Economics Over Altruism as BE100 Winners Crowned

In a finale decided by a live audience vote, Blue Earth Ventures has announced the winners of its 2025 BE100 competition at last week's Blue Earth Summit, recognising three high-growth ventures that captured investor interest in sustainable innovation.

Segura, Raft Energy, and Low Carbon Materials emerged as the three winners, sharing a £600,000 investment pot decided by a live audience vote. The competition provided insight into the evolving priorities shaping investment decisions in the sustainability space, reflecting a strengthening appetite for solutions that deliver tangible cost savings.

Over the first 2 days of the summit, 30 of the 100 finalists pitched their ventures to an audience of investors, summit attendees, and four judges in each category. The startups were divided into Start, Grow, and Scale reflecting three stages of business maturity. 

The Start category featured early-stage innovators with up to £1 million in revenue, typically in pre-seed or seed rounds. Grow included more established brands generating between £1 million and £10 million in revenue or raising over £1 million in funding. Scale recognised businesses with clear market penetration and revenues exceeding £10 million or in advanced funding rounds.

Judging criteria

Each of the 10 finalists per category had four minutes to pitch. Judges assessed whether the businesses offered something superior to existing solutions, contributed positively to the planet, demonstrated commercial potential, and had the team strength to deliver.

The judges were particularly impressed by companies that clearly identified their market, articulated their go-to-market strategy, and how they would get to scale. In contrast, businesses that overly relied on their sustainability credentials struggled to meet the robustness required. All the judges agreed that sustainability alone is no longer a sufficient reason to invest, instead, the strongest finalists combined environmental purpose with solid, commercially viable business models.

As Charlotte Kirk, a Venture Partner at Decarb Ventures and BE100 judge said, “founders need to build technologies that win on economics not corporate altruism so the pitch is simply about lower costs, better performance, and supply chain resilience.” For startups pursuing investment these insights offer clear guidance on the criteria investors prioritise.

On Thursday evening the 6 finalists went head to head to compete for a share of the £600k prize fund. 

Category Winners 

The 2025 BE100 category winners are: 

Start: Jose Castro, Segura – improving the world’s water quality through easy,  accurate, and affordable testing. 

Grow: Alex van Klaveren, RAFT Energy – a waste-to-energy innovator helping  biogas and RNG plants maximise their return on investment. 

Scale: Natasha Boulding, Low Carbon Materials (LCM) – creating next 

generation low-carbon materials to decarbonise construction at scale. 

Natasha Boulding

The runners-up were Filip Lövström, Founder of Roam, providing electric motorcycles to African markets; Tim Highfield, Founder of Kondor, an AI platform optimising industrial energy use; and Craig Sterling, Founder of MarinaTex, which produces bioplastic alternatives to conventional plastic.

The judging panel

Judges included Andy Medd and Pippa Dunn of Broody; Marie Korde, Cco-founder of Two Magnolias; Matt Jellicoe of One Planet Capital; Matthew Jolley, Director of Climate Tech and Sustainability at HSBC; Phil Hails Smith, Managing Partner at Joelson; and Joe Hills, Head of Nurture at JCDecaux.

Dr Decarb Ventures’ Kirk also shared her perspective on the most promising sectors: “I’m most excited by investments that connect industries and sit between disciplines, unlocking entirely new markets. We’re seeing this between energy and defence where security, sovereignty, and sustainability converge. Another promising area is infrastructure and energy, which is vital to accelerating the net-zero transition.”

Investment and impact

The three winners will receive investment from the newly launched BE100 Fund, created by Blue Earth Ventures in partnership with early-stage venture capital firm Haatch. The fund has raised over £600,000 to date from Blue Earth founders and a network of angel investors.

The live final opened with remarks from Simon Bumfey, Head of Banking at HSBC Innovation Bank. On stage, four judges quizzed each finalist after their pitch, probing into strategy, scalability, and impact. But ultimately it was the audience who cast the deciding votes to crown the winners in each category.

Guy Hayler, Co-Founder of Blue Earth and Ventures Lead, said “the BE100 is the beating heart of Blue Earth. Our mission is to transform the way the world works by finding and funding business solutions that positively disrupt their  industries. This year’s BE100 winners represent the strength of the pipeline we’re building - ventures capable of generating both meaningful impact and compelling returns.” 

This year’s BE100 showcased a shift in the investment landscape itself. Sustainability is no longer a niche or a narrative, it can be the foundation for scalable, profitable business.