Seattle Climate Tech: May 6 - May 13
💰 Non-dilutive financing survey, Nordic Innovation Sumit 2024, timber carbon analysis, sustainable printmaking, architect & design happy hour, economic and environmental seminars, and more this week!
Hi friends,
We’re excited for the sun to come back this week☀️ and for the fantastic events lined up for May. We have nine events coming up this week including happy hours, seminars, restoration work parties, an innovation summit, and more. 28 events coming up this month so far, check out the full list below!
Two highlights for this week:
1️⃣ Bloomberg Green Festival is coming to Seattle July 10-13! As part of the event, Bloomberg will be highlighting cutting edge climate ideas and companies. Bloomberg is looking for ideas that align with the four event themes (policy & activism, greener living, climate economy, and cleantech & innovation) that are engaging and visual. All ideas will need to fit into one of three categories:
Partnership Booths - non-profit / pre-revenue
Sponsored Booths - for-profit
Excursions - parties or activities close to the Seattle Metro Area during the evenings or weekend
Please use this form to submit your proposal — Bloomberg will be reviewing ideas until May 17th.
2️⃣ National Survey about Non-Dilutive Financing for Climate Tech Startups:
Navigating all of the different capital options to build your startup is incredibly hard and often frustrating. The Streetlife Ventures team is building a shared resource and set of education sessions for founders on non-dilutive capital options like grants and debt to further support this community.
Are you a climate founder that has raised grants or debt (or even just been confused but wanted to utilize them)? Please fill out this survey and contribute to what will be the most transparent and useful source of information on non-dilutive funding for early-stage climate companies. We’ll acknowledge all contributors, and also feature founders on panels and case studies for their leadership in this area. Thanks for your time!
As always, scroll down for the full list of upcoming events.
Cheers,
Maya, Alec, and the Climate Tech Cities Team
Events This Week
🪵 Realizing Mass Timber’s Benefits: Key Design Decisions and Carbon Analysis: Tues, May 7
🌍 Meet our Transatlantic Clean Tech Fellows: Tues, May 7
🌆 Port of Seattle - SKCCIF Community Outreach: Thurs, May 9
🏛️ YAF & WID Happy Hour Series - Measure What Matters: Thurs, May 9
⛏️ Economic and Environmental Impacts of Mining in Ecuador: Fri, May 10
🗞️ Make and Sip: Sustainable Printmaking with Recycled Materials: Fri, May 10
🌿 qʷiqʷəlut (little marsh) spring work party: Sat, May 11
🎨 En Plein Air: Clouds and Climate Change: Sat, May 11
💡 Nordic Innovation Summit 2024: Mon, May 13 - Tues, May 14
Read on for more details about this week’s happenings and upcoming events
Upcoming Events
🌾 From Refugee to Global Visionary: An Evening with Dr. Cedric Habiyaremye: Tues, May 14
🏫 IslandWood’s Community-Centered Climate Action for 3rd-5th Grade Teachers: Wed, May 15
👖 Remake Seattle Community Monthly Meetings: Wed, May 15
🚗 Transportation Electrification Career Panel: Wed, May 15
🏗️ Pioneering Net-Zero Energy & Carbon Building Certification: Thurs, May 16
🍷 Sustainability Masterclass: Luxury Wines with Beringer and Friends: Thurs, May 16
🍻 ClimateVoice + Microsoft SCC Happy Hour: Thurs, May 16
💸 Finding the Money - Seattle Documentary Film Screening: Fri, May 17
🌧️ RainWise Rain Garden Pop Up in Tangletown: Sat, May 18
🚜 Volunteer at 21 Acres: Farm Stewardship: Sat, May 18
🏢 21 Acres Green Building Tour: Sat, May 18
👗 Re/Make Seattle Community: Sat, May 18
🐋 Killer Whale Tales 20th Anniversary Celebration: Sat, May 18
🌱 Life After Death: Tour of the Recompose Human Composting Facility: Mon, May 20
💻 Climate Co-working + Speed Networking: Thurs, May 23
📖 Book Talk - The Conservative Environmentalist: Thurs, May 23
🌱 Dr. Mordecai Ogada - Green and Evil; The Environment Empire: Fri, May 24
🚢 Central American Dinner Cruise ft. StoveTeam International: Fri, May 24
🎤 Snohomish County Update: Tues, May 28
Event Details
🪵 Realizing Mass Timber’s Benefits: Key Design Decisions and Carbon Analysis
When: Tues, May 7th from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Where: Block 41, Seattle
Mass timber is a unique, non-commodity building material and, to lay the groundwork for success, certain critical decisions must be made as early as possible. These decisions can have a big impact on cost, and can either increase or limit the opportunities available later in design. This presentation will examine early project decisions and design steps, focusing on how to optimize projects for mass timber to avoid price premiums. Topics will include construction types, fire ratings, column grids and beam/panel spans, acoustics, and MEP integration. Completed mass timber projects will be presented to illustrate the variety of viable options when navigating these key decisions.
Another important topic in mass timber building design is understanding how building material choice contributes to carbon impact. As more building designers utilize life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental performance of material and design alternatives, questions arise about how wood products and buildings should be analyzed. Most designers recognize the carbon-storing capability of wood but are unsure how to include it in their carbon analysis. This course will provide an in-depth look at biogenic carbon accounting, including when and how it should be counted, as well as a discussion of end-of-life assumptions.
