12 sustainable tech entrepreneurs making a difference

For us here at Business Leader, we’ve currently been focusing our attention on green technologies along with eco-friendly innovations and innovators in the business world.

We also run a Business Leader’s Top 12 every week, so this week we decided to build on our list of top 32 sustainable businesses to look out for in 2021 and look at 12 sustainable tech entrepreneurs who are making a difference. However, if you feel that we’ve missed out a deserving individual, please send an email to info@businessleader.co.uk and they will be included in the list below.

This list is in no particular order.

Landon Brand and Mimi Tran Zambetti, Wren

Landon Brand and Mimi Tran Zambetti founded Wren after reading the 2018 IPCC report and learning how difficult it would be to stop the climate crisis. Wren’s mission is to help reverse the climate crisis and they do this with their online calculator that enables users to determine their carbon footprint. People can also use their online platform to fund projects that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, and they keep you up-to-date with how these projects are progressing.

David Giuliano, Arctic Sand

Arctic Sand manufactures energy-efficient superconductors, which significantly lower laptop and smartphone’s energy usage whilst allowing them to be built to thinner proportions. The company’s founder, David Giuliano, is also their Chief Scientist, and they have helped to revolutionise laptop and smartphone technology as the demand for smaller, more efficient options has grown.

Shenal Verma and Mohammad Aatish Khan, NatureDots

Deeptech company NatureDots is the brainchild of Shenal Verma and Mohammad Aatish Khan. Founded in New Delhi, this start-up creates innovative solutions to solve nature and social problems and redefine businesses for a sustainable future. AquaNurch, one of their most successful solutions, utilises artificial and natural intelligence to create sustainable, climate-resilient fisheries.

Nicolas Carlési, IADYS

Interactive Autonomous Dynamic Systems (IADYS) was founded by French entrepreneur Nicolas Carlési in 2016. This innovative company develops Robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies, with a particular focus on the marine environment. For their first range of products, IADYS successfully developed small robots that can collect floating waste and oil on water’s surface – the Jellyfishbot.

Radoslav Stompf and Vladimir Miskovsky, Fuergy

Slovak start-up Fuergy was founded by Radoslav Stompf and Vladimir Miskovsky in 2018. They went on to develop brAIn, an AI-powered software that optimises energy consumption and maximises the efficiency of renewable energy sources. Suitable for all types of domestic and commercial properties, this innovative solution has helped loads of business reduce their electricity costs and consumption.

Amanda Lyne and Paul Turner, ULEMCo

Amanda Lyne and Paul Turner founded ULEMCo in 2014. The idea behind this Liverpool-based company was to commercialise intellectual property and capability in hydrogen combustion engine technology. They convert vehicles to run on commercially available hydrogen and work with HGV and LGV fleet operators with zero-emission hydrogen vehicles. With HGV’s accounting for 18% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, their work is an important landmark in the future of delivering goods sustainably.

Sayan Navaratnam, Facedrive

Ontario-based tech startup Facedrive was founded by Sayan Navaratnam in 2016, with the purpose of offering a socially-responsible transport network. Currently operating in Canada and the United States, but with plans to expand to Europe, their app offers ridesharing opportunities, eco-friendly food deliveries, a space to buy carbon offsets and other environmentally-friendly solutions, helping individuals reduce their impact on the environment.

Jean-Marc Toubiana, Terradona

Jean-Marc Toubiana is the founder of Terradona, a French tech company renowned digital recycling solution Cliiink®. Cliiink® is the first sorting gesture reward program in France, and it allows those who recycle goods using their sorting containers to accumulate points. The points earned can then be converted to vouchers for use in local shops or as donations to associations. With 140,000 users, 70,000 subscriptions to their offers and more than 42 million glass deposits to date, Terradona has helped revolutionise glass recycling in France.

Nick Kanopoulos, Brite Solar

Founded in 2009 by Nick Kanopoulos, US company Brite Solar specialises in energy-saving glass solutions for the commercial greenhouse and architectural glass market. Developed using advanced nano material engineering, their innovative glass solutions include photovoltaic glass with 70% transparency and electrochromic glass that automatically tints itself based on light levels.

Hannes Trettin, Matthes Trettin and Toni Gurski, Snazz

Hannes, Matthes and Toni developed Snazz, an AI-based fashion app in 2019. With a third of the clothing produced worldwide going unsold, their digital platform combats this by allowing its users to follow the latest fashion trends, get fashion advice, design and buy their dream outfits in a sustainable manner that prevents unused fashion from going to waste.

Małgorzata Then and Jerzy Wysocki, Biotrem

Polish inventor Jerzy Wysocki developed an eco-friendly process for creating edible wheat tableware, known as Biotrem, using natural raw materials in 2012. Today, he manages the company with Małgorzata Then, and their fully biodegradable offering includes plates, bowls and cutlery. Although, cups, containers and other eco-friendly and edible wheat bran solutions are currently in development.

Tegan Spinner, Worthmore

Moving from Silicon Valley to Copenhagen, entrepreneur Tegan Spinner founded Worthmore, an online platform where users can donate their old smartphones and raise money to support eco-friendly initiatives like planting trees or removing plastic from the oceans. E-waste is becoming an increasing problem around the world, but Worthmore either reuses or recycles old smartphones, thereby preventing more e-waste from going to landfills.