Google.org fuels climate resilience in India with APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0; taps 4 Indian organisations

Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, has announced its support for four Indian innovators through the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0, a program run by the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN). The fund, backed by a $5 million grant from Google.org, aims to empower organisations across the Asia Pacific region to develop cutting-edge solutions to combat climate change.

The selected Indian organisations – INREM Foundation, CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), Institute for Financial Management and Research (WELL Labs), and Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT) – will utilise AI and technology to address critical environmental challenges such as water contamination, urban heat islands, and the preservation of carbon-absorbing lakes.

"Climate change poses growing threats, but the wave of innovations addressing this challenge offers immense hope," said Roma Datta Chobey, Interim Country Manager, Google India. "We're deeply inspired by Indian changemakers building climate resilience with technology and AI-powered solutions. We’re glad resources like the AVPN APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 are enabling them to showcase the potential of local solutions for global transformation."

Andrew Ure, Managing Director, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Southeast Asia at Google, highlighted the Asia-Pacific region's vulnerability to climate change while highlighting the opportunity for innovation: “Organisations, social investors, and researchers across the region are uniting to develop innovative solutions, leveraging technologies like AI to address this critical issue. We are proud to support social impact organisations like AVPN to foster scalable solutions and accelerate collaborative efforts."

The APAC Sustainability Seed Fund, now in its second year, provides crucial funding for nonprofits developing and scaling tech-driven solutions to climate and sustainability challenges. AVPN CEO, Naina Subberwal Batra, explained, “At AVPN, we recognise capital – financial, human, and intellectual – is crucial for initiating and advancing climate innovations often overlooked by traditional funding mechanisms. Through APAC SSF 2.0, we aim to channel resources into the early stages of the Continuum of Capital to support these grantees."

Each of the selected Indian organisations will tackle specific climate challenges:

INREM Foundation: Develops AI-enabled open digital solutions to provide communities with access to water contamination data. “The AVPN Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 will help INREM Foundation scale its exponential journey for Climate resilient Water-Safe Communities in India,” said Sunderragan Krishnan, Executive Director.

CRDF: Uses machine learning and satellite imagery to protect lakes and their function as carbon sinks. "This project aims to use machine learning technology and satellite imagery to simplify the estimation of the carbon sequestration capacity of lakes," explained Meera Mehta & Dinesh Mehta, Center Head, Center for Water and Sanitation.

WELL Labs: Builds advanced models to offer detailed insights into water security challenges at the village level. “Grant support from AVPN will allow CoREStack to make a big leap forward. It will unlock multiple foundational datasets and make them easily accessible to key stakeholders,” said Craig Dsouza, Data and Tech Lead.

MHT: Develops an AI-powered model to identify urban heat islands and suggest targeted community-centric solutions like cool roofs and routes. "MHT aims at developing an AI-enabled poor women-led model for climate resilience for Ahmedabad, Gujarat which will serve as an archetype of a mid-size urban town in India," shared Bijal Brahmbhatt, Director.