Carbon Conversations

In this episode, I sit down with Thea and Stefan, the visionary founders of Proon-Tech, a startup revolutionising biodiversity conservation and reforestation through AI-driven innovation. We explore their journey in creating cutting-edge technologies that tackle the global biodiversity crisis, the challenges of scaling green tech solutions, and the real-world impact of their projects. Tune in to hear their inspiring story, success stories from the field, and what’s next for Proon-Tech in their mission to protect our planet. https://www.proon-tech.com/

Currently serving as Senior Program Manager at Brainforest, Camille Accolas is dedicated to bridging the gap between founders, experts, and funders through the Brainforest Venture Program. She brings extensive experience in consulting, project management, and sustainability across both public and private sectors. Camille is skilled in biodiversity impact evaluation, sustainability reporting, and developing corporate strategies. She holds a Master's degree in Globalisation, Business, and Development from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex. Links: Brainforest Venture Program: https://brainforest.global/venture-program Brainforest Newsletter: https://brainforest.global/newsletter Fundraising accelerators (with focus on female founders): https://www.helenawasserman.com/unstoppable; https://www.consideredcapital.io/ Other biodiversity accelerators: https://www.tech4regeneration.ch/; https://www.biodiversity-accelerator.com/; https://accelerator.norrsken.org/

Erin Grover advises on emerging technologies for the verification of climate impact, food security, and regenerative supply chain transparency. This includes the application of blockchain, AI, and IoT innovation. She is a strong advocate for using these technologies to improve the lives of smallholder farmers in the Global South. Her drive comes from her time living with a farming community in the mountains of Nepal in her early 20s. This is where she learned to speak Nepali and learned how to live from the heart. She has extensively researched emerging DeFi markets in Kenya, Uganda, and India. She is a part of the World Economic Forum's Crypto Sustainability Coalition as a member of the blockchain and carbon working group and has been a featured speaker at the annual meetings of the World Bank, Barclays, and COP28. Before her work in agritech, she served for the United Nations, USAID, and other international NGOs in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, Nepal, and Cambodia for over a decade. Additionally, she has contributed as a journalist to CoinTelegraph, IndieWire, and is currently a featured writer for AGBI.COM (Arabian Gulf Business Insight). Her previous work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Mashable, The Times of India, and many other international news sources. https://www.linkedin.com/in/eringrover/

Dries Roobroeck's journey in applied biosciences began with a neighbourhood clean-up he organized as a 10-year-old and deepened when he observed his great uncle's selfless work with rural communities in India at the age of 15. He pursued biological sciences at university, fascinated by the broad range of topics, particularly how nature works. His PhD focused on the cycling of carbon and nitrogen between soil, plants, and the atmosphere in Poland's undisturbed peatlands, giving him profound insights into biogeochemical processes, greenhouse gas emissions, and laboratory and data analytics. After completing his PhD, Dries had the privilege of conducting a postdoctoral study with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, researching the occurrence and causes of non-responsiveness of crops to synthetic fertilizers in Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, and Nigeria. This work highlighted the pervasive issues of nutrient input inefficiency and soil fertility degradation that trap many small-scale farmers in poverty. Concurrently, he became increasingly involved in research on biochar agronomy and pyrolytic technology, including long-term experimentation, participatory evaluation, upscaled assessment, and system engineering. Seeing an opportunity for science to solve many of today's complex problems, Dries, along with Aarti Shah, started Co-REGEN to advise agribusinesses on becoming circular and regenerative. They coach these businesses on adopting more reliable power, low carbon heat, and nature-based solutions to improve farming and processing, aiming to enhance their movement up the agricultural value chain while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Since late 2022, Dries has been working with PennState University's program PlantVillage, where he has had the opportunity to translate scientific research and ideas into practical applications. Further viewing/reading: Video of PlantVillage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huqLMHRNIVA Video from feasibility in tea sector https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcq_Gf1ES_0 LinkedIN www.linkedin.com/in/driesroobroeck Contact: Email d.roobroeck@cgiar.org

