Helping science start-ups to thrive is key to sustainability

Many conversations at the recent Cop28 climate change conference in Dubai were not really focused on people and nature, claims Jie Zhou, senior programme manager at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

“It might it’s useful to think about it in a framework of people, nature and climate,” she said.

Jie Zhou said that many conversations refer to energy consumption or carbon reduction but, “at the end of the day, it’s people like you and me who are using this building”.

Conversations about the built environment should be more human centric, according she said, adding that we need to bear in mind the end user of a building.

Jie Zhou said that if you look into the history it is always superior technology that drives change such as in the early 1900s when horse-drawn carriages dominated roads.  Within 20 years, New York Street was full of cars.

There has been a lot of innovation in the built environment too in terms of the internet of things and artificial intelligence, she said.

She cited the example of one start-up that is using smart technology to regulate the temperature and humidity in buildings so not everywhere in the building as to be at the same temperature. “You only need to make sure that when places are used they are at a comfortable temperature for people to enjoy that environment.”

The challenge is to scale-up these new technologies, Jie Zhou said. Early stage start-ups attract criticism and with no track record, their technology has to be verified, and sometimes there is regulation against the adoption of technology that is ahead of the curve.

The challenge is to create an environment that is conducive to entrepreneurs so that they can thrive and deploy their technology.