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My feeling that multinational corporations “get” cleantech innovation

Stephen Marcus
by | May 17th 2011
Posted in Corporates in Cleantech
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For several years now, Cleantech Group has been beating the drum on the importance of corporations in cleantech innovation. And having just returned from our Cleantech Forum in Amsterdam which was themed “Cleantech Goes Corporate”, one could not help but feel that the drum beat is not only loud, but getting louder!

To echo (and horribly paraphrase – sorry) the words of Nancy Floyd, the Founder and Managing Director of Nth Power from the event: 15 years ago a few corporations were looking to invest in new energy funds just out of curiosity about the dealflow; now they see these technologies as crucial elements of their future growth strategies.

One only needs to look at a graphical sample of active corporations in cleantech to see how true Nancy’s words are:

Sample of corporate active in cleantech

The importance of cleantech innovation to multinationals could really be felt throughout our Amsterdam conference rooms. Delegates from over 30 multinational corporations including GM, Philips, Unilever, Total, Siemens, British Gas, EDF, Cisco, Bosch, BASF, Rhodia, Autodesk and Veolia (to name but a few) all came to network, brainstorm, understand, speak and exhibit. Corporate delegates with titles such as “Head of Emerging Technologies”, “Head …

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Envirofit ramps clean-cooking line for India

Emma Ritch
by | October 27th 2008
Posted in Energy Efficiency
Tags: , , ,

The demand for clean cooking in India has prompted Fort Collins, Colo.-based Envirofit International to increase its 2009 production of biomass stoves.

The ‘cookstoves’ reduce toxic emissions by as much as 80 percent, use 50 percent less fuel and reduce cooking cycle time by 40 percent, according to Envirofit, a 501(c)3 nonprofit backed by the Shell Foundation, a charity established by the Shell Group in 2000.

The stoves sell for Rs. 500 to Rs. 2,000 ($10 to $40 USD). Since the line launched in May, Envirofit has sold 15,000 stoves and expects to reach 25,000 before the end of the year, according to co-founder and Vice President of Operations Tim Bauer.

Next year, Envirofit plans to sell 300,000, Bauer told the Cleantech Group.

“The reduced air pollution is resonating with the villagers in India,” Bauer said. “They don’t want to have dirty houses, and they want to have clean air inside their homes.”

Envirofit’s cookstoves are tackling a major problem facing developing nations.

According to the World Health Organization, indoor air pollution from solid-fuel use is responsible for more than 1.6 million annual deaths, including 800,000 children younger than five.

Almost half the world’s population cooks daily meals indoors with …

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