Future Thinking: Sustainable Growth

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October 2021    |    Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe Here Sustainable Growth: for now and the future At Future Planet, we are an impact-led, global venture capital firm built to invest in growth companies from the world's top universities. We provide venture and growth funding to entrepreneurs and businesses, profitably solving the world's greatest challenges in Climate Change, Education, Health, Sustainable Growth & Security. From our focus areas, the challenge we get asked about most is Sustainable Growth. People are often confused by the term. We all know that it is a good thing - but what does it really mean? We wanted to re-explore this topic that we last picked up at the end of May. It is clear that everything is continually changing and growing. It is also increasingly evident that many of the challenges facing humankind, such as climate change, water scarcity, inequality, and hunger, can only be resolved at a global level by promoting growth sustainably. As a part of the sustainable development roadmap, in 2015, the United Nations approved the 2030 Agenda, which contains the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are a call to action to protect the planet and guarantee the global well-being of people. These common goals require the active involvement of individuals, businesses, administrations and countries around the world - and they are what we at FPC have built our thesis around.  Sustainable Growth is central to SDGs - it is a commitment to social progress, environmental balance and economic growth. Last year's Sustainable Development Report noted that five years since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, progress had been made in some areas, such as improving maternal and child health, expanding access to electricity and increasing women’s representation in government. Yet even these advances were offset elsewhere by growing food insecurity, deterioration of the natural environment, and persistent and pervasive inequalities. It is evident that we need to refocus and ensure that we are supporting sustainable growth that meets the present's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Progress toward any worthy objective is enhanced when people work together to create solutions. We have this opportunity - it's ours to grasp together! The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. 1. Economic Growth Sustainable economic growth means a rate of growth which can be maintained without creating other significant economic problems, especially for future generations. There is clearly a trade-off between rapid economic growth today, and growth in the future. Rapid growth today may exhaust resources and create challenges for future generations. At the same time, sustained and inclusive economic growth is absolutely vital and can drive progress, create decent jobs for all and improve living standards.    2. Environmental Balance The global economy faces significant environmental challenges, from averting dangerous climate change to halting biodiversity loss and protecting our ecosystems. Natural resources are ultimately vital for securing economic growth and development, not just today but for future generations - and we are pleased to see a number of exciting companies leading the way and demonstrating that it is possible to achieve economic growth whilst also tackling these challenges.   3. Social Progress The human condition is not reflected simply by GDP statistics. Social progress can be overlooked but is incredibly important. Social sustainability is a process for creating sustainable successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from the places they live and work. Social sustainability combines design of the physical realm with design of the social world – infrastructure to support social and cultural life, social amenities, systems for citizen engagement, and space for people and places to evolve. It is the ability to develop processes and structures which not only meet the needs of now, but also support the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community. Architect, and FPC Advisory Board Chairman, Norman Foster discusses his own work to show how computers can help architects design buildings that are green, beautiful and "basically pollution-free." From the 2007 DLD Conference, Munich; www.dld-conference.com Challenge Investing Within our universe, we have a significant number of companies that are helping to profitably address this significant and vitally important global challenge. If you’d like to invest in some of the most promising growth companies based on top research then please don't hesitate to get in touch. Want to know more? Contact Ed Phillips or Abi Wye at Future Planet Capital.    This monthly digest is brought to you by Future Planet Capital.  This information is being communicated by Future Planet Capital (UK) Limited which is an appointed representative of Midven Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.This email message and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the addressee(s) and are considered privileged and confidential. If you have received this email in error please (i) delete it and all copies of it from your system and (ii) destroy any hard copies of it. You should not divulge, copy, forward, or use the contents, attachments, or information in any way. Any unauthorized use or disclosure may be unlawful. Future Planet Capital gives no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of email messages and accepts no responsibility for changes made after dispatch.   Copyright © 2021 Future Planet Capital, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Zeroing in on Waste

Globally, 90 billion tonnes of raw materials (i.e. biomass, fossil fuels, metals and minerals) are extracted and used each year. By 2060, this figure is expected to double. Our approach to the use of these materials is linear. Just 19% of waste is recycled or composted. The remaining 81% is incinerated or dumped. 

