Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

Hello %FIRSTNAME%, The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is working with UNICEF to identify high‑potential start‑ups for the 2026 Climate & Health Innovation Programme, and we’re reaching out to innovators who are tackling climate‑linked health challenges in bold, scalable ways. The programme offers: ·      Up to US$100,000 in equity-free funding for early-stage and ready-to-deploy technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and blockchain. ·      Access to UNICEF experts and technical support ·      Opportunities to pilot in real‑world settings across UNICEF programme countries ·      Guidance to strengthen your evidence base and product readiness ·      Visibility to global partners, funders, and country offices If your solution can help protect children and communities from climate‑driven health risks, from early warning systems to health supply chain resilience to climate‑smart care delivery, we’d love to connect. The deadline for applications is May 17, 2026. Reply to this message if you would like to chat about the opportunity or apply here. If you have any questions before applying, please contact Jie Zhou, CISL’s Head of International Innovation, at [email protected].

📢 Equity-free funding: The UNICEF Venture Fund is exploring four key climate challenges, and we’re looking for innovators to help address them. 1. Strategic planning: Strengthening hazard mapping, vulnerability scoring and pollution hotspot identification. 2. Early warning- Early action: Delivering hyper‑local alerts for air quality, heat, humidity, floods, storms and disease outbreaks. 3. Healthcare readiness: Forecasting climate‑linked health risks such as malaria/dengue onset, heatwave surges and air‑quality‑related respiratory spikes. 4. Point‑of‑care support: Helping communities and authorities access and use trusted climate‑health data to support preparedness and service continuity. If you’re building solutions in any of these areas, you may be a fit for UNICEF’s Climate Ventures call for applications. ➡️ Learn more on the website and apply here: https://ow.ly/N05h50YQMSy. Applications close May 17, 2026. #ClimateHealth #Innovation #Startups #ClimateAction #HealthSystems #UNICEF #CISL #Sustainability #ImpactInnovation Jie Zhou

🔍 Reflections on EUCO: Energy Prices, the ETS & Europe’s Industrial Future In the midst of the current geopolitical crisis, this week’s #EuropeanCouncil recognised the core role of the energy transition in strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and resilience and lowering energy prices, as well as the essential role of the EU #ETS in delivering the climate and energy transition. While some Member States are calling for ETS adjustments to ease short-term price pressures, the risk is clear—undermining the ETS would weaken investment certainty without addressing the root cause of high energy costs: continued exposure to fossil fuel volatility. At the same time, Europe’s clean energy transition is already delivering results. The rapid scale-up of renewables is helping shield the EU from global fossil fuel price shocks—reinforcing that the real solution lies in accelerating, not slowing down, the transition. 🏭 Industry is clear: keep the ETS strong Nearly 150 businesses, innovators and investors called for a strong, predictable ETS, improved through tweaks to ensure a strategic use of revenues. This is critical to unlock investment, protect early movers, and drive industrial decarbonisation. 👉 Read the ETS letter: see link in comments. ⚡ Electrification: Europe’s competitive edge Alongside this, Corporate Leaders Groups #CLGEurope members have set out a clear vision for scaling clean electrification across industry, transport and buildings—key to delivering lower, more stable energy costs and long-term competitiveness. 👉 Read our electrification statement and the business case for electrification from the We Mean Business Coalition in the comments below. 🌱 From policy to action: Green Growth Summit These priorities were front and centre at our recent #GreenGrowthSummit, where business leaders and policymakers aligned on a common message: Europe must stay the course, strengthening the ETS, accelerating electrification, and avoiding short-term fixes that risk long-term damage. Ramon Arratia Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Aira Paliukėnaitė, Philip Nugent, @Elina Bardram, Thomas Schoos, Jacek Truszczynski, Uros Vajgl, Carine de Boissezon 🌏, Alice K. Steenland, Sofie Eliasson Morsink, Peter van der Werf, Andrew Prag Jacki Davis Simon Stiell Helena Norrman Ursula von der Leyen Wopke Hoekstra Dan Jørgensen

You engaged with our sustainability learning proposition - now take the next step. L&D leaders play a pivotal role in building the skills businesses need to manage uncertainty and accelerate transformation. Join our free webinar on 26th February to explore practical ways sustainability learning can strengthen organisational resilience and support your talent strategy.

You’ve already shown interest in strengthening your organisation’s sustainability capability. As an L&D leader, you know how critical future‑focused skills are for navigating instability. Join our free webinar on 26th February to discover how scalable, self‑paced sustainability learning can equip your workforce to stay resilient, competitive, and aligned with long‑term organisational goals.

💭What Next? Changing Minds, Changing Markets “If you present people with a deal where they are only a loser, don’t be surprised when they reject it.” - Rory Sutherland “If we focus capital and policy on what is already cheap and scalable, the arithmetic does the work.” - Michael Liebreich The next phase of climate action requires citizen and consumer action, yet public support is becoming harder to sustain. In this episode of What Next? Leadership Conversations for a Better Future, Lindsay Hooper (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Marc Kahn (Investec) are joined by Rory Sutherland and Michael Liebreich to explore why changing markets now requires changing minds. The conversation brings together behavioural science and energy systems thinking to examine: ❔Why backlash often reflects how change is framed ❔How trust is undermined by exaggerated narratives and high costs – but can be built through visible cost reduction, practical benefits, and solutions that work at the moment of replacement ❔Why transitions succeed by scaling the new before shutting down the old 💡 Listen now: https://ow.ly/lFbk50XVYap #BusinessLeadership #EnergyTransition #BehaviouralScience #ClimateAction #FutureOfMarkets #Leadership #ShapingTheFuture