qLegal is delighted to be able to work with some of the start-ups prioritising social responsibility and environmental protection. Eco-friendly, energy-efficient and recyclable products and services are being increasingly developed by sustainability start-ups. “Tech for good” start-ups are focusing on inventing tools, devices, software, and apps to reduce plastic waste, promote vegan diets, analyse and report carbon footprint.
Photo by Appolinary Kalashnikova on Unsplash
qLegal supports entrepreneurs and start-ups across all sectors, and has strong relationships with university enterprise clinics, including Imperial College London's own start-up incubator, Imperial Enterprise Lab, who often signpost clients to qLegal’s services. This academic year, qLegal had the opportunity to support several start-ups on its 1:1 legal advice clinic and placed over 14 students into sustainable businesses as part of its unique Externships programme offering. Postgraduate law students are placed for a 1-day a week work placement in a start-up for 6 months. The externs cannot provide legal advice, but they conduct legal research, flag issues, and help with tech and commercial matters including AI capacity building, and marketing and communications.
qLegal is proud to work with a variety of sustainable businesses hosting externs during the 2022-2023 academic year. This list includes businesses that are:
They value nature and offer local forestry investment portfolios, direct finances towards nature conservation initiatives using their data or provide consultancy services on how to preserve the world’s biodiversity.
They are leveraging the power of modern technology to measure and monitor how different industries affect the environment. By sharing the data with analysts, asset managers, and customers they create space for more sustainable choices.
They find ways to develop and reuse products, such as turbines, potato plant and food packaging which would not be reused or recycled traditionally.
Eva. Turbines developed recyclable turbines which generate energy using the turbulent airflow of transport.
fibe is developing sustainable fibres from potato plant, the massive by-product/waste left over potato harvesting worldwide.
Moree developed a reusable packaging to encourage and make it easier for businesses to switch to reusable packaging.
They make batteries more sustainable by implementing better methods to recycle them, using modelling to test them or create products providing easier access to electric car chargers.
They are developing sustainable food products for customers and the cellular agriculture industry, that produces agricultural products from cell cultures (i.e. cultured meat).
Recruitment of externship hosts for the 2023-2024 academic year will start in July 2023. If you are interested in joining the programme, please email qLegal@qmul.ac.uk. qLegal looks forward to hearing from innovative businesses.