The most innovative companies in sustainability for 2025
Why Infinium, Zum, and Copper are among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the sustainability space for 2025.
Climate tech companies are at a pivotal moment. The number of major climate-fueled disasters keeps mounting, from floods to wildfires to droughts, and 2024 was the planet’s hottest year in recorded history. There’s a tiny window of time to cut emissions to avoid bigger planetary tipping points, meaning that new technology needs to scale up much faster than usual. At the same time, the Trump administration is actively trying to end federal support for climate solutions, from EVs to wind farms.
But companies in this space—as well as those working on other environmental solutions—keep racing forward. Some new technologies are starting to run pilots or begin commercial use with large customers for the first time. Zum, a company that provides transportation for thousands of schools across the country, is beginning to switch to electric buses—and using the batteries in the buses to help support local electric grids. A company called Infinium is scaling up production of fuel made from renewable energy and captured CO2 that can replace diesel and jet fuel for customers like Amazon and American Airlines. A startup called Samsara Eco worked with Lululemon to demonstrate how its tech can help recycle clothing that was previously unrecyclable. Global food brands are beginning to test butter and other fats made from CO2 by a startup called Savor.
Startups are also innovating to bring down the cost of solutions. Graphyte is pioneering a new type of carbon removal: making bricks from farming and forestry waste, and then burying them underground, at a cost that’s less than half of some other approaches to taking CO2 out of the air. Equatic, another carbon removal company, takes CO2 out of seawater while simultaneously producing green hydrogen that can be sold to offset the total cost. Gradiant makes technology to completely remove “forever chemicals” from water in a process that’s more efficient and cheaper than other products on the market.
Others are finding ways to outperform conventional tech. Windfall Bio captures methane on farms to make fertilizer that can save farmers money while reducing emissions. WindBorne uses miniature weather balloons and AI to more accurately predict extreme weather at a fraction of the cost of traditional forecasting. Copper designed an induction stove that’s more powerful than gas, can keep working in power outages, and can also support the electric grid. Ultimately, these types of solutions—better than the incumbent tech, regardless of the environmental benefit—can keep growing regardless of changing policy.
Source: fastcompany.com
