Slaughter and May has named the five climate tech-focused startups joining the fifth cohort of its technology entrepreneurs programme, Fast Forward, in the latest example of a law firm leveraging its tech programmes to zero in on the ESG movement currently taking centre stage in the legal profession. 

The firm has partnered up with the Center for Climate Change Innovation (CCCI), an initiative of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and the Royal Institution of which Slaughters is a founding member, to focus on companies that are developing solutions to address issues caused by climate change and working towards a more sustainable future as part of Fast Forward’s ‘greenhouse edition’. 

Joining this year’s cohort are biofertiliser producer BIO-F, carbon scoring and net-zero verification tool Construction Carbon and tech developers Solaris Offgrid, Treeconomy and Carbon Infinity. 

Each startup will be awarded financial support to the value of £30,000 from the firm in the form of legal advice and other value-add services, including access to the firm’s extensive professional networks and tailored coaching in pitching, negotiations and people management, among other areas.. 

The latest cohort has all already been supported by the Grantham Institute, with four of the five startups currently active in The Greenhouse, an accelerator programme within the CCCI while a fifth was supported by its predecessor programme, Climate-KIC. 

Launched in 2016, Fast Forward has provided more than £800,000 worth of legal and professional support to a range of early-t0-mid stage tech ventures, including successful alumni like telematics car insurance provider By Miles and open banking unicorn TrueLayer. 

Slaughters partner Oliver Moir said the decision to create a climate tech-focused Fast Forward cohort aligns with the firm’s mission to “be sustainable in everything we do”. 

“Our work with the Centre for Climate Change Innovation means we are able to support some of the most pioneering companies in the UK,” he added. “We can’t wait to do our part in helping these entrepreneurial businesses do great things.”

Slaughters, which also operates a legaltech incubator programme called Collaborate, also recently strengthened its ties to the burgeoning UK tech sector by getting involved with Tech Nation’s Future Fifty Campaign in September. 

In other ESG and tech-related news, top 40 UK firm RPC launched an ESG-focused tech accelerator programme, RPC Tectonic, aimed at providing newer ESG-focused tech ventures with up to £100,000 worth of legal advice for up to 12 months.