Freelancing your way to Net Zero
Freelancing your way to Net Zero
Leafr Climate Freelancing Platform
We recently spoke to Nick Valenzia, founder of Leafr, a unique platform for climate freelancing. He addresses one of the core issues in achieving Net Zero: the climate skills gap. There is no shortage of technical solutions in reaching Net Zero, but large gaps in the talent and skills required to deliver these solutions are holding our efforts back. Leafr is part of the solution, and is solving the problem of finding talent for the transition through a network of climate freelancers.
What is Leafr, all about?
Leafr, is a platform to help businesses access the talent that they need to decarbonise their operations. Businesses are under regulatory pressure to decarbonise: the UK is among several countries that have signed Net Zero legislation into law, but businesses are unable to find the right talent that is needed to progress on their goals. Leafr provides on-demand, vetted freelance climate talent. Their aim is that talent climate resources can now work on many projects for clients, instead of being locked into one company.
How is this different from other freelancing platforms like Toptal?
These freelance platforms are generic and work for a common set of skills like tech developers, or designers etc., whereas Leafr is highly specialised for climate skills, and our talent pool is vetted appropriately. We have a large community of climate freelancers which is unique in the space, and we offer climate specific training.
What is the progress you've had with Leafr, so far?
We are #1 ranked on Google for climate freelancing, and that's testament to our branding. We were accepted into the Carbon 13 accelerator, which is great as we explore how to build our ‘carbon case’ – the number of CO2 emissions we will help to reduce or avoid. The talent pool that we've built is the best in the space in my opinion. However, the climate talent gap is huge. As the world prepares for the transition to Net Zero, it is estimated that 80m new green jobs will need to be created by 2030. So, we have a long way to go. It is clear that we will miss our Net Zero targets if we can't deploy the right people to these projects.
What are the challenges ahead, for Leafr?
Joining Carbon 13 has been a big boost, and to be able to work with other founders that are passionate about climate change is great. I see the following as challenges as we grow Leafr:
Community Building: As the number of people on the platform grows, keeping them engaged and oriented towards the goal, as a community is going to be key.
Demand generation: How can we get our name out there, keep getting projects shared, and source projects that are of most value to the climate fight.
Achieving marketplace liquidity: how can we balance supply and demand, and make sure our marketplace is not too one-sided.
To get more information about Leafr, please visit their website
https://leafr.work
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