VertueLab is a nonprofit fighting climate change by providing funding and holistic entrepreneurial support to cleantech startups.
Vertue Lab is a nonprofit fighting climate change by providing funding and holistic entrepreneurial support to cleantech startups. Through a decade of work, they have proven that their model can accelerate climate solutions that are key to reversing the climate crisis.
In 2007, they formed the organization called Oregon BEST, a non-profit economic development engine funded by the State of Oregon to support cleantech startups. As Oregon BEST, they were the first organization in the country to make direct, program-related investments in cleantech startups.
VertueLab operates in the crosshairs of two extremely homogeneous industries. In the investment industry, 97% of the gatekeepers to capital investments are white or Asian, and 83% are male. In the startup industry, nearly 96% of venture-backed technology startup founders are white or Asian (according to the Kapor Center).
Meanwhile, minority populations are disproportionately impacted by climate change. They believe that the existing dominant culture is not going to solve the climate crisis - it is what got them here. To be effectively disruptive in this space, we need everyone’s innovation. Their goal is to support diverse cleantech entrepreneurs, to promote anti-racist and anti-misogynist practices internally as well as among startups and the investment community, and to dismantle barriers to prosperity for underserved communities.
At VertueLab, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and issues of Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) are critically important to their organization. From internal policies to external practices, it is part of their mission to fight for the growth of diversity and inclusivity across cleantech industries. They are continuously working to improve their own practices and policies.
Through a decade of work, they have proven that their unique model reduces greenhouse gas emissions and accelerates positive socioeconomic outcomes in the state of Oregon, where they began. Over the next decade, they are bringing that model to scale in the Pacific Northwest region and strive to serve as a model to be scaled across the globe by other organizations.
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/oregon-best
https://www.youtube.com/c/VertueLab
https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/261652936
https://www.geekwire.com/tag/vertuelab/
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/fund/17607-97F
https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/fef206baede541e58104046d78aac8b1-vertuelab-portland
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/26-1652936
https://www.cbinsights.com/company/vertuelab
https://climatebase.org/company/13055/vertuelab
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/261652936
