CSIRO’s $13b roadmap for clean, green proteins

‍“When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality. Is it any wonder that often the times we feel most alive, those that make up our best memories, are moments of play.”

— Dr Stuart Brown

Kick start

👣 CSIRO released Australia’s Protein Roadmap, highlighting a $13b opportunity to grow Australia’s alternative protein footprint, driven by further research and technology investment.

🪴 Leveraging Australia’s global reputation for “clean and green” foods, CSIRO’s breakdown of the 2030 opportunity includes an additional:

• $6b from plant-based proteins
• $3.8b from turning red meat offcuts that would go to waste into value-add medicinal products
• $1.5b from precision fermented proteins
• $1b from sustainable white flesh fish

🗺️ The roadmap matches surging demand for alternative proteins, with the ABS reporting a 30% increase in consumption of meat and dairy substitutes in the last two years. Meanwhile, the precision fermentation space, using microbes and mushrooms to produce proteins cost-effectively and scalably, reported a CAGR of 173% between 2018 and 2021.

🌳 These spaces to watch present new job opportunities and avoid the huge downsides of expanding animal-based production, which is responsible for 14.5% of global GHG emissions, 70% of antibiotics use, and is the #1 cause of deforestation.

What we’re thinking about

🧑‍⚕️ Flipping the healthcare model. The recent $325m raise by US kidney care platform Somatus, which provides ongoing chronic kidney disease management, exemplifies the growing momentum behind value-based healthcare. Where traditional models involve payers (like insurance companies) funding services when patients are sick, value-based healthcare models (primer video here) involve structuring contracts with healthcare providers to deliver more frequent, preventative healthcare services. These models are being increasingly encouraged by public policy in the US and Australia (albeit at a slower rate) because they deliver results of up to 17% reduction in cost to deliver health with better patient experiences.

📞 Value-based futures. Value-based healthcare presents big markets for the next generation of healthtech startups like Somatus, that are willing to take on the risk of delivering health outcomes because they’re built on better predictive data analytics, telehealth capabilities, and admin efficiencies. The big opportunities for returns and human impact exist where per-patient costs are high and relationship lengths are long, such as kidney disease, diabetes, and aged care.

📈 Climate takes #1. According to HolonIQ, climate tech is set to overtake digital health as the leading impact VC sector in 2022, driven by strong regulatory and consumer consumer trends. Meanwhile, digital health and edtech are expected to see drops after bumper years caused by lockdown-driven adoption of digitisation.

New paths

🧻 Who Gives A Crap is seeking a Head Of Commercial for their UK team.

🧀 Change Foods is hiring a Product Manager

👩🏽‍🔬 Applied is recruiting a Data Scientist

🧘🏽‍♂️ Mindset is searching for an Audio Engineer / Producer.

🕴🏼EcoTone Partners is looking for an Analyst.

👩🏼‍💼The Paul Ramsay Foundation is also on the hunt for a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Analyst

🧾 Interested in joining an impact startup? Express your interest and you’ll be included in a database used by our portfolio companies when they’re hiring.

🔥 Also, check out our Giant Leap Fund jobs board for over 100+ available positions. There’s even more jobs at ethical companies on the global B-Work job board.

Giant Leaps

⚡ Amber Electric is linking people up to virtual power plants.

✉️ Sendle revealed the grizzly truth of ecommerce.

🩺 Coviu is a partner in the massive $329 million Defence e-Health record platform.

👩🏾‍💼 WORK180’s blog featured on a global list of the top 40 women-focused career blogs

🐸 Thanks to Dave Rae for mentioning Giant Leap in a profile of his work on LiveWire.

👩 Our Analyst, Hannah Mourney, featured in this post on the WTF is VC substack, urging startups to quantify their impact before pitching for investment.

Connect with us

🏄 Our Partner, Rachel Yang, will be attending the Surf Coast Sustainability Pitch Party on May 26 and taking part in the Great Debate at Girls In Tech Conference next week.

For the road

🌏 Climate tech founder? Climate Salad is collating an inaugural report on Australian climate tech and they’re asking for your input here.

🧬 Aussie founder? Startup Genome is still collecting responses to help guide startup ecosystem policy.

🗑️ Incr-edible innovation. Researchers at the University of Texas have developed a plastic eating enzyme that could help clean up landfills around the world.

🧠 Zapping depression. The University of Melbourne are pioneering new methods with electrical brain stimulation to help remedy the effects of treatment-resistant depression.

🌳 A more sustainable, regenerative Melbourne. Regen Melbourne is hosting a series of conversations over Zoom in May to discuss the future of the city.

🌎 Expanding to the US? The AusTrade San Francisco Landing Pad program is looking for local startups to help them make the leap. Applications close May 29.

💃🏽 “It’s not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” A curated exert of Lucius Seneca’s essay on the shortness of life.

👶🏽 And finally, don’t start arguments you can’t win.

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