Blue Earth Summit 2024

Blue Earth Summit founder Guy Hayler explores challenges and opportunities for climate tech investments

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Published: October 4, 2024
This Article was written by: Katie Hill - My Green Pod
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This article first appeared in our Organic September 2024 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox

Guy Hayler is co-founder of Blue Earth Summit, a 5,000-strong annual event in London that connects climate tech and planet-positive innovators, investors, campaigners and policymakers.

This year, Blue Earth has launched a new climate tech competition, BE100, that will enable 1,000 environmental startups to connect with investors and secure funding worth over £100 million.

In the climate sector Guy Hayler is known as a ‘super connector’. He has built a reputation for helping to connect investable planet-positive businesses with impact investors looking for emerging and exciting businesses ready to scale.

‘Connecting investors with innovation is in my DNA’, Guy shares. ‘I come from an entrepreneurial family background so it’s always felt natural to build a network of people who inspire me and feel the same about the climate crisis.’

Guy believes it’s essential for investors to consider five key areas when investing in the climate technology sector; below he shares what they mean and why they matter.

1. Profit and passion

‘Whether innovators or investors, I always look for like-minded people who want to protect the environment’, Guy says. ‘Individuals who are not driven exclusively by short-term gain but recognise the myriad growth and return opportunities in the climate sector.’

Richard Walker, executive chairman of Iceland Foods, is a great example who also happens to be Guy’s good friend; ‘We even go surfing together!’, Guy shares. ‘Richard’s store chain has a healthy marketplace position with a £4bn turnover. But his drive doesn’t end there. He’s been called the ‘green’ grocer because of his personal and business commitment to the environment and protecting nature.’

‘People like Richard are super successful but they’re also driven by positive impact, born out of a love for humanity and the natural world’, Guy continues. ‘That balance of personal passion and business health is what inspires me.’

2. Don’t dwell on the status quo

Guy believes the blame for global warming and climate change can be laid at many doors, from government policymakers, the gas and oil industry or, in the case of fashion waste, human habit and behaviour.

‘But I choose not to blame or look backwards’, Guy says. ‘It’s not a useful approach that will ignite the change we need. We’re a team of optimists at Blue Earth. My co-founders and I are out there looking at hundreds, if not thousands of startups every year, fixing problems from the ground up. And that’s the future. It’s inspiring.’

Financial institutions recognise the next unicorns will come out of the climate space, and that’s an exciting prospect for Guy.

‘The climate sector has a current turnover of £344.6bn and is growing at 11% per year’, he says. ‘Things are definitely changing and more governments are supporting change.’

In May the European Council approved the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), a new law introducing a framework of measures aimed at scaling up Europe’s manufacturing capacity for technologies key to achieving the EU’s climate goals.

It has also introduced a framework for new sustainability requirements for all products sold across the EU as well as a new ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear.

According to London & Partners, London-based climate tech startups raised $3.5bn last year, ranking second globally in terms of investment in the sector.

3. Inform and educate

Guy acknowledges that being labelled a climate business ‘super connector’ is ‘interesting’, but concedes his role involves more than just networking.

‘I see my role as connecting and informing’, he says. ‘It’s about sharing timely insights with investors and innovators, as well as being alive to important and emerging trends. It’s a global sector where changes are fast moving – from the latest legislation to updates in investment tax efficiencies.’

There are always knowledge gaps in the climate sector, and that’s probably why Blue Earth is growing in popularity for investors, VCs and founders.

‘Our growth is reflected in a rapid change of attitude to planet-positive innovation’, Guy shares. ‘Resistance is becoming a thing of the past and no one can ignore the opportunities in the impact space any more.’

4. Know where to look

Despite a growing appreciation of the significant opportunity in the climate sector, investors want guidance on where to look and why.

‘In my view, there are a couple of industry sectors that are getting plenty of attention right now’, Guy says. ‘Farming practices are slowly changing and so is investment for protecting our natural world. It’s clear that our current food system is broken. Industrial farming is destroying soil, wildlife, land quality and biodiversity. Not to mention food security. It’s an urgent problem that needs resolving. A 2024 report from the University of Oxford and London School of Economics concluded that if we continue business as usual, we will carry billions of avoidable costs, whereas transforming food systems could save $10 trillion per year. There are some exciting players in this space, from lab-grown meats to technology that can track the quality of farmland and new green sustainable chilled food transport systems.’

5. The time it takes

Naturally investors are impatient; they’re looking for the fastest returns. But innovation in the green sector takes longer so Guy urges investors to think differently.

‘Returns in the climate sector may take longer but the opportunity could be bigger’, he says. ‘Higher risk and higher reward. Perhaps this is the biggest challenge facing our sector, but innovators are already providing competitive results and financial returns are being realised.’

‘I am hoping that as impact investing is becoming more mature, the returns are more visible and so investor commitment becomes an easier choice’, Guy concludes.