Submitted by H. Hutton on Tue, 24/02/2026 - 11:28
26 February 2026: A digital platform that tracks recycled materials using AI and blockchain, and a company supporting first-mile coffee and cocoa producers in Africa and Latin America, are among nine pioneering international start-ups selected for the third cohort of an accelerator programme focused on innovation in sustainability.
Now in its third year, the programme is delivered by BSI and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Its focus is on supporting high-potential ventures developing trusted, technology-enabled solutions to advance sustainability performance, transparency and accountability across global value chains which is fast becoming a commercial and regulatory imperative.
The year-long accelerator, led by BSI’s Sustainability Innovation Lab in Cambridge in collaboration with CISL, provides participants with expert mentoring, technical guidance, standards insight, and access to a global network of sustainability leaders. The initiative is designed to help digital innovators strengthen their product-market fit, enhance credibility and scale solutions that guard against greenwashing while delivering measurable environmental and social impact.
This year’s cohort brings together nine ventures working across climate fintech, lifecycle assessment, supply chain decarbonization, traceability and climate resilience. Among this year’s cohot are eco2Veritas, a digital platform that uses AI and blockchain to tracks recycled materials, SmartResilience, a climate adaptation platform that helps organizations assess, manage and reduce physical risks from climate change across operations and supply chains, and Orijin, which is helping coffee and cocoa producers become more competitive in global markets.
Participants will gain access to specialist training, standards expertise, mentoring and strategic networking opportunities designed to transform innovative digital tools into robust, credible and scalable product offerings.
As regulatory expectations rise and scrutiny of sustainability claims intensifies, the need for trusted, verifiable and standards-aligned digital solutions has never been greater. The programme focuses on strengthening the integrity, transparency and impact of sustainability innovation, helping organizations move from ambition to measurable outcomes.
This third accelerator builds on the success of the previous cohorts, which included 16 companies. Several participants secured investment during the programme and are now collaborating with BSI to co‑develop practical solutions that embed trust and best practice into sustainability performance. Collectively, participants have raised over £13 million in investment during and after the programme, demonstrating the ongoing impact and support the accelerator provides.
Jonathan Chocqueel-Mangan, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, BSI, said:
“As we launch the third cohort of our accelerator with CISL, we are continuing to support the next generation of digital solutions to strengthen trust, transparency and accountability in sustainability. This year’s cohort reflects growing momentum behind technology-enabled approaches to measuring impact and driving credible progress. By combining BSI’s standards expertise with CISL’s sustainability leadership, we are helping innovators scale solutions that deliver measurable outcomes for people, planet and long-term business resilience.”
Jie Zhou, Senior Innovation Manager, CISL, said:
“As we embark on our third year partnership with BSI on this accelerator, we are reminded that building trust in the global value chain is a mission that cannot be solved in isolation. With founders joining us from seven countries spanning North America, Europe, and Aisa, we aim to accelerate scalable solutions that can transform global value chain from a place of fragmentation and complexity into one of great transparency and verified sustainability.”