To reduce the amount of raw materials being extracted and wasted, we must increase the effectiveness of waste management solutions and integrate waste back into supply chains. This can create value, which currently goes untapped. A recent report estimated that each metric ton of uncollected mixed waste represents an average loss of about $375. Thus, it is not surprising that adopting a global circular economy could create some $4.5 trillion value by 2030. 

Fashion, A Case Study:

Fashion is a case in point. Clothing production doubled from 2000 to 2014. Across the same period, the average length of time for which consumers kept each clothing item halved. This rise in demand has placed increasing strain on global raw material supply. Despite this increasing strain, in 2017, less than 1% of material used to make clothing was recycled. 

The least sustainable sector of the fashion industry is fast-fashion. With relatively cheap products, the business model aims to allow customers to keep up with current trends. Production processes have to be low-cost in order to make fast-fashion viable; products are often made from a combination of different cheap materials. Such a blend of fabrics makes recycling these cheaper products difficult. These problems are compounded by the volume of clothes produced by fast-fashion companies. With some fast-fashion companies releasing as many as 20 new clothing lines each year, fashionable apparel quickly becomes outdated. Purchased at relatively low prices, and with  such short product life-cycles, these clothes are perceived of as being disposable. Indeed, in the UK, 336,000 tonnes of clothes are disposed of in landfill each year.

There is, however, a profound circular shift underway in the fashion industry, driven by consumer demand. In a recent survey, two-thirds of textile sourcing executives said that consumer pressures for sustainably sourced materials would likely become a top factor in their supplier ratings by 2025. As a result of these changing patterns of demand, sustainable sourcing at scale will soon become essential for fashion companies who wish to remain competitive. Recycling and upcycling materials will be the main avenue through which sustainability can be achieved in the fashion industry. Reusing materials will allow the fashion industry, responsible for at least 4% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, to cut out carbon-intensive resource extraction processes.

A Circular Approach:

A circular approach which creates value whilst limiting waste and emissions must be adopted not solely by the fashion industry, but by industries across the board. From food to plastic production, we must reduce our linear approach, characterised by over-extraction and unused waste. Future Planet's focus on innovative solutions spinning out from the world’s top universities that intersect both digital and circular shifts ensures that these start-ups can realise their growth potential to make a substantial difference. While assisting with the creation of these new circular systems, they must characterise production and consumption to have a positive impact on our future planet.

by James Derham

FPA Winner: An Interview with Pandia Health

(L-R) Tal Badt, Director of Business Development, Tsinghua x-lab, Patrick Chung, Founding Partner, Xfund, Lord Norman Foster, President, Norman Foster Foundation, Sophia Yen, CEO & Co-Founder Pandia Health, Douglas Hansen-Luke, Executive Chairman and Founder of Future Planet Capital and Lilly Bussman, Principal, Oxford Sciences Innovation.

Sophia Yen, CEO & Co-Founder of  Pandia Health - Special Category Winner

Future Planet Capital is the world's first global innovation investment platform. Through a unique series of relationships and partnerships with top-tier university funds in Asia, Europe and the US, the firm possesses an unrivalled level of access to technology and life science companies from academic institutions and the "clusters of innovation" that surround them. The Future Planet Awards raises the profile of new and growing firms that will profitably impact global challenges. In partnership with Global University Venturing, The Future Planet Awards provide a platform for growth companies to engage with leaders and influencers.

Sophia Yen, MD, MPH, is the Founder and CEO of Pandia Health, the world's only female founded birth control delivery service, which offers care, convenience and confidentiality. Pandia Health offers the easiest way to receive birth control with free delivery, online prescriptions and automatic refills. As the winner of the UC Entrepreneur Pitch Competition at this year’s Global Corporate Venturing and Innovation Summit, her initiatives to make the process of receiving birth control as simple as possible have also been recognised at this years Future Planet Awards as the winner of the special category award.

Here is an exclusive interview with Dr. Sophia about how she is changing the way birth control is received and understood.

