Innovation news

The CISL Accelerator brings together a community of innovators, mentors, business leaders, policy makers, academics, industry experts, investors, and financial institutions, all working towards creating the future we want: decarbonising the economy, restoring nature, and addressing inequality. Find out more about them, and about our work:

Left - Helen Ma and her family stand by her purple plaque award. Right - a close up of the award

Dr Helen Xiaoqin Ma Accepts a Purple Plaque Award at the Entopia Building

12 December 2023 - Dr Helen Xiaoqin Ma, an alumna from our Women in Sustainability Innovation accelerator programme, accepted a Purple Plaque Award at the Entopia Building. Purple Plaque Awards are an initiative from InnovateUK to address the gender imbalance in the UK's blue plaques by celebrating inspirational women.

Make the ask: negotiation done differently

3 October 2022 - Viola Jardon, Senior Programme Manager for CISL’s Accelerator, shares how female founders can enhance their negotiation skills, harnessing their unique strengths to get what they want and create their own power.

Driving the circular economy through collaboration and disruptive change

21 July 2022 - This Circular Economy Week, the CISL Canopy Incubator and Accelerator hosted its first in-person programme, connecting cross-industry leaders and circular experts with innovators and change makers disrupting the status quo. CISL’s Programme Manager, Jie Zhou , shares some of her takeaways from two days of immersive workshops, panel debates, keynote speakers and networking.

The Circular Economy Showcase Roundup: “If you want to change the world, you need to throw a better party than those destroying it” - Toast Ale

26 April 2022 - CISL supported the UKRI Circular Economy Hub (CE-Hub) as it hosted its first annual Circular Economy Showcase. CISL’s Emma Fromberg and Jie Zhou review the biggest takeaways from the key speakers, and the wealth of sustainable innovations shared by startups and entrepreneurs.

Celebrating women in sustainable innovation: four founders share their advice

8 March 2022- International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women and progression of gender parity, while also recognising that there is still much more to be done. This year’s theme challenges us to #BreakTheBias and to imagine a world that is diverse, equitable and inclusive, free of stereotypes and discrimination.

Climate Fit: Seven steps to net zero

February 2022 - Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for around 90% of global businesses and half of all employment. In a world facing an urgent climate crisis, SMEs have a significant role to play in reducing carbon emissions.

A mindset journey for entrepreneurs

Viola Jardon, Senior Programme Manager for CISL's Accelerator, sheds light on the challenging journey startup founders face, and the importance of taking time for reflection on their mindset.

Investing in net zero innovation

20 December 2021 - Ian Lane, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital and contributor to the finance session of our 2021 Accelerator to net zero , shares his insights on the world of startup investment and the crucial role small businesses play in accelerating the path to net zero.

Achieving zero: CISL’s Accelerator to net zero

Meeting the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 requires significant changes in how we use energy, as well as rapid acceleration and uptake of technologies that support decarbonisation. The good news is that for many of the challenges we face, solutions already exist. However, such technologies need to be propelled forward and scaled up, while ensuring they remain sustainable throughout the supply chain.

Meet our community: Farad.ai

19 May 2021 – Farad.ai's vision is to enable the current electrical infrastructure to run on 100% low carbon energy. To achieve this, they are developing an AI-powered digital twin of the power system (Farad.ai Sabre) and related site selection products (Farad.ai Compass) that will support energy stakeholders in their move towards a zero-carbon future. We caught up with their founder and CEO, Ali Safari, to find out more…

The CISL Accelerator brings together a community of innovators, mentors, business leaders, policy makers, academics, industry experts, investors, and financial institutions, all working towards creating the future we want: decarbonising the economy, restoring nature, and addressing inequality.

Find out more about them, and about our work:

Dr Helen Xiaoqin Ma Accepts a Purple Plaque Award at the Entopia Building

Make the ask: negotiation done differently

Driving the circular economy through collaboration and disruptive change

The Circular Economy Showcase Roundup: “If you want to change the world, you need to throw a better party than those destroying it” - Toast Ale

Celebrating women in sustainable innovation: four founders share their advice

Climate Fit: Seven steps to net zero

A mindset journey for entrepreneurs

Investing in net zero innovation

Achieving zero: CISL’s Accelerator to net zero

Meet our community: Farad.ai

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