Cityzenith joins WEF Global Innovators Program
Cityzenith has been chosen to be part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Innovators community to support the digital twin startup's mission to decarbonise US cities.
The Global Innovators Community is a group of the world’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups that are at the forefront of technological and business model innovation. Cityzenith is a technology startup that provides data visualization platform software and applications for IoT and Smart Cities.
The company's SmartWorldPro Digital Twin platform was created for people designing, constructing, and managing complex, large-scale building projects, properties, and real estate portfolios.
WEF provides the Global Innovators Community with a platform to engage with public-and private-sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome current crises and build future resiliency. There are over 140 community members across 15 different countries.
Companies who are invited to become Global Innovators will engage with one or more of the Forum’s Platforms, as relevant, to help define the global agenda on key issues. Shaping the Future of Energy, Materials, and Infrastructure is one of the 17 platforms which focuses on bringing together industry leaders from electricity, oil and gas, mining and metals, chemicals, and construction.
Cityzenith CEO Michael Jansen said its partnership with the World Economic Forum gives it a platform to enhance its profile and explore more opportunities.
"WEF recognized that our technology and insight had a role to play in combating Climate Change, and now we can go further in helping governments and countries to decarbonize cities worldwide," he said.
The partnership's catalyst was Cityzenith's 'Clean Cities – Clean Future' campaign as part of the 'Race to Zero' movement. Cities worldwide generate 70% of global carbon emissions and Cityzenith believes its SmartWorldOS can help building and property asset management groups, city planners, and developers move to carbon neutrality in the next ten years.
Jansen said at the launch of the' Clean Cities – Clean Future' initiative: "We have to help the most polluted urban centers become carbon neutral, and we plan to do this by donating the company's Digital Twin platform SmartWorldOS to key cities, one at a time, after every $1m raised. We're able to do this because of the recent surge of investment as part of our $15m crowdfunding raise.
WEF also partners with leading organizations that push change forward, like the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organization supporting countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.
WEF President Børge Brende believes IRENA’s partnership with the Forum is "an important step in strengthening the mission of our organizations" adding:
"It brings together the knowledge, insight and innovation expertise of IRENA with the Forum's global network to ensure these higher commitments are realised in the near term," he said.
Significant investment funds such as The Carlyle Group, Equinor, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment fund (CPP) have also partnered to offer a potential investment into promising climate solutions.
CPP President and CEO Mark Machin see the benefit and importance of investing now to protect the planet: "We at CPP Investments are trained to dig deep into both risks and opportunities. Climate Change offers both. None of these efforts are cheap, but they are an investment in society's future. And, as we've learned from the current crisis (COVID-19), the cost of being underprepared when catastrophe strikes can be far higher."
