Creating the right climate for change
Posted on 07 Mar 2024
By Greg Thom, Institute of Community Directors Australia
Entrepreneurial not-for-profit start-ups with innovative ideas to tackle climate change are banding together to help save the planet.
Most people agree on the urgent need to respond to climate change.
The team at Subak Australia are convinced it’s just as important to identify bright sparks with great ideas to address the climate emergency and help turn them into action.
Subak Australia founder and executive director Chris Wilson said the organisation was launched in mid-2021 with the aim of helping climate-focused not-for-profit start-ups to accelerate their growth and avoid making common mistakes.
“There are very few challenges that are truly global by nature, and climate change is one of them,” said Mr Wilson.
“We wanted to focus on the entrepreneurs looking to make a difference, looking to innovate around climate action.”
Armed with the knowledge that many start-ups fail early because of a lack of support, Mr Wilson said his team was determined to lend a guiding hand.
“I’ve worked with many start-ups and have been a founder myself, and it can be a very isolating experience with high expectations that you know what you are doing every day.”
The first step was to identify purpose-driven founders working on smart solutions focused on data analysis to drive policy and mass-market behavioural change.
Over time, Subak Australia has evolved into what Mr Wilson calls a “climate start-up village”.
“Surrounding our members with a supportive and collaborative network to help them build skills and achieve their milestones is critical to the success of their missions and that of Subak Australia.”
Rather than offering assistance for a defined period, Subak’s climate village concept sees participants as “lifelong alumni.”
“They continue to build their businesses, share knowledge and collaborate with each other and grow their impact publicly,” said Mr Wilson.
“We also have an amazing roster of mentors and coaches who share knowledge and provide connections and opportunities to extend our members' reach.”
Subak Australia’s efforts come as philanthropic funding for environmental and climate change causes is increasingly rapidly.
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) has just announced a $280,000 funding boost for 16 community-led climate initiatives across Australia.
In a recently released report, the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network (AEGN) found there had been a national and global spike in philanthropic giving to environmental causes, especially from private and public ancillary funds.
The report said the findings showed “a pivotal shift towards greater climate and environmental giving in recent years, prompted by a global awakening to the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises”.
"At Subak Australia, we recognise that innovation will be required to tackle the climate crisis, and many new ideas and technologies will be created to help solve the problem."
That sense of urgency is not lost on Mr Wilson, who said Subak Australia was determined to revolutionise how the world responds to climate change.
“Our very name was inspired by the cooperative farming system of 9th-century rice farmers in Indonesia who shared water in order to grow and thrive despite difficult environmental conditions,” he said.
“By uniquely focusing on not-for-profit, data-driven organisations and scientists, we facilitate collaboration and demand core data is shared openly, unencumbered by the confidentiality issues of the for-profit world.
“In this way, we allow new ideas to be born and for our members to progress more rapidly through their growth cycle.”
As well as providing a collaborative platform on which to share expertise, knowledge and research, Subak offers financial backing where possible through access to grants.
“In any industry facing disruption, innovative and adaptive solutions are required, and those solutions will often present as start-ups, founded and managed by entrepreneurs looking to solve a problem or present a new and innovative way of doing something,” said Mr Wilson.
“Climate change is one of the pressing issues and disruptions of our time, with catastrophic impacts globally if we do not act to mitigate and reverse the damage done to date.
“So, at Subak Australia, we recognise that innovation will be required to tackle the climate crisis, and many new ideas and technologies will be created to help solve the problem.”
Mr Wilson said none of this would be possible, however, without access to support ranging from funding and business advice to human networks that allow entrepreneurs to scale their solutions over time.
“[That’s why] we wanted to focus on the entrepreneurs looking to make a difference, looking to innovate around climate action.”