A rose by any other name…

Tom just returned from the Cleantech Forum in San Diego where a few key themes stood out. As expected, there was plenty of angst related to the early flurry of activity from the White House slowing climate tech momentum. There was also bewilderment at the pace of innovation and technological advancement, highlighted by DeepSeek’s announcement of compute power that will result in using a fraction of the energy previously forecasted for data centres in support of the unstoppable march of AI.

The most thought provoking topic was a push to reframe language around climate tech businesses. Given that such businesses are in the crosshairs of current governments and anti-woke sentiment, let’s change the words we use! Instead of “cleantech” and “climate impact”, refer to “the energy transition”, “energy security” and “job creation”. Talk of unleashing national prosperity with homegrown innovation, cost reductions and products with greater efficiency that avoid pollution and keep our air and water clean. While it may seem disingenuous, language matters–and a simple reframe could help bridge polarized views on decarbonizing technologies.

Case in point, consider our portfolio company Jetson, highlighted in the Founder Spotlight below. Jetson could lead their sales pitch to customers by touting their impressive GHG reductions versus incumbent gas home heating or cooling, but it’s much more effective to lead with their heat pump installation and maintenance business being a cheaper, more efficient way to heat and cool your home—which just happens to make a sexy climate impact.