Field Notes

This Spring, VertueLab is asking: what must we build today to ensure the next generation inherits a thriving climate innovation ecosystem?

On April 22nd, 2026, VertueLab hosted our first annual Earth Day event, Rooted & Rising: Powering Climate Tech for the Next Generation. This gathering was an undeniable success thanks to the incredible climate community in Seattle. Individuals from all sides of our ecosystem came together; from VertueLab climate founders to ecosystem partners, curious community members to University of Washington next-gen entrepreneurs — the excitement around climate tech was palpable.

In 2025, VertueLab welcomed key partners, collaborators, and entrepreneurs into our growing sphere of impact. In Oregon, with the generous support of philanthropic partners including the Lemelson Foundation, the Collins Foundation, and the Healy Foundation, we launched critical work aligned with VertueLab’s vision for an equitable climate transition—even amid renewed challenges to equity and justice in climate action.

2025 is a year marked by undeniable uncertainty. As the climate crisis worsens and federal funding for environmental initiatives declines, the need for innovation and locally-based, cleantech solutions has never been more crucial. VertueLab aims to empower the entrepreneurs facing this climate crisis head-on, providing them with the tools they need to turn ideas into lasting solutions.

As 2025 draws to an end, we look back at a year of incredible partnership between VertueLab, 9Zero, the University of Washington’s CoMotion, and the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development that turned the Seattle Climate Innovation Hub into reality. A space that brings together the entire ecosystem to solve, build, and deploy lasting climate solutions, right here in the Pacific Northwest.

Our community is built around our entrepreneurs. Their approaches towards climate solutions are creative, powerful, and a testament to their dedication to a better future. Hear directly from them as they share how VertueLab has impacted their journey.

In this installment of our Portfolio Highlight series, we are diving into the work of Cascadia Seaweed, a sustainable aquaculture company producing high-quality biostimulants derived from regeneratively harvested seaweed. Cascadia Seaweed's goal isn’t just about the product; it focuses on developing climate-resilient cultivation methods while prioritizing the environment. 

VertueLab’s Accelerator and Funding Assistance Manager, Leo Ochoa is here to demystify some common SBIR/STTR terms, break down the application proocess, and share some helpful insights that can help you navigate your funding journey.

Meet our Accelerator & Funding Assistance Manager, Leo Ochoa!

VertueLab’s Federal Funding Assistance team supports underrepresented communities and entrepreneurs, helping them turn technical ideas and innovations into a reality. Through this collaboration, DayZero Water was able to unlock federal dollars for their Water Box, allowing them to provide families with access to clean water in places where treated sources are unavailable.

Climate change remains a persistent and growing threat to community wellbeing and economic prosperity in Washington State. In the midst of unprecedented disruption to national policy and threats to the climate movement, it's clearer than ever that deep collaboration and marshaling our shared resources is how we can best support and accelerate climate startups in the Pacific Northwest.

The latest installment in our Portfolio Highlight series highlights Climate Impact Fund portfolio company, Community Energy Labs, a company on a mission to make smart energy management and decarbonization both accessible and affordable for community building owners. Keep reading below to find out more about our chat with Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tanya Barham.

As we dive fully into 2025, we’re revisiting a bright spot from 2024: our partnership with Tabor 100 and Prosper Portland that resulted in 45Camp. In this blog post, we invited one of the 45Camp mentors, AnnaMaria White, to reflect on why programs like 45Camp are vital to supporting equitable solutions for the climate crisis.

The research we conducted in 2024 reveals invaluable insights into the challenges our region faces and highlights the powerful solutions that can emerge when communities, entrepreneurs, innovators and funders work in harmony.

Meet our Donor & Investor Manager, Will Lampe!

Whether you woke up last Wednesday morning or stayed up all night to see the result of the presidential election, it seems clear that our community currently remains in a state of either shock or profound despair. As I dropped off my son at school the morning after, we talked about what this all meant, how we will live, what will change, and how to move forward with this sadness.

Recorded September 10th, 2024

In conjunction with the release of our latest white paper, Communities Lead in Building a Sustainable Future, we recently hosted a webinar highlighting Sustainable Northwest and their work partnering with communities throughout the Northwest on projects that promote smart water use, clean energy, and healthy forests, farms, and ranches. Watch the full recorded webinar above!

As Audre Lorde once said, revolution is not a one-time event. At VertueLab, we understand that the best climate innovations can come from those whose ideas are routinely discounted and sidelined. We are creating a region where low-income people and communities of color are driving climate solutions. Both partnerships and politics are key to our revolution.

Recently, my 9-year-old asked me what the world will be like when he’s grown-up. I wanted to burst into tears. Instead, I simply replied: “Hot. It’ll be hot.” He asked: “Exactly how hot?” And I said, “very, very hot.” In moments like these, I’m reminded we have an enormous challenge before us.

Our President & Executive Director Aina Abiodun took the main stage at the 2024 Wings Conference to address the tech industry’s progress in addressing climate change.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced VertueLab as a Stage One winner for the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC).

Watch the video recaps of our two Jumpstart Weekends that took place in Washington and Oregon.

VertueLab, a Pacific Northwest-based nonprofit addressing the causes and impacts of the climate crisis through funding and support of climate tech innovation, has just been announced as a Phase 1 winner of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3 as part of the Northwest Cleantech Innovation Center Network (NWCIN).

Jumpstart Weekend in Tukwila, Washington closed out 45Camp’s two workshop events on a high note. Held at Tabor 100’s Business Development Center the weekend after Jumpstart Oregon, attendees came together over three days to share their ideas, team up to collaborate, and pitch before a panel of judges.

A few weeks ago, we shared the results of the survey we sent out to get a better understanding of our community, stakeholders, and VertueLab’s existing strengths and weaknesses. We conducted additional research across the climate tech sector in the region, building upon the findings and feedback from the survey to shape an emerging organizational strategy. Here’s what we’ve discovered so far.

Jumpstart Weekend in Portland this last weekend was an incredible first event for 45Camp, a new program created in collaboration with Tabor 100 and with the support of Prosper Portland and PGE Foundation. Designed as a three day crash course for aspiring entrepreneurs from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, the weekend was one of learning, mentorship, and connection within the community.

As you know from our last post, the team at VertueLab has been hard at work listening and learning over the past few months. You may have seen and participated in the survey we sent out to get a better understanding of our community and stakeholders, getting a sense of VertueLab’s existing strengths and weaknesses. In this first of two posts, we share some of our learnings, what you told us and how we are taking this feedback in to help us steer how we work.

In this installment of our Portfolio Highlight series, we take a closer look at Climate Impact Fund portfolio company, Harvest, a company on a mission to provide the cheapest, cleanest electricity possible to fight climate change without sacrificing superior comfort. Keep reading below to find out more about our chat with Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jane Melia.