Powerful solutions to environmental challenges were demonstrated when some of Europe's most innovative climate entrepreneurs converged at an event I participated in last month in Copenhagen. The Scaleup for Sustainability event participants – including alumni from the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator (ASA) and beyond - work at the intersection of climate action, circular economy solutions, and more sustainable business models. ASA provides mentorship from sustainability and business experts at Amazon, access to Amazon's logistics infrastructure, and opportunities to pilot technologies with operations teams.
I listened with interest to the shared success stories of raising funding rounds, securing commercial partnerships, and scaling their solutions across European borders, having previously been an entrepreneur myself. Among these success stories were the five startups from last year's ASA’s Climate Tech cohort that received a combined €750,000 investment from Amazon to conduct pilot projects with Amazon's European operations. These achievements show that sustainability and business growth can, and must, go hand-in-hand.
Denmark currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, with a focus on strengthening the EU Single Market while advancing sustainability goals. It’s clear to see that the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator fosters and mirrors this combination of economic opportunity and environmental responsibility, by supporting innovative startups that deliver on both fronts.
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Accelerating sustainable innovation
ASA has supported more than 70 companies across six cohorts in Europe since 2022. They have developed technologies and products that address pressing environmental challenges from responsible product design and reusable packaging solutions to water efficiency technologies and innovative battery storage solutions - these founders are reimagining what's possible. One such company is Danish scale-up, RE-ZIP, who participated in the 2024 Climate Tech cohort. Their reusable packaging model was tested in one of the five pilot programmes that Amazon invested in following their completion of the ASA.
The Single Market as a sustainability accelerator
These founders need a well-functioning Single Market that allows them to scale quickly across Europe. Too often regulatory fragmentation, administrative burdens, and inconsistent implementation of EU rules create unnecessary hurdles for startups with limited resources. It was clear that the founders at the event face the challenges of navigating 27 different sets of requirements when launching across the EU. This slows down business growth and delays the deployment of critical climate solutions at the scale and speed needed.
A clear example is the fragmentation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes—with over 100 different systems across Europe costing businesses up to €140,000 in compliance fees. Amazon supports developing a multilingual EU EPR one-stop-shop to remove this barrier to cross-border expansion for sustainability innovators.
The EU's renewed focus on strengthening the Single Market, through initiatives like the Single Market Strategy and the recently announced Single Market Roadmap to 2028 by Commission President von der Leyen, present a significant opportunity to address these challenges. By pursuing ambitious harmonisation and ensuring consistent implementation of EU rules, Europe can create an environment where sustainable startups thrive and scale rapidly.
Creating a greener future together
The shared purpose of advancing climate solutions energised the Copenhagen event, uniting an emerging community of sustainability innovators, investors, corporate partners, and policymakers. Representatives from the Danish government and several industry associations contributed valuable insights on how policy can enable sustainable innovation — including the need for more harmonised sustainability rules across the EU, reducing Single Market fragmentation, clearer pathways for circular products to scale across borders, and regulatory environments that help founders bring climate solutions to consumers faster.
Looking ahead, Amazon remains committed to supporting Europe's green transition in multiple ways – our own climate goals, such as Amazon's co-founding of The Climate Pledge in 2019, support for innovative startups, and engagement with policymakers on creating the right enabling environment.
The path to a sustainable future will require technological breakthroughs, bold business models, and policy frameworks that encourage and accelerate progress. Events like the alumni gathering in Copenhagen demonstrate that bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise can help make remarkable progress possible.
