Innovation news

An image of 3 people at a Canopy event smiling and socialising with a crowd of people behind them. Taken from within the Entopia building at CISL.

CISL’s innovation ecosystem accelerates sustainable solutions to global challenges, connecting founders, startups, corporates, and investors to scale impactful change. Through initiatives like our Cambridge innovation hub, CANOPY, and programs in startup acceleration and collaborative innovation, we empower purpose-led entrepreneurs and guide major organizations in embedding sustainability-driven strategies. Explore our latest stories and insights below to see how our community is driving transformative impact worldwide.

The Entopia Building photographed from Regent Street

What is it like to work in a collaborative hub fostering sustainability and innovation?

27 March 2025 - CISL’s Chief Innovation Officer James Cole details a day in the life at CISL’s Entopia Building, a world-class innovation hub, recently named by the Financial Times as one of Europe's leading startup hubs for the second year running.

Exterior view of the Entopia Building from Regent Street in Cambridge. Image by SOLK-PHOTOGRAPHY LTD

CISL’s Entopia Building shortlisted for RIBA award

24 March 2025

24 March 2025 – The Cambridge headquarters of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, the Entopia Building, is among 23 projects nominated for the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) East Awards 2025.

Entopia Building project partners collecting their awards

Entopia Building wins twice at CIBSE Building Performance Awards

28 February 2025

28 February 2025 – The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability’s headquarters, the Entopia Building, brought home two prizes at last night’s Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) awards ceremony.

Canopy (CISL) named by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s leading startup hubs for a second year running

26 February 2025

27 February 2025 - CISL’s Canopy has once again been recognised as one of Europe’s leading startup hubs, following its selection by the Financial Times in collaboration with Statista for the 2025 rankings.

From carbon data tracking, to material innovation, meet the latest Canopy members

30 January 2025

30 January 2025 - Meet the businesses who are pushing boundaries in sustainable innovation. The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL) Canopy is a vibrant network of purpose-driven innovators and entrepreneurs dedicated to building ventures that put sustainability at the heart of their work and focus on tackling global sustainability challenges. Here we profile some of the recent companies and individuals who have joined CISL’s Canopy community.

The London Eye in London, Kings College in Cambridge and the Radcliffre Camera from Oxford are all photographed here.

Reflections from my UK Immersion Experience

17 December - Nuno Taveira, CEO of ENFASYS and Investor at CENTUM Research and Technology reflects on his experience vising the UK during the Desafia Londres Cleantech Programme, and shares his advice for startups looking to explore UK markets during CISL’s accelerator and immersion programmes.

Forest and mountains in Colombia with sun shining through clouds

A radical transformation of our economies is the only way to save nature, and ourselves

4 November 2024 - After two weeks of negotiations last week in Cali, Colombia, the meeting was suspended with no overall agreement on a path forward on “resource mobilisation." CISL's Chief Innovation Officer, James Cole, looks back at happened at COP16, and asks what comes next.

Current markets don’t fully value sustainability—but sustainability entrepreneurs can’t wait for this to change

25 September 2024 - James Cole, Chief Innovation Officer at CISL reflects on the importance of innovators in helping to build the markets we need for a more sustainable and equitable future.

This is a computer generated image of blocks representing buildings in a city, with lines running below the blocks lighting up, representing an energy grid actively supplying the city with energy and power.

A view from the Canopy: Why Clear Planning and Collaboration can Accelerate Our Energy Transition

25 September 2024 - In this blog, Claire Hannon, from Advanced Infrastructure , discusses why she thinks collaboration is the key to unlocking the energy transition and discusses how her organisation is working on a new Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP) Tool and the impact this could have on energy planning and consumption locally.

Chanel and the University of Cambridge extend sustainability partnership

18 September 2024

18 September 2024 - Today, Chanel and the University of Cambridge announce the extension of their partnership for another three years, accelerating decisive action on sustainability transformation.

What is it like to work in a collaborative hub fostering sustainability and innovation?

CISL’s Entopia Building shortlisted for RIBA award

Entopia Building wins twice at CIBSE Building Performance Awards

Canopy (CISL) named by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s leading startup hubs for a second year running

From carbon data tracking, to material innovation, meet the latest Canopy members

Reflections from my UK Immersion Experience

A radical transformation of our economies is the only way to save nature, and ourselves

Current markets don’t fully value sustainability—but sustainability entrepreneurs can’t wait for this to change

A view from the Canopy: Why Clear Planning and Collaboration can Accelerate Our Energy Transition

Chanel and the University of Cambridge extend sustainability partnership

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