EVC is a new legal pro bono programme through which leading law firms provide top-quality free full-service legal support, and a leading IP firm provides bespoke IP support, to eligible early-stage greentech ventures (collectively, “Eco Ventures”) across the UK in annual cohorts. Cohort 1 launched in May 2025, supporting 21 ventures. Cohort 2 launches in November 2025.

- Twelve months of top-quality free full-service legal support, helping Eco Ventures to create robust companies by: (i) implementing strong corporate governance and employment practices; (ii) understanding and protecting IP; and (iii) negotiating commercial contracts and pre-seed/seed fundraising rounds, to name but a few.

- Bespoke IP support from a leading IP firm including a free IP health check and advice on steps for the Eco Venture to take to improve its IP position.

- Visible support from leading law / IP firms will boost Eco Ventures’ professional credibility.

- Learn how to deal with lawyers and corporate stakeholders generally.

- Can be inspired by, learn from and network with like-minded change-making Eco Ventures.

- Option to apply to join future annual cohorts.

Early-stage ventures who:

- have a primary mission of improving/saving our planet through their solution (which can be a product or a service; also, it doesn’t matter which greentech sector they focus on, e.g.

o Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing, including Built Environment;

o Clean Energy, Efficiency and Mobility;

o Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage;

o Circular Economy and Packaging;

o Agritech, Watertech and Foodtech; or

o Climate Finance and Intelligence;

- have received valuable external support, e.g. being connected to a UK university innovation hub, incubator, accelerator, venture builder/studio or makerspace/workspace (each, a “Supporting Organisation”) or