First and foremost, please tell us a bit about your background and expertise:

Thanks for having me! To start, I have 20 years of experience in medicine. I serve as a clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Stanford Medical School and graduated from MIT, UCSF Medical School, and UC Berkeley with a MPH in Maternal Child Health. I am the Co-Founder and CEO of  Pandia Health and enjoy educating the public and other physicians about birth control, acne, weight management, and other adolescent health issues. I believe that birth control and women's reproductive health is so important, especially in the formative years. I hope to be a pioneer in this industry and start a genuine conversation to become a resource for women and young girls all around the world. I’ve had incredible opportunities, such as hosting a TedX Talk, to create awareness - I truly think this is something special.

What do you think is lacking in birth control education and how is Pandia Health changing the conversation?

We are trying to de-stigmatize birth control. Birth control pills and rings and IUD with hormone, implant, and shot can be used for more than just birth control. We can use birth control to treat painful periods, heavy periods, periods that cause anemia, periods that make women who have anemia worse, to prevent endometrial and ovarian cancer. There are about 5 different progesterones and 3 different levels of estrogens that can be in the birth control pill. so if you don’t like the pill you are on, there are LOTS of others to try.  

Did you know that the top cause of missed school/work in women under the age of 25 is their periods?

We have launched #PeriodsOptional. We have a blog, a YouTube channel, and a dedicated website which we will be launching soon. A research study with 1000 women showing that FEW of their doctors have discussed #PeriodsOptional.

We are approaching this from parents of adolescents to adolescent women to perimenopausal women. I had the honor of speaking at my MIT 25th reunion during the TIM talks about #PeriodsOptional and we had women who were interested for themselves as well as fathers who had questions for their daughters and wives. We’re going to make women’s lives better by decreasing the number of periods, decreasing landfill via fewer tampons/pads, increasing school and work attendance.

Pandia Health is educating women through media, blogs, Quora, in person talks at schools, workplaces, sororities, online, youtube videos, interviews on blogs.

We are also collaborating on an academic paper to change the name from OCP to EPP. Oral Contraceptive Pill to Estrogen Progesterone Pills) to take away the stigma of it being for birth control. To take away this political football that they have made of women’s health.  We already have POP - progestin only pills, so EPPs would be more clear and less stigmatized.

Women’s health is more than just birth control, it’s about being educated on every step of taking care of your body. Curious about the Morning After Pill, EC, Emergency Contraception, Plan B? Here’s What You Need To Know.

Are there any misconceptions about birth control and women’s health you would like to address?

Yes. This incessant menstruation is a modern construct. If we compare ourselves to women in Mali, Africa per Dr. Beverly Straussman’s research, we have 350-400 periods in our lives, they only have 100. They start their periods at 16, have 3 periods a year, 8 children, breastfeed for 15-18 months. We start at 12, have 13 periods/year, have 1-2 children, breastfeed for 3-6 months. It’s hard to get it into people’s minds that if you are NOT on medicines, then you should have a period every day (otherwise, we need to figure out why you aren’t such as thyroid, malnutrition, stress, etc)  However, we have medications that can turn off periods safely.

Where do you see Pandia Health going and why do you think this new way of service is going to work?

We are building the Brand that Women Trust with Their Health. We are the ONLY women-founded, woman led, practicing reproductive health doctor-, 20+ yrs of reproductive health advocacy-  founded/led company in this space. It took a woman to realize that we have #BetterThingsToDo than run to the pharmacy each month and that if women can’t get to their ob/gyn’s office for a prescription, then they should still have easy access to birth control. It’s going to work because we have made it work and because women want/need this service. Ask any woman on the pill, patch, ring if she is tired of going to the pharmacy and would like it delivered. I’m willing to bet she will say YES!

Congratulations again and thank you, Dr. Sophia, and your team at Pandia Health, for your achievements and exemplifying our mission to proliferate change!

For more information, watch Pandia Health’s YouTube Channel and visit pandiahealth.com to learn how to start accessing free birth control today.

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