Risilience nets £6m to cut risks of climate change scenarios

Risilience, a deeptech, data-driven analytics platform using approaches pioneered by the Centre for Risk Studies at the Cambridge Judge Business School, has announced a Series A investment of £6m from investors led by IQ Capital.

Risilience has existed for a number of years under the name Cantab Risk Research, using research frameworks produced by Cambridge Centre of Risk Studies (CCRS), a department within Cambridge Judge.

The Risilience platform’s company-specific analysis provides detailed, quantified results to support strategic decision making and business planning while balancing investment requirements driven by future scenarios – and is deemed of particular significance as the climate breakdown curveball weaves its way through global, national and local economies. The platform incorporates datasets and tools for businesses to quantify the risks they face from inaction and assesses the benefits they will gain from deploying appropriate management strategies.

Risilience’s founders are Dr Andrew Coburn, CEO, Professor Danny Ralph, chairman, Dr Michelle Tuveson, chief client officer, and Simon Ruffle, chief product officer.

Dr Coburn said: “We are delighted to have the support of IQ Capital, Tokio Marine Holdings, and Castor Ventures in our ambitious plan to provide world-class solutions for businesses to de-risk their exposure to climate change. We selected these investors for their ability to partner with us and add expertise and access to key market sectors.”

A fifth of all large corporations have now committed to a net zero target, and many others are set to do so in coming months. Risilience estimates that inaction would significantly erode the earnings value of many businesses within the next few years from increased costs of carbon taxes and consumer and investor pressures. By proactively taking action to transform their businesses now, the business benefits far outweigh the implementation costs. However, achieving the net zero target is a long and complicated process for large organisations, and many businesses don’t yet have a clear strategy in place to achieve this goal.

Kerry Baldwin, managing partner of IQ Capital, said: “Risilience combines the technology, science, customer base and academic rigour to make a real and practical difference in the fight against climate change. This is an example of a British business helping the world’s largest companies to achieve and evidence net zero transition.”

Over the past two years, the team has been helping companies at the forefront of managing their risks from climate change, including Nestlé, Burberry, Reckitt, easyJet, Maersk, Informa, Abrdn, and AXA XL. The current corporate client base of Risilience has committed to remove a combined annual 240 million tonnes of CO2e emissions – the equivalent of the annual carbon emissions of Spain.

Tokio Marine is investing in Risilience to facilitate new insurance products and services to protect commercial businesses from the risks of climate change and incentivise sustainable practices in their corporate client base.

Castor Ventures, which builds diversified venture portfolios for alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is investing in Risilience to propagate emissions management technology in US businesses.