CISL Canopy and BSI’s Accelerate and Pilot Programme: Trust in Sustainability
AboutTrust in Sustainability is an accelerate and pilot programme, hosted by CISL and the British Standards Institution (BSI). This year, we're supporting startups that build more trusted and sustainable value chains through digital innovation. Startups will access:
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Applications for the 2025 -2026 cohort are openJoin a 3-month journey to refine and scale your digital innovation for more trusted and sustainable value chains. Deadline: 7 November 2025
Key DatesDuration: January 2026 – April 2026 Kick-off: 14–15 January 2026 (in-person, Cambridge) Demo Day: April 2026 in Cambridge or London Q&A WebinarAttend our upcoming Q&A webinar, where you will get a change to talk to the team behind the programme and ask them your questions! Date: Wednesday 8 October 2025 Time: 12.00
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What is this programme about?
Driving change in the way we address our economic, social and environmental challenges is high on everyone’s agenda. In a fast-moving and complex environment, organisations must consider their entire value chain if they want to take meaningful action, otherwise they risk greenwashing and losing trust with their partners, customers and other stakeholders. By building more trusted and sustainable value chains, organisations can enhance their resilience and reputations, while putting the well-being of people and the planet at the core of their operations.
BSI’s purpose is to deliver impact for a fair society and sustainable world. For over 120 years, BSI has helped business and society thrive together, fostering progress and increasing trust between consumers, governments and organisations. BSI’s Sustainability Innovation Lab was founded to deliver disruptive digital innovations, partnering across the sustainability innovation ecosystem to co-create and accelerate solutions that can deliver trust and best practice for the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
Launched in July 2023, the Trust in Sustainability programme is a partnership between BSI and CISL that provides access to training and expertise to accelerate the growth of startups – helping businesses to further develop their solutions, find their product-market fit, and explore mentorship and networking opportunities. After our successful inaugural programme (2023-2024 cohort), our second cohort focused on startups with digital solutions that can build trust, accountability and deliver best practice for carbon markets (2024-2025 cohort).
This year we are looking to showcase digital innovations that lead to more trusted and sustainable value chains, harnessing the joint experience and expertise of BSI and CISL to support the development and scaling of disruptive solutions.
Who should apply?
Startups joining this programme have access to training, expertise, mentoring, and networking opportunities designed to transform your digital solutions into robust product offerings. They will gain support from the University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the British Standards Institution (BSI), putting them in the right position to create sustainable impact.
We’re looking for startups with digital solutions that create more trusted and sustainable value chains. This could be through, but is not limited to, solutions that:
- Enable transparency and data sharing
- Verify claims, certifications or identities
- Enhance accountability or resilience
- Manage environmental and social risks
- Measure and monitor sustainability impacts
- Enable more sustainable and circular business models
If you're building trust in global value chains, this programme is for you.
Programme format
Duration: January 2026 - April 2026
Location: Online and in-person (Cambridge and London)
Phase |
Details |
| Kick-off | 14 -15 January 2026 (in-person, Cambridge) |
| Accelerator | Weekly virtual sessions, and monthly in-person events (Jan - April'26) |
| Demo Day | April 2026 in Cambridge or London |
| Venue | CISL’s award-winning Entopia Building, and home to Canopy a hub for sustainable innovation. |
Why join?
- Access to tailored expert mentoring from CISL, BSI, and industry partners
- Exposure to investors and corporate partners
- Membership to access our bespoke Canopy community
- Opportunity to explore collaborations with BSI’s Sustainability Innovation Lab
- Join a powerful peer network of startups and innovators
Hear from our alumni
"I can confidently say that the CISL Launchpad has been an outstanding resource for our founding team, offering tailored, practical, and comprehensive support. Having participated in numerous start-up mentoring programs, I find CISL Launchpad sets a new standard, with its highly knowledgeable speakers and well-targeted sessions. Additionally, the collaboration with BSI and the Canopy has opened doors to a diverse and inclusive network, which will undoubtedly benefit KlimateNet in the long term. The opportunity to collaborate with seven other remarkable start-up founders has also been immensely valuable"
Anne-France Kennedy, CEO & Co-Founder of KlimateNet
"CISL Canopy has been instrumental in propelling SkenarioLabs forward on our journey. Through their Trust in Sustainability programme with the BSI, we've gained invaluable insights, mentorship, and access to resources that have accelerated our growth trajectory. The connections we've made within the CISL Canopy community have been invaluable, opening doors to new opportunities and collaborations that we wouldn't have accessed otherwise."