🌍 Meet our Transatlantic Clean Tech Fellows
When: Tues, May 7th from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Where: Big Time Brewery & Ale House, U-District, Seattle
Meet an exciting group of entrepreneurs in clean tech from Europe participating in the U.S. Department of State's Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI). These startup founders will be in Seattle for four weeks where they will partner with a local organization, build their networks, and experience Seattle's start-up and clean tech ecosystem. Join us to meet the Fellows, their hosts, and other members of our community!
This year, we have fellows from Azerbaijan, Finland, Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden. Their companies work in a range of areas from waste reduction and the circular economy to design-oriented innovation and sustainable packaging. Read their brief bios one our webpage here. Whether you're a student, a startup founder, interested in learning more about clean tech in Seattle, or someone who is globally-minded and curious, come join us for this informal networking event and help build lasting partnerships between business leaders from Europe and the United States!
🌆 Port of Seattle - SKCCIF Community Outreach
When: Thurs, May 9th from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: El Centro de la Raza (The Center for People of All Races), Seattle
The Port of Seattle established the South King County Community Impact Fund (SKCCIF) to develop equity-based partnerships and provide resources and support in historically underserved near-airport communities. The first round of funding awarded approximately $10 million between 2019 and 2023 to address noise mitigation, environmental health, and sustainability in these ethnically and culturally diverse communities. Join us at the SKCCIF Community Outreach event to learn more about this years funding.
🏛️ YAF & WID Happy Hour Series - Measure What Matters
When: Thurs, May 9th from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: MG2, Seattle
The AIA Seattle Happy Hour Series is a monthly gathering presented by the Young Architects Forum and Women in Design committees to encourage connections within the Seattle design community. This year’s series will explore how sustainability metrics can improve our built environment and create healthier buildings.
⛏️ Economic and Environmental Impacts of Mining in Ecuador
When: Fri, May 10th from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Where: University of Washington, Seattle
The Center for Environmental Politics organizes a monthly colloquium series on environmental politics, policy, and governance. This series is made possible by the generous support of Gary and Susan Duck, UW alumni and long-standing benefactors of the department. Join us for a seminar on the economic and environmental impacts of mining in Ecuador led by Dr. Mahelet Fikru: Associate Professor of Economics, Missouri University of Science and Technology.
🗞️ Make and Sip: Sustainable Printmaking with Recycled Materials
When: Fri, May 10th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: Black Arts Love Gallery and Marketplace, Seattle
Join us at the Black Arts Love Gallery and Marketplace for a fun Make and Sip event where we will enjoy handcrafted mocktails, light refreshments and making new friends - all while learning to make Sustainable Prints using Recycled Materials!
Discover the art of printmaking using recycled materials and learn how to create beautiful prints while sipping on your favorite beverage. Let your creativity flow in a sustainable way in a nice cozy gallery surrounded by beautiful art in the lovely Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to make art and help the environment at the same time - while networking and meeting new people. A perfect Friday night outing.
🌿 qʷiqʷəlut (little marsh) spring work party
When: Sat, May 11th from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Port of Tacoma
We need your help! Spring is a beautiful time at qʷiqʷəlut (“little marsh”), but it's also a time when we're trying to help native plants outcompete invasive weeds. Come join us, get your hands dirty, and see the tideflats like you've never seen them before! All abilities are welcomed and snacks will be provided.
For six years now, 350 Tacoma (with the support of City of Tacoma Environmental Services) have been working to restore this long-neglected but resilient site located deep in the industrial Port of Tacoma, nestled between a fossil fuel terminal and a container shipping yard. As part of the Tacoma Open Space Program, we host periodic work parties at the site to remove invasive weeds, restore native habitat, and pick up litter.
Tidal and salt marshes, seagrasses and mangroves, are powerhouses when it comes to carbon sequestration — two to four times more than terrestrial forests — and are therefore considered a key component of nature-based solutions to climate change.
The salt marsh was initially named for a French chemical company — Rhone Poulenc — that once operated on this site, but in consultation with the Puyallup Tribal Language Program we worked to restore a native Twulshootseed place name: qʷiqʷəlut (“little marsh").
🎨 En Plein Air: Clouds and Climate Change
When: Sat, May 11th from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Where: Bell Street Park, Seattle
Join us for observational drawing and cloud watching in this workshop inspired by the outdoor painting practice of painter John Constable. We will learn about the dynamic, chaotic world of clouds, the important role they play in our climate, and their history as a symbol in art and popular culture.
This class will be co-taught with graduate students from the Atmospheric Science department at University of Washington!
💡 Nordic Innovation Summit 2024
When: From Mon, May 13th 4:00 PM to Tues, May 14th 6:00 PM
Where: National Nordic Museum, Ballard, Seattle
The Nordic Innovation Summit brings together thought leaders in innovation and technology to exchange ideas, discuss issues, and explore opportunities of mutual concern; the goal is to accelerate innovation and jump-start economic and cultural exchange. The Summit draws high-level presenters and participants that include C-suite business leaders, innovators, tech investors, academics, NGO leaders, and policymakers from all five Nordic nations and the United States.
🌎 Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures Startup and Talent Platforms
Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures are launching new platforms to support climate founders, funders, and career transitioners! There is no shortage of great companies raising money for their groundbreaking ideas, great investors looking to support with capital, and great talent living the mantra that every job is a climate job. We can’t wait to hear from you!
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!