Climes Grabs USD 1.2 Million Funding

Climes, a ClimateTech company, has announced its first round of funding of USD 1.2 million. The company is building an engine that accelerates the flow of fresh capital towards climate solutions by making it convenient for brands and individuals to take meaningful climate action.

Climes, founded by Anirudh Gupta (ex-Airbus) and Siddhanth Jayaram (ex-Kalaari Cash), uncovers an untapped source of capital at a time when climate action is desperately needed. While total climate finance commitments have consistently increased over the last decade, the actual ‘flow’ of cash to satisfy internationally agreed-upon climate targets lags far behind. This is according to the Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2021. It goes on to claim that an increase in yearly climate funding of at least 590 percent is needed to avert the most devastating effects of climate change. Climes tackles this issue front on.

The first round saw participation from Sequoia Capital India, Kalaari Capital, Nithin Kamath (Zerodha, Rainmatter), and Avaana Capital. Other notable participants in the round include Satyen Kothari (Cube Wealth) and Anshuman Bapna (Terra.do) from Stanford Angels, Keshav Reddy (Reddy Futures), and climate-tech founders Arjun Gupta (Smart Joules) & Akshay Singhal (Log9 Materials) among others.

On the announcement, Co-Founders, Anirudh & Siddhanth said “Finance is the single biggest lever to solve climate change. Fantastic projects and solutions for carbon mitigation exist all around us. However, the finance needed to scale these projects is simply not flowing fast enough. With this capital raise, Climes is i) building the necessary digital infrastructure to enable a big chunk of this money to flow transparently and ii) designing the right incentives for all market players to benefit. The delta of each rupee/dollar/euro that flows through Climes will have an outsized multiplier impact on global carbon mitigation.”

The Climes’ engine, at a macro-level, allows for a transparent flow of finance from where it is to where it needs to be. At a micro-level, it acts as the gateway for individuals and brands to take their first step towards climate action.

Climes’ mission is to reverse the effects of climate change by letting individuals take “climate action in a single click”. It is a first-of-its-kind climate start-up whose technology allows consumer-facing brands to go climate-positive in just a matter of hours. The tech-stack built by Climes integrates seamlessly into the checkout pages of everyday consumer brands.

With this, customers can neutralize emissions specific to their purchase or order. The emission calculations are based on accurate mathematical models, in line with global standards of carbon accounting. Next, they choose from a list of independently-certified (Verra, Gold Standard etc.) or rigorously verified climate solutions based in India. These solutions either remove atmospheric carbon by restoring green cover in degraded lands or avoid additional emissions by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.

Consumer brands enable this individual-led climate action. Partnering with Climes is the most efficient approach for brands to become climate-positive and jumpstart their sustainability agenda. So far, Climes has been affiliated with TEDx, MakeMyTrip, Wedding Brigade, and Zingbus. At least a dozen more are in the pipeline.

Vani Kola, Managing Director, Kalaari Capital, said, “The rising awareness of the need for carbon neutral lifestyle and climate costs require urgent new solutions. Entrepreneurs offering solutions with climate-sensitiveness can create key differentiating propositions. Sid and Ani have lofty goals to bring climate awareness and action. Climes’ solution makes it possible for brands to embark on that transition by allowing customers to carbon-neutralise every transaction”

Nithin Kamath, Founder & CEO, Zerodha & Rainmatter, said, “The ideal solution towards climate change problems is to reduce consumption which may not be possible at all times. Making people aware of their carbon footprint and then making it available to offset maybe a good mid-way path. We are excited to be a part of their journey and learn ourselves along the way.”

The capital will be used in two ways by the company. One, increase the number of integrations with companies in fashion, food, travel, beauty, and personal care, and create a roadmap for brands to become climate leaders in their respective industries. And two, they will expand their technology stack to quickly integrate high-quality climate solutions within India, as well as transparently measure and report effect.

Climes’ founders believe that any climate plan should follow a basic formula, free of existing complexities: ‘Cut what you can, neutralize what you can’t’. In other words, eliminate avoidable emissions through environmentally friendly activities while neutralizing unavoidable emissions using platforms such as Climes.