This article profiles 10 new sustainability companies — each contributing specialized technological advancements, from a wide pool of global emerging companies. They focus on efficient green hydrogen production, innovative textile recycling processes that enhance fiber recovery rates, and microbe-based soil regeneration techniques that improve agricultural carbon sequestration. Additionally, we explore enterprises offering advanced environmental impact management platforms, integrating real-time data analytics for comprehensive lifecycle assessments.
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Key Takeaways
Drawing insights from the Big Data & AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform that provides data on over 4.7+ million emerging companies globally, we explore the evolving landscape of the sustainability industry. This sector is marked by key trends and a substantial workforce, shaping its future. Here are some key insights at a glance:
- Current Sustainability Trends: Some of the major sustainability trends include increasing adoption of renewables, production of novel bio-based materials, advanced recycling and upcycling, decarbonization, and climate technology solutions.
- Sustainability Industry Statistics: The global sustainability industry encompasses 458K+ organizations and has a massive 49.6M workforce. With an annual growth rate of 0.18% it has witnessed the emergence of 54K+ new sustainability companies in the past five years.
- 10 Top Sustainability Companies to Watch:
- PuriFire Labs – Green Hydrogen & Biomethanol Production
- CroBio – Microbe-based Soil Regeneration
- Fortera – Zero Carbon Cement & Concrete
- Quimsil – Advanced Silicone Recycling
- C6-Zero – Asphalt Shingle Remanufacturing
- Cofling – Coffee Waste Upcycling
- Liven Proteins – Alternative Protein Ingredients
- TexUp – Textile Recycling
- FLUFFY – Sustainable Keratin Extraction
- Root Sustainability – Environmental Impact Management
Discover 10 out of 54K+ Emerging Sustainability Companies
In this section, we showcase 10 companies in the sustainability sector that span various application areas, from renewable energy generation and resource-efficient manufacturing to agricultural biotechnology and corporate sustainability reporting. Their contributions are critical in addressing specific environmental challenges, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing waste, enhancing soil health, and streamlining sustainability metrics for better decision-making in industry practices.
Note on Signal Strength
One of the unique metrics we feature for each company is Signal Strength, a proprietary data point generated by our Discovery Platform. It gauges the extent to which a company’s influence has permeated the global ecosystem of startups, scaleups, and emerging companies. This proprietary metric serves as a valuable guidepost for understanding a company’s standing in the broader market landscape.
1. PuriFire Labs
- Founding Year: 2019
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: UK
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: PuriFire Labs upcycles wastewater into green hydrogen and carbon-neutral biomethanol. Utilizing a hydrothermal treatment process, the company converts waste carbon and water into green hydrogen and carbon dioxide. It then processes these outputs in proprietary reactors and synthesizes them into biomethanol through catalytic conversion. This eliminates the need for compressors or electrolyzers and the company leverages waste heat from industrial or farm sources. This way, PuriFire Labs produces green methanol, a biodegradable fuel, from renewable feedstocks. Thus, offering a cleaner alternative for industries such as shipping, chemical manufacturing, fuel cells, and distributed power generation.
2. CroBio
- Founding Year: 2019
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: UK
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: CroBio develops a microbial technology that enhances soil physical characteristics, crucial for sustainable agriculture. Its engineered bacteria consume root exudates to produce cellulose, significantly improving soil water retention and resilience against drought. This process improves plant growth by creating a stable carbon pool in the soil and also aids in atmospheric CO2 drawdown, transferring carbon from air to earth. The resulting cellulose acts as a bioscaffold, enhancing nutrient availability and reducing runoff. CroBio thus benefits farmers by ensuring healthier, nutrient-rich crops and contributing to environmental sustainability by mitigating climate change impacts through carbon sequestration.
3. Fortera
- Founding Year: 2019
- Employee Range: 51-100
- Location: USA
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: Fortera’s patented ReCarb process decarbonizes traditional cement manufacturing. Its product series, ReAct is a precipitated calcium carbonate polymorph, which can be blended into ASTM C150, C595, or C1157 cements or mixed into concrete during batching. ReAct Pure is a binder transforming vaterite to aragonite or calcite and ReAct Blend enhances cement hydration, workability, and durability while optimizing particle packing. These products reduce the CO2 impact of cement and formulated products, enabling low clinker content blends, and improving the flowability and workability of concrete.
4. Quimsil
- Founding Year: 2023
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Spain
- Signal Strength: Medium
- What they do: Quimsil recycles silicone waste into industrial products. It uses chemical recycling techniques to break down silicone waste into primary molecules like D3, D4, and D5. It then processes these into room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV-2) rubbers and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fluids, maintaining properties equivalent to those made from virgin materials. The RTV-2 rubbers is used for making shoe molds, and PDMS fluids offer various industrial applications. Thus, Quimsil enables cost-effective solutions for industries while promoting environmental sustainability.
5. C6-Zero
- Founding Year: 2020
- Employee Range: 51-100
- Location: USA
- Signal Strength: Strong
- What they do: C6-Zero enables remanufacturing of asphalt shingles through a patented process that supports a circular economy, achieving significant carbon reduction. The process starts with the collection of used shingles, followed by transportation to C6-Zero facilities. Here, shingles are remanufactured into fuel, fiberglass, construction-grade aggregate (ASTM 33), and calcium carbonate. The end products feature a certified carbon reduction, particularly the fuel with a lower carbon intensity (CI) compared to standard fuels. This sustainable approach not only diverts tons of waste from landfills annually but also provides high-quality materials for construction and energy sectors, benefiting environmentally conscious builders and communities
6. Cofling
- Founding Year: 2021
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Spain
- Signal Strength: Strong
- What they do: Cofling upcycles waste coffee grounds into cosmetic and nutraceutical ingredients. Its product, OilCof, is a coffee vegetable oil, rich in linoleic and palmitic acids, polyphenols, tocopherols, and melanoidins. This composition makes it suitable for various cosmetic applications like body creams, oils, sunscreens, gels, soaps, and hair care products, offering emollient, moisturizing, anti-aging, photoprotective, anti-cellulite, and anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, its aromatic and antioxidant properties combined with the high content of melanoidins enhance food products. The company’s other product, FibCof, is a defatted vegetable fiber that has low caffeine content. It serves as an exfoliating agent and is suitable for use in body and facial scrubs, shower gels, soaps, and masks. FibCof’s high dietary fiber and protein content make it an ideal ingredient for celiac and diabetic individuals.
7. Liven Proteins
- Founding Year: 2020
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Canada
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: Liven Proteins offers fermentation-based sustainable protein ingredients. Its technology is based on molecular biology, protein expression, purification, and X-ray crystallography. The production process involves cultivating protein-producing microorganisms in large-scale fermenters, followed by a purification process that removes off-odors, ensuring the end products are suitable for clean-label foods. This method is both scalable and highly reproducible, offering a sustainable solution to the food industry. Liven Proteins benefits manufacturers of plant-based foods seeking to improve the sensory qualities of their products without compromising on sustainability.
8. TexUp
- Founding Year: 2023
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Switzerland
- Signal Strength: Medium
- What they do: TexUp manufactures acoustic panels from recycled textiles sourced within a 50 km radius, promoting local sustainability. These panels offer Class C sound absorption, contributing to noise reduction in various spaces. The modular design allows customization in size and color, catering to diverse aesthetic preferences. Beneficiaries include environmentally conscious consumers and businesses seeking effective acoustic solutions. TexUp not only addresses waste reduction but also enhances indoor environments through improved sound quality and personalized design.
9. FLUFFY
- Founding Year: 2022
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Latvia
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: FLUFFY develops a sustainable keratin extraction technology utilizing agricultural by-products like sheep wool and chicken feathers. This method offers better extraction efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. The technology requires low capital and operational expenditures, supporting the circular economy by converting waste into valuable keratin for the cosmetics and medical industries. Beneficiaries include manufacturers seeking sustainable raw materials. The process reduces the use of harmful reagents and leverages underutilized livestock by-products, addressing the environmental challenges associated with traditional keratin extraction methods.
10. Root Sustainability
- Founding Year: 2022
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Netherlands
- Signal Strength: Medium Strong
- What they do: Root Sustainability builds an environmental impact management platform, focusing on lifecycle assessment (LCA) and carbon accounting. The platform enables users to retrieve, organize, optimize, and track data for sustainable decision-making. Features include intuitive data collection, insight organization into emission drivers, and modeling of reduction strategies. It employs LCA following ISO 14040/14044 standards, assessing impacts from production to disposal. The solution reduces operational, material, and supply chain impacts while ensuring compliance with sustainability directives. Root Sustainability thus facilitates transparent reporting and circular economy strategies, allowing businesses to improve corporate environmental responsibility.
Quick Tip to Find New Sustainability Companies
Utilizing a SaaS platform like the Discovery Platform for identifying new sustainability companies provides significant benefits compared to traditional scouting methods:
- Increased Efficiency: The Discovery Platform offers advanced tools that streamline the scouting process. It replaces your hours of conventional desk research, saving time and resources in identifying sustainable innovations.
- Access to Real-time Insights: Gain a competitive edge with up-to-date information on the latest trends in the sustainability industry. The platform keeps you informed with near real-time updates on emerging sustainability companies and news, enabling you to make swift and informed decisions.
- Tailored Exploration: Customize your search to focus on specific niches within the sustainability sector, such as soil regeneration, waste upcycling, or environmental impact management. The platform’s diverse filtering options allow you to target your scouting efforts precisely, ensuring that you find the most relevant and groundbreaking companies in the field.
Ready to Explore All Sustainability Companies?
We’ve explored the dynamic landscape of the sustainability industry, examining the latest trends and spotlighting exceptional companies driving innovation. To dive deeper, download our free Circular Economy Report or schedule a demo of the Discovery Platform for a customized exploration of these groundbreaking developments.
