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Google is spinning off a new online-only startup accelerator centered around the simple circular economy. The effort is the latest to help Google. Focused on the environment Startups will grow, potentially depriving them of cloud products in the process.
In broad strokes, the circular economy represents a major shift in how humans make and use things. Instead of primarily collecting raw materials to produce goods that burn or end up in oceans or landfills, the circular economy offers an option where things are intentionally reused, repaired and reused. Generally speaking, the world doesn’t work that way, but the concept has gained traction among experts, as well as some corporations and lawmakers, as a response to humanity’s runaway waste and climate crises.
“Every year, humans consume more than the planet can naturally replenish,” Mike Werner, Google’s head of circular economy, wrote on the company’s blog. “We need to understand our relationship with physical resources and how we make them, process them, use them and recycle them,” he said, citing fashion and food as among the industries that applicants can focus on.
Applications for the accelerator opened today, October 3, and will close on November 14 ahead of the February 2023 start. The 10-week program targets startups and nonprofit groups in the Asia-Pacific region and North America, offering mentorship and technical support through Google’s “mix of 1-to-1 and 1-to-many learning sessions.”
Like other accelerators with the so-called “Google for Startups” — such as the Climate program from earlier this year — the search and advertising giant is not taking equity or providing capital through the program.
Google has announced so many sustainability and climate-focused efforts so far that it’s difficult to keep track of them all. However, the company has recently faced criticism for its banking practices, which are indirectly used for fuel development.
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