Nicky DeePhD & CEO

How Can We Harness the Ocean to Protect Earth’s Life Support Systems?

Can We Significantly Scale Innovative Solutions from ‘Blue Carbon’ Entrepreneurs? What Types of Financial Support Will These Ventures Need?

Planet Earth is more blue than green. Marine-based ecosystems store more carbon than terrestrial forests, offer green chemistry and alternative food solutions, new sources of energy - but are often neglected from the climate conversation. The “Blue Project” brings together expertise from Carbon13 and Better Sustainability with The Earthshot Prize as a sourcing partner to create a community of high-performing ventures, provide exclusive financial support and raise awareness of the critical role of blue carbon in preventing climate change.

Nicky has over 25 years of experience engaging with startups and stakeholders to drive sustainability and innovation in ESG. Viewing entrepreneurs as catalysts for transformative shifts, she co-founded Carbon13 in 2019 to target venture building to protect earth’s vital systems. As CEO the organisation has grown to 76 portfolio investments with a total market value of €260m and 1,000 founders trained with hubs of activity in Cambridge, London and Berlin. Before Carbon13 she pioneered new initiatives spanning innovation prizes, startup acceleration, climate tech investments, and corporate venturing with organizations like UNEP, UK government, World Bank, and more. She has a PhD from the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge (IfM) and a Natural Sciences degree which underpins her interest and evaluation of technology based solutions and impact methodologies. She serves as a Fellow with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.