Tom Somers, UK Director of SkenarioLabs
"Joining CISL Canopy & BSI's Trust in Sustainability accelerator has been very powerful for us as a growing company. As a small organisation you can sometimes feel rather ‘alone’, but the sense of support and engagement from the wider CISL and BSI networks has been very encouraging and helped us feel part of something bigger - a movement for digital trust in sustainability. Alongside my colleagues, I’ve truly appreciated the quality time that people have given us; CISL has created an excellent support network of friends and partners who can offer fresh perspectives, sage advice and supportive challenge."
Anna Roberts, Head of Market Development at iov42
"The Cambridge CISL program has been incredible. The speakers are top-tier, and the program managers really go out of their way to understand each startup’s unique needs, pairing us with mentors who deliver quick, actionable results. They’ve blended academia and entrepreneurship perfectly, and the sponsors have prime access to innovative, game-changing solutions just as they’re emerging. I am more than proud to be part of the current cohort and look forward to growing with their presence as an actionable asset to our company."
Isaure Courcenet, CEO - Climate Finance Expert of Initiativ
"Our time at the Canopy during the programme was exceptional, especially as we delved deep into discussions on building trust in sustainability. Working in a building that embodies sustainability principles was incredibly inspiring in itself. The sessions led by industry experts and CISL lecturers were timely as we refined our strategy. Additionally, being part of the CISL network gave us access to a network spanning academia and industry, perfectly aligned with our target market."
Drishdey Caullychurn, MBA, Founder and CEO of TEXpert AI
Read about our previous cohorts
Read more about the 2024/2025 cohort
This cohort comprised of startups with a digital solution that can build trust,
accountability and deliver best practice for carbon markets.
Read more about the 2023/2024 cohort
This cohort was comprised of a diverse group of sustainability startups who are
looking to test and pilot their emerging products.
Feeling curious?
Attend our upcoming Q&A webinar, where you will get a change to talk to the team behind the programme and ask them your questions!
Date: Wednesday 8 October 2025
Time: 12.00
About BSI
The British Standards Institution (BSI) is a long standing and trusted organisational partner with a reputation for driving progress towards a sustainable world. Incorporated by Royal Charter and with 84,000 clients in 193 countries ranging from globally recognised brands to small local businesses, BSI embeds frameworks, best practices and solutions that create trust between consumers, companies, and governments. The BSI Sustainability Innovation Lab is at the forefront of the innovation and development that is needed to deliver clear, positive impacts for wider society. The Lab accelerates the adoption of disruptive digital solutions that bring trust to sustainability, and enable more sustainable decision making. Offering a creative and collaborative environment, the Lab promotes strategic partnerships any organisations can benefit from BSI’s 120 years of knowledge and expertise to transform their business models and create new customer solutions.
Meet the team
Viola Jardon
Viola is currently working as a Programme Director with CISL Canopy where she has worked with more than 150 early-stage start-ups with sustainability innovations. Her expertise and experience are in business innovation, go-to-market strategy and sustainability storytelling for the creative industry, tech industry, and the built environment. She is a business mentor for Tech Nation, Digital Catapult, Plug & Play, MSDUK and L Marks Corporate Accelerators and a business advisor for a few tech businesses. Before joining CISL, she was part of the founding team establishing the London Fashion Fund, which supported start-ups and entrepreneurs to address innovation and sustainability in the fashion industry.
Wendy Niu
Wendy leads BSI's Sustainability Innovation Lab in Cambridge. She started her career at Innovia Technology, a global innovation consultancy, where she specialised in managing complex, multidisciplinary projects across a number of sectors, covering areas such as innovation strategy, product development and prototyping, and consumer-facing communications. She has also worked at the Royal Society of Chemistry, where she developed and managed activities to advance the chemical sciences, including "Digital Futures", a cross-organisational programme on the role of data and digital technologies in the future of science R&D. Wendy has a background in physics, with a PhD in Nanoscience from the University of Cambridge.
Ready to join?
Applications are open
Deadline: 7 November 2025
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