming CleanTech projects, the realization of a just transition at global and local scales, and more!
🌱 Climate, Business & Innovation Summit 2023
When: Wed, Mar 8th from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Stanford University, CEMEX Auditorium, 655 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305
The Graduate School of Business's Fifth Annual Climate, Business, and Innovation Summit will be held on March 8th at the Knight Management Center. The Summit, first held in 2019, is designed to show students the multitude of ways that climate will touch every career.
🍄 Mycorrhizal fungi and the future of forests in a changing climate
When: Wed, Mar 8th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Where: 101 Barker Hall, UC Berkeley
Kabir Peay’s research is filling critical gaps in our understanding of how mycorrhizal fungi respond to climate change through his use of large-scale DNA sequencing, biogeographic modeling, and manipulative experiments. Dr. Kabir Peay is Associate Professor, of Biology, Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.
🧩 Algal Solutions for a Sustainable Future
When: Wed, Mar 8th from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Where: 141 Giannini Hall, Berkeley University Campus
The premise of this talk is that marine algae-based aquaculture can help close the projected gap in society's future nutritional and manufacturing demands while simultaneously improving environmental sustainability.
🇨🇭 Startup Bites - Cleantech Pitch Night
When: Wed, Mar 8th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Swissnex, Pier 17, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA
Join us for a dynamic night featuring pitch presentations and product demonstrations from four of Switzerland's top cleantech startups: Eturnity, Gaia Technology, Regli Energy System, and Swistor. Don't miss your chance to connect, expand your understanding, and play a role in shaping the future of sustainable technology: Meet four Swiss startups from the cleantech sector during this networking event on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
🖋 Climate x Design: Show & Tell
When: Wed, Mar 8th from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: 3647 23rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Join us for an evening of knowledge sharing amongst people working at the intersection of climate and creativity. There will be 8 short talks on creative approaches to climate work told through a show and tell of projects, teachings, and stories. Stick around after for casual and friendly networking after the talks.
🌊 Marine Permaculture: Sea forestation to regenerate offshore kelp forest ecosystems from Canada to Mexico
When: Wed, Mar 8th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: Calabazas Branch Library, 1230 South Blaney Avenue, San Jose, CA 95129
Marine Permaculture (MP) helps to regenerate environmental conditions that existed pre-industrially - For example, MP can enable the regeneration of 3,000 square kilometers of lost kelp forest along the shores of the US and Australia. This innovation represents a unique opportunity to adapt to climate disruptions including marine heat waves and to ensure regional food security for burgeoning populations.
👩🔬 International Women's Day with Women and Climate
When: Thu, Mar 9th from 1:30 AM to 3:30 AM
Where: Wildseed, 2000 Union Street, San Francisco, CA 94123
If you are looking for an opportunity to talk climate with professionals identifying as women, you are in the right place! No climate experience necessary. Our gatherings are a fun way to make new friends and chat about all topics with the backdrop of climate. See a summary of our past dinners here. For alerts on future events and access to our free Slack Community, head over to our main site here.
🌆 Climate Neutral Cities: It Starts with You and Me
When: Thu, Mar 9th from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: City Hall of Palo Alto, 250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
The City of Palo Alto, and The Swedish City of Linköping are hosting a Bifrost Summit 2023 event to gain insights and inspiration into how cities move towards climate neutrality. Cities across the globe are at the cusp of a paradigm shift towards urban sustainability and livability.
👖 Future of Fashion Conference
When: Thu, Mar 9th from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Where: Canopy Jackson Square, 595 Pacific Avenue #4th Floor, San Francisco, CA
Our Sustainability & Future of Fashion conference will commence with networking followed by a panel discussion and conclude with a Q&A session. The interactive conference will be led by the industry leaders discussing the future of the Fashion Industry. It will be an insightful conversation that is not to be missed.
🍻 MCJ Drinks & network in San Francisco - March 2023
When: Thu, Mar 9th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
2023 is starting well for the climate tech community and we want to keep the good vibe for our Bay Area Community after the first meetup in January with 120+ people that came, we can do even more!Come meet up with the Bay Area MCJ members and larger climatetech community. This will be a casual meetup, no set agenda. We will improve the networking component so people with similar interest and objective can connect easily.
🍸 Green Drinks San Francisco
When: Thu, Mar 9th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Southern Pacific Brewing, 620 Treat Ave, San Francisco, CA
Welcome back San Francisco Green Drinkers! San Francisco Green Drinks is happy to announce the return of our monthly In-person Happy Hour Networking Events!
💧 Hydrocolonialism Symposium
When: Fri, Mar 10th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Where: Matrix Social Science Lab, 8th Floor, Berkeley, CA 94720
Water is the frontline of climate change, and competition for water resources increases in areas where water is already scarce. Our unique opportunity is to start a translocal dialog about protecting and securing water resources and maintaining water heritages which includes policy makers, local stakeholders, and research communities.
📊 Sustainability Reporting and Control Conference
When: Fri, Mar 10th at 12:30 PM to Sat, Mar 11th at 1:45 PM
Where: Stanford University Graduate School of Business
This conference seeks to bring together leading academic scholars working on and interested in ESG and Sustainability-related research topics. We invite the submission of research papers examining the measurement, reporting, and disclosure of a firm’s environmental and sustainability-related practices, the governance role of sustainability-related information and systems inside the firm, and the use of sustainability-related information by parties both inside and outside the firm.
🎨 Art/Act: Youth - Water is Everywhere Opening Event
When: Fri, Mar 10th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Get activated and inspired by the work of young environmental artists: come out to the Art/Act: Youth opening event on Friday March 10, 6-8pm PST! Today’s young people are powerful voices in the fight for an ecologically sound world, as evidenced by the many teen climate activists pushing for influential change. Art/Act: Youth, the Brower Center’s annual exhibition featuring the work of inspiring local young changemakers, has expanded its reach in 2023.
🍱 FoodHack Meetup in San Francisco - Foodtech startup demos & networking
When: Mon, Mar 13th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Refettorio SF, 690 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
FoodHack meetups are for food tech entrepreneurs, investors and food enthusiasts to network and hear from food industry speakers. Come network with the San Francisco Foodtech community ahead of the Future FoodTech Conference and sample new products from startups, including some sneak-peek demos exclusively at this event.
Join the Fun!
Submit Events
We know all of you are cooking up great events across that highlight the latest and greatest in our collective effort to save our city - and our planet! 🌍 We would love to spread the word. Please share any event details and we'll add them to the list!
Climate Tech Cities
We are expanding! We started as an 8-person dinner and now have over 4,000 members in our community. We’ve had people across the world reach out to us to start their own chapters - so we’re launching a new Climate Tech Cities organization this year! If you have friends who are interested in becoming chapter leads, please share the word. Here’s to a global network of local communities making a positive impact!