While online shopping offers convenience and a way to stay safe during COVID-19, it is not necessarily the most “green” option. Many people are trying to find a way to offset any damage to the environment with their day-to-day choices, which is why we’re so excited to work with EcoCart. The startup helps automatically calculate and eliminate the carbon footprint of online orders at 10,000+ stores at no extra cost.

The Nuts & Bolts 

Problem: Millennial consumers are very environmentally-minded. In a Nielsen report, 75% of Millennials said they are changing their buying habits, as a result. Furthermore, 70% of Millennials note they would stay with a company if it had a strong sustainability plan.

Solution: EcoCart is a sustainability-focused ecommerce API. Currently focused on the Shopify ecosystem, the company allows customers to donate to ESG-focused initiatives at checkout, to offset their purchases’ carbon footprint. EcoCart also recently launched a Chrome extension to help bolster their presence across additional ecommerce experiences. EcoCart’s algorithm considers factors such as product makeup and shipping distance to determine the amount of the donation. The company works closely with a Harvard professor with climate policy as his focus, as well as a published climate researcher to determine which causes to support.

When 500 Met EcoCart

We met the EcoCart team through another 500 Startups-supported company, Visionful. Dane Baker, co-founder and CEO, previously built an ecommerce startup called Toyroom with co-founder and COO, Peter Twomey. Dane also spent one year in private equity, followed by another two years in venture capital. Peter’s background includes time spent at financial services firms.

Integrating ESG criteria is key for EcoCart. Internally, the team has developed diversity and inclusion goals and invests in resources to eliminate bias in the workplace. They believe strongly in their mission to make the fight against climate change easy, affordable, and accessible, and working towards all of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is a key part of this mission. 

Why Now?

Climate change is a $26 trillion dollar opportunity. We’ve seen a movement span from finance to tech, and now commerce companies are announcing ESG initiatives. While there has yet to be an ESG-focused unicorn, the environment has never been so favorable for the first to emerge. 

More money is paying attention to ESG. Investment firms that abide by ESG principles surpassed $1 trillion in AUM for the first time last year. Governments, multinational corporations, financial institutions, and tech companies of all sizes are looking towards ESG.

An MSCI survey of high net worth Millennials concluded that 87% considered a company’s ESG track record an important factor in their decision-making on whether to invest or not. And in a 2015 study, Nielsen found that two-thirds of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands.

Future of EcoCart 

The EcoCart team plans to add stores continually to its site to give shoppers a way to eliminate their carbon footprint. They also plan to launch a broader ecommerce API that goes beyond Shopify and works with other e-commerce platforms, such as WooCommerce and Magento.

If you would like to learn more about companies, sectors, and trends that we are excited about as well as receive invitations to exclusive previews, and expert roundtables, please sign up here.

You can learn more about EcoCart at: https://ecocart.io. 

Header Image

Legal Disclaimers: 500 Startups programs (including accelerator programs), investor education services, strategic partnership consulting services and events are operated by 500 Startups Incubator, L.L.C. (together with its affiliates, “500 Startups”) and the funds advised by 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. do not participate in any revenue generated by these activities. Such programs and services are provided for educational and informational purposes only and under no circumstances should any content provided as part of any such programs, services or events be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 startups or any of its affiliates.

The views expressed here are those of the individual 500 Startups personnel, or other individuals quoted and are not the views of 500 Startups or its affiliates. Certain information contained herein may have been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by 500 Startups. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, 500 Startups has not independently verified such information and makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of the information in this post or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements or links; 500 Startups has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.

This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, tax or accounting advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation, offer to sell or solicitation to purchase any investment securities, or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by 500 Startups. (An offering to invest in an 500 Startups fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by 500 Startups, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. 

Charts and graphs provided herein are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Unless otherwise expressly stated, figures are based on internal estimates and have not been independently verified. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. All logos and trademarks of third parties referenced herein are the logos and trademarks of their respective owners and any inclusion of such trademarks or logos does not imply or constitute any approval, endorsement or sponsorship of 500 Startups by such owners. 

Please see Section 2 of our Terms of Use for additional important information.