Meet the five emerging organizations making up the newest cohort of the Morgan Stanley Sustainable Solutions Collaborative.
The world’s most critical sustainability issues—such as climate change, social justice and plastic waste—can only be addressed with a concerted effort across the public and private sectors. That’s why Morgan Stanley created the Sustainable Solutions Collaborative, which just announced its newest cohort of five emerging organizations creating innovative sustainable solutions.
To choose the winners of its latest Collaborative cohort, the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing evaluated many organizations creating new systemic solutions to various sustainability challenges. The following five are building promising innovations that target scalability, and each will receive a $250,000 award in addition to a year-long partnership with the firm to help them grow and scale.
“To tackle complex sustainability challenges, we need to advance innovative systemic solutions,” said Jessica Alsford, Morgan Stanley Chief Sustainability Officer and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing. “This year’s Sustainable Solutions Collaborative members are dedicated to making a significant impact on our planet and society, and we are excited to support their groundbreaking work.”
Meet the 2023 Sustainable Solutions Collaborative Recipients
EarthEnable, a nonprofit headquartered in Rwanda and operating across East Africa, designs and builds affordable housing products made from local, natural materials. Its flagship flooring material transforms disease-causing dirt floors in rural homes using compacted earth and a flax-based sealant, for affordable, healthy and sustainable housing.
MycoTile, a startup from Kenya, is innovating insulation materials made from agricultural waste bonded with mushroom mycelium. Its carbon-negative product delivers stronger insulative properties at a lower price than traditional building materials.
Puraffinity, a UK-based startup, is tackling the human health and environmental challenges of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” Its novel low-carbon green chemistry approach allows for PFAS capture and reuse.
RECARBON, an Italian startup, creates innovative products from recycled carbon fiber waste, with up to 30% cost savings and a fifth of the carbon intensity of virgin carbon fiber products.
Sparxell, also from the UK, is leveraging patented technology to develop the first bioinspired fully biodegradable non-toxic pigments, glitters, sequins and films. Extractable from agricultural waste, Sparxell’s products have a low carbon footprint, zero toxins and enable a more resilient supply chain.
“This year’s Sustainable Solutions Collaborative winners were selected from our largest group of applicants to date, underscoring the breadth of innovative solutions entering the marketplace,” said Matthew Slovik, Head of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley. “In providing these organizations with capital, networking opportunities and additional resources for growth, we aim to help them bring their game-changing concepts to scale.”
The 2023 members of the Collaborative join a community of previous years’ cohorts that includes global innovators re-imagining healthcare, climate solutions, plastic waste reduction and ecosystem services with innovative distribution methods and technology platforms. Learn more about the Sustainable Solutions Collaborative.
