Yes San Francisco, Urban Sustainability Challenge Top Innovators Named to Help Revitalize San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 7, 2023 — Today, Deloitte announced the 14 Top Innovators that have been selected by UpLink for the Yes San Francisco (Yes SF), Urban Sustainability Challenge, marking a critical milestone for the Challenge and its goals to help revitalize downtown San Francisco. Launched earlier this year in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, Salesforce, Citi, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and more than 20 organizations, Yes SF is the first location-based UpLink Challenge created in direct response to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11 of making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

The Yes SF, Urban Sustainability Challenge received nearly 150 submissions that aligned to nine criteria including the viability of the business model and timeline, strength of the local presence, anticipated impact to San Francisco, and alignment with the city’s Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future and Climate Action Plan. Fourteen solutions were selected for their potential to bring new life and increased value to buildings, infrastructure, and outdoor areas by means of sustainable construction, green energy, water conservation, waste management, vertical farming, urban forest management, and more. Each submission was evaluated by a committee of expert reviewers from the San Francisco community who were nominated by Challenge collaborators for their understanding of the city and the challenges it faces, as well as their technical expertise in sustainability.

The 14 Top Innovator solutions selected are: 

• 374Water
• Babylon Micro-Farms
• BluumBio
• Butlr
• Flower Turbines
• it’s electric
• Moxion 
• Posh Electric
• RainStick
• Sun Ice Energy 
• Taro AI
• Urban Machine 
• Washbox
• Zauben

As a founding collaborator of Yes SF, Deloitte is also granting $1 million to be distributed among the Top Innovators to help them build and scale their solutions. Deloitte’s ongoing investment in Yes SF is part of its 10-year $1.5 billion social impact investment to drive systemic change and support individuals and communities facing the greatest barriers to equity. The Yes SF Challenge sits at the crucial intersection of sustainability and equity; each Top Innovator solution has the potential to create positive environmental impact and promote equitable outcomes in the city through social and economic benefits including job opportunities and more affordable living costs. 

The Challenge aims to convene the skillsets, resources, and expertise of businesses, entrepreneurs, and community stakeholders to build an ecosystem of support that helps address San Francisco’s long-term needs. Top Innovators will have access to two tracks of support: a joint program led by the World Economic Forum and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Foundation that will provide a suite of resources to help innovators deploy their solutions in San Francisco, such as introductions to key local stakeholders and advisory services; and UpLink’s global innovation network, which will offer visibility, connections, and targeted resources to help Top Innovators grow and scale their solutions. Through place-based change, the Challenge represents a roadmap for action to scale beyond the Bay Area and build more resilient and inclusive cities nationwide.

Key Quotes

“You can’t help but feel the incredible energy behind Yes SF. This UpLink challenge has been a catalyst for collaboration across sectors, by the community and for the community, and it is a testament to what can be achieved when united in pursuit of a shared goal,” said Kwasi Mitchell, chief purpose & DEI officer at Deloitte. “Deloitte is happy to provide additional support to the Challenge through our grant so that the Top Innovators can scale their ideas and bring tangible, positive change to San Francisco.”

"Yes SF is more than simply a challenge; it is a shared commitment from public and private sector leaders to reimagine the possibilities of urban living and revitalize San Francisco’s downtown economy for a more sustainable and resilient future. We look forward to leveraging the World Economic Forum’s global network and platform to support these world-leading innovators as they scale their solutions in San Francisco and beyond,” said Jeff Merritt, Head of Centre for Urban Transformation; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum.

“Yes SF is a catalyst for innovation. This new cohort of Top Innovators will contribute to the city’s transformation through sustainable innovation and community expertise, benefitting both San Franciscans and the planet. Together with our collaborators and ecopreneurs, we can harness the power of technology, sustainability, and innovation that has been core to the city’s identity for decades.” — Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce

“Yes SF exemplifies how different sectors can collaborate to advance innovative and scalable ideas to drive a more inclusive, equitable and resilient future for San Francisco. The Citi Impact Fund has built a consortium of investors to provide strategic guidance and support the growth of the Top Innovators, and we’re excited to see the positive outcomes of their solutions” said Meredith Shields, Head of Citi Impact Fund at Citi.

“Here in San Francisco, we’re well-known for our long history of world-class innovation,” said Rodney Fong, president and CEO at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. “We’re proud to champion the evolution of that spirit of innovation through Yes SF, which aims to revitalize our great city through meaningful collaboration that is deeply rooted in San Francisco’s vibrant community.”

Find more details on the selected Top Innovators and full list of collaborators here, and to learn more about Deloitte’s ongoing purpose initiatives please visit www.deloitte.com/us/purpose. 

About Deloitte

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500^® and more than 8,500 U.S.-based private companies. At Deloitte, we strive to live our purpose of making an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society. We leverage our unique blend of business acumen, command of technology, and strategic technology alliances to advise our clients across industries as they build their future. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Bringing more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 457,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

About UpLink 

UpLink is the open innovation platform of the World Economic Forum, dedicated to unlocking an ‘entrepreneur revolution’ to support positive systemic change for people and planet. Launched at the Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2020 in collaboration with Salesforce and Deloitte, Uplink is now a thriving ecosystem of 400+ Top Innovators, investors, experts, and organizations, who are driving positive impact for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more and join UpLink’s thriving innovation community at https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/.