EV startups are likely 10x more sustainable already
Not many talk about it, so not many know about it. About time that changes.
An EV Startup
The Product
One that is in the spotlight already - the heart of the organization packed into the shape and form of the EV. Represents the very best effort at building the very best EV.
The Team
Those who make it all possible in the first place.
The Community
Those who already experience (existing customers) or yet to experience (potential customers) EV for themselves, form the community.
The team builds a sustainable alternative mode of transportation for the community. Simple. So simple that it leaves a lot of sustainable efforts unrecognized. Consider the following.
Sustainability Spec Sheet
Every EV startup already competes on the technical details of the vehicle bound by physical and mechanical limits, toward building it more sustainably. But sustainability is not limited to just the product, and multiple efforts go into making each EV more sustainable already. These efforts are waiting to be compiled into a sustainability spec sheet.
The sustainability spec sheet can eventually include 100s of sustainable metrics as macro as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN or more subtle, local, and contextual aspects like energy sources used in manufacturing, water filtration systems on the factory floor, etc. which sometimes go unnoticed.
Or not communicated enough to those who care.
While all the efforts can be measured qualitatively, some of them can be measured quantitatively.
For each EV that rolls off the assembly line, some sustainable metrics can be calculated exactly, some others can be approximated as an average and some others can only be documented qualitatively on film. Some are fairly standard and easily measured, some might require new thinking. By openly sharing these standards of measuring with the community/industry, the team will be able to tap into crowd intelligence and community knowledge, the community finds new ways it is being heard and involved in the process in turn.
Documenting and maintaining an interactive historical record of these efforts for each EV in the form of a ‘Sustainability Spec Sheet’ can be a great trust-boosting exercise.
Connecting the dots
With help of focused marketing, the community becomes part of a positive feedback loop of recognizing, driving the sustainability efforts of the organization*, helping push the sustainability benchmarks of the industry, and eventually, when the time comes to make the switch they feel right about the efforts towards the things they care about and go with the EV choice that’s truly more sustainable.
Topping it off
Unlike the technical spec sheet which is bound by physical and mechanical limits, the sustainability spec sheet is relatively more flexible and limited only by interest shared by the community and team, and the necessary capital of course.
Once that's sorted, it's all fun.
A sustainability spec sheet requires a systematic process of identifying metrics that can consistently be improved upon. Followed by reporting on improvements for each identified metric on a periodic basis. This time window is open for peer reviews/community contributions.
It will be an art of threading across the organization to understand the details and document them for the community without disrupting the workflows of the team; while being a scientific endeavor that will require discipline whose benefits can only be seen as it compounds over time.
To wrap it up.
This initiative introduces the industry to new dimensions of competing for customers. From the management perspective, it doesn’t disrupt much as it only requires measuring and documenting existing efforts, to begin with. From the marketing perspective, it’s still the EV that’s being sold. From the community’s perspective, you just made it more inclusive.
From the business perspective, the first mover to adopt this not only earns the trust of the community by stepping up to do the right thing first; but also invites the competition come out and dance:
If they choose to dance, the industry pushes to new heights of sustainability.
If they choose not to dance, they are just telling the world who’s more sustainable.
If they delay, they are just giving the first mover a headstart of time - a priceless advantage when the trust can only be built and tested over time.
Either way, it’s an invitation to compete to set sustainability benchmarks and lead the way for the industry. Multilateralism of the EV industry - one who walks the path, leads the way.
‘Trillion Dollar Startup’ is a newsletter of ideas for trillion-dollars worth startups of the sustainable future. What’s a trillion dollars worth? I wouldn’t know. What’s the sustainable future worth? I know that.
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