Trina Montemayor is a dedicated professional with over 20 years of experience in the corporate food service industry. She has been an integral part of the success of Order Corner, a web-based company specializing in food ordering for corporate and professional groups of 10 or more. Throughout her tenure at Order Corner, Trina has worked tirelessly to build and manage a team of exceptional individuals. She has fostered a positive and collaborative work environment, ensuring that each team member feels valued and motivated. Trina's leadership skills have been instrumental in adapting the company's business model to meet the ever-changing needs of the industries they serve and the clients they love. In March 2020, faced with the unprecedented challenges posed by the global pandemic, Order Corner made the difficult decision to close its doors. However, Trina's dedication to her clients and passion for her work did not waver. Many of her clients reached out to her personally, praising the exceptional work of her team and expressing their gratitude for their invaluable services. Driven by a strong sense of responsibility and a commitment to her clients, Trina took the next step in her career journey. She founded Trina's Concierge and Catering (TCC), a new venture that operates at a minimal level while adapting to the current environment. Trina ensures that every precaution is taken to keep drivers and staff safe while maintaining the same level of excellence in coordinating and delivering food for professional environments. Trina's business model extends beyond just food delivery. She also coordinates and delivers other essential items as per client requests, going above and beyond to meet their needs. At TCC, every client is treated with utmost care and respect, and a team-based approach is taken with partner restaurants and caterers to ensure a personalized and perfect experience. Trina Montemayor is a dedicated professional who thrives on the challenges of the industry. Her adaptability, passion, and commitment to excellence make her a trusted partner for any professional or corporate event. For more information in Trina and TCC visit: https://trinacc.com

Sebastian Manhart is a climate advocate, leveraging his skills and experiences to support policymakers in making better decisions for our planet.​ He is currently the Senior Policy Advisor of Carbonfuture, the world's leading provider of high-integrity, durable carbon removal. In this role, he focuses on promoting policies to help scale durable carbon removal in Europe, the United States, and beyond. Sebastian previously spent a decade as a tech entrepreneur, including being Chief Operating Officer at Simprints, the world’s only nonprofit biometrics company. He also advised Angela Merkel’s Chancellery and worked with governments globally through the World Bank. Sebastian is an economist with a BA from UCL, an MPhil from Cambridge University, and an ExecEd from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. You can follow Sebastian on LinkedIn, where he shares daily insights with his 25k+ followers. For Sebastian's Newsletter (sign up here, last version here). Article on government policies to scale CDR Article about CDR integration into the ETS Article I wrote on the CRCF framework Eve Tamme LinkedIn

Over the last decade, Helena Wasserman has worked for the Clinton Foundation, Big Data for Humans, Techstars and Top Tier Impact. She helps climate founders unlock sales, fundraising as well as being bolder leaders. She is on a mission to empower 1M climate founders to build scalable solutions to fix climate change. Helena is the founder of Unstoppable and co-founder of Investors for Climate (The Earth Shot Prize nominator, community of 150+ climate investors and private event series). She invests in climate tech and has a portfolio of 10 climate startups and funds including 1 IPO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenawasserman/

Kimon is an experienced multidisciplinary engineer specialising in developing new technologies and products, bringing together and leading teams or collaborators as necessary. He brings an exceptional analytical and intuitive understanding of physical systems. For the last 20 years he has worked mainly in consultancy and Cambridge SMEs, with clients from TetraPak via wireline and Formula 1 to medical devices, holding roles including Chief Scientist, Operations Director, Chief Research Officer and Head of R&D. He has also for example advised VCs on technology investments and carried out technology audits, as well as preparing business plans and pitching to VCs for funding – and been on the other side. participating in Angel investment rounds. Most recently, as well as medical device work, he’s increasingly working on projects relating to carbon saving (grid load shedding, home insulation diagnostics from smart meter data, etc), as well as working as a Domain Expert with the Carbon Thirteen venture accelerator. He studied at Cambridge, taking final year papers in electrical, mechanical, control and structural engineering, and holds a “double first” degree and a PhD. He previously held academic positions in Cambridge (fellowship), Bristol (lectureship), and at the EPFL in Lausanne (equivalent). https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimonr/