Top Sustainability startups
to watch in 2024

Plenty of start-ups are trying to be more sustainable but what does that really mean and which companies are legitimately providing a sustainable solution or product? We’ve got you covered. Essentially, a sustainability startup is one that prioritises social responsibility and environmental protection. Studies show that consumers are becoming much more concerned about climate change (especially Gen Z) and are prepared to spend up to 25% extra for environmentally friendly products and services. It’s a lucrative and booming industry as well as one that is morally correct. Here are the start-ups leading the charge…

The Top Three

Ocean Bottle

Ocean Bottle, which launched in 2019 has prevented over 9.1 million kilograms of ocean-bound plastic from reaching our oceans. How? The B Corp certified company produces reusable bottles and with each sale, 11.4kg of plastic (the equivalent of 1000 ocean-bound plastic bottles) is collected globally.

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Kaffee Bueno

Kaffe Bueno is a bioscience company using green chemistry and biotechnology to upcycle coffee's by-products into active and functional ingredients for personal care, nutraceuticals, and functional foods. Kaffe Bueno’s mission is to unlock coffee's health potential where harmful emissions are minimised and coffee’s by-product usability is maximised.

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Wild

Wild is a plastic-free natural deodorant that is kind to your skin and better yet, the environment. Available in multiple delicious smells and in a reusable deodorant applicator that you refill time and time again. Better yet, aluminium is a common chemical used in deodorant that is harmful for us but Wild provides deodorant free of aluminium, parabens and sulphates.

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Ocean Bottle

Why we’re excited:

Ocean Bottle is positively impacting the environment by partnering with plastic collection partners; Plastic Bank, Plastics for Change and Repurpose Global to make the collections. Not only that but they are producing aesthetically beautiful bottles that are timeless. We love that Ocean Bottle is prioritising long-lasting, reusable water bottles rather than encouraging consumers to buy over and over again. How refreshing.

Founded by:

Founded date:

2019

Funding:

Series A US$ 2.9M

# Employees:

50-100

Location:

London, U.K

Kaffee Bueno

Why we’re excited:

Every year nine billion kilos of coffee is consumed around the world with the spent coffee grounds (SCG) ending up in landfill. When SCG breaks down it releases tonnes of methane gas which has a greenhouse effect 28 times higher than carbon dioxide. By preventing coffee grounds from going to landfill, Kaffee Bueno is helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s to a greener future!

Founded by:

Founded date:

2016

Funding:

Grant US$ 2.9M

# Employees:

11-15

Location:

Søborg, Denmark

70% of startups use Freelancers to scale

Wild

Why we’re excited:

Millions of bathroom products are thrown away every year, including sustainable and natural products. We are excited about Wild because they are shaking up the throwaway culture of bathroom products. Their deodorant looks good, lasts all day and every time you refill your case, you save 30 grams of plastic going into the landfill. Living sustainably is something we are passionate about at Passionfruit and using Wild is a small way to contribute. Also, every time you buy one of their products, you help grow the Wild forest due to their partnership with ONAMISSION. What’s not to love?

Founded by:

Founded date:

2019

Funding:

Seed £7.5M

# Employees:

11-50

Location:

London, UK

Better Origin

Better Origin’s mission is simple. They aim to fix the broken food chain by converting waste into high-value insect products. Using an AI-powered insect farm, Better Origin combines insects’ power to upcycle nutrients with cutting edge technology.

Why we’re excited:

We love Better Origin because they have thought of everything. Not only are they using insect farming, a new and exciting way to tackle waste. But, they have made their product super accessible and scalable. The Better Origin X1 is located in a shipping container that can be set up anywhere in the world. We wish we would have thought of it!

Founded by:

Founded date:

2019

Funding:

Series A, $22.2M

# Employees:

11-50

Location:

Cambridge, UK

How a growth specialist heped Hirestreet increase their overall transactions by 78%

Hirestreet wanted to see more frequent and valuable results from their marketing spend. After just two months, they had increased conversions by 45%, with a 78% increase in overall transactions and a 39% increase in revenue.

Learn how

Emitwise

Emitwise helps businesses accelerate their transition to a net-zero carbon world. They empower companies to cut emissions through operations and supply chains, helping them meet carbon targets faster and transition to a low-carbon economy.

Why we’re excited:

Passionfruit is super excited about Emitwise because its carbon management platform makes it incredibly easy to measure, track, report and reduce your carbon footprint. For companies that want to take control of their climate action but don’t know where to start, Emitwise makes it simple and easy. Not only is this important to save the planet (something we are passionate about!) but it also helps businesses unlock new revenue, reduce risk and build a reputation as a frontrunner in decarbonisation.

Founded by:

Founded date:

2019

Funding:

Series A, $10M

# Employees:

20-60

Location:

London, UK

Save Your Wardrobe

Save Your Wardrobe is on a mission to help us make the most of what we already own. The fashion tech startup offers a circular digital platform that allows brands and consumers to streamline their wardrobe by offering access to an ecosystem of aftercare services. The app connects you to brands and a network of local clothes care specialists to make sure nothing goes to waste.

Why we’re excited:

We love Save Your Wardrobe because it makes caring for your clothes so easy. We’ve all been there when one of our favourite top rips or when a pair of jeans go unworn because really, they are too long. Save Your Wardrobe provides a one-stop shop for clothing care and repair. Think anything from mending and alterations to eco-cleaning, leather repairs, upcycling or customisation. Not only does it stop you throwing clothes out and buying more, but it makes all those mundane tasks easy. Apparently 80% of us only wear 20% of what’s in our wardrobes but with Save Your Wardrobe we can flip those numbers.

Founded by:

Founded date:

2017

Funding:

Seed, $3.4M

# Employees:

11-50

Location:

London, UK

Oddbox

Oddbox reduces food waste and rescues wonky fruit that is “too big” or “too small”. They deliver surprise selections of fruit and veg straight to your door. Customers select what box they want (fruit, veg or fruit & veg), Oddbox speaks to your local farmers to find out what needs rescuing and then they deliver your surprise box weekly or fortnightly.

Why we’re excited:

Not only does Oddbox fight food waste but it also encourages customers to be more adventurous with their cooking. They offer delicious, low-waste recipes every week. Oddbox has thought about everything sustainability-wise. They are a B-Corp certified business, their deliveries are weekly or fortnightly and take place overnight to reduce emissions and produce is delivered ‘naked’ in a cardboard box eliminating plastic. What’s not to love?

Founded by:

Founded date:

2016

Funding:

Equity crowdfunding, $6.9M

# Employees:

51-200

Location:

London, UK

Treeapp

Making a global impact is hard but Treeapp is here to try to make it easy. Treeapp is a mobile app that enables anyone to plant a tree for free, everyday in less than a minute. How? They partner with businesses to automatically plant a tree for every order, every employee, every user or subscriber - you name it!

Why we’re excited:

We are excited about Treeapp because it makes planting trees and saving our planet easy. Its APIs are also fully customisable so that tree planting can be seamlessly integrated into any business. For businesses that want to reach or improve their corporate social responsibility (CSR), Treeapp is the perfect platform to do that. They are also partnered with some of the best companies out there including Virgin, L’oreal, DpD and Credit Suisse.

Founded by:

Founded date:

2019

Funding:

Pre-seed, N/A

# Employees:

11-50

Location:

London, UK

SOJO

SOJO is the clothing repairs and alterations platform dedicated to making your clothes work for you. The platform fits seamlessly (get it?) into lives and businesses so that everyone can find the perfect fit alongside helping the planet by reducing waste.

Why we’re excited:

Finding the perfect fit has never been so easy. SOJO offers tailoring, alterations and repairs for clothes, collecting and delivering them straight to your door. Not only do we love the business proposition but we love the branding, positioning and tone of voice of SOJO. Plus, female founder, Josephine Philips was only 23 when she raised $2.4M to raise the platform. Josephine is making noise and we are here for it.

Founded by:

Founded date:

2020

Funding:

Seed, $2.4M

# Employees:

11-50

Location:

London, UK

EcoCart

EcoCart is on a mission to make fighting climate change simple, cost-effective and accessible for everyone. How? They are a sustainability software that calculates ecommerce brands ecological footprints through machine learning. This then enables companies or their customers to offset the emissions of their orders through front-end experiences.

Why we’re excited:

We are excited about EcoCart because the platform helps companies articulate and promote their sustainability story throughout the customer journey and experience. This is great for increasing brand loyalty and driving real business results. From using EcoCart businesses have seen a +10% increase in average order value, a 15% increase in repurchasing rate and a 14% rise in cart conversion rate. Tell your story in the most impactful way and watch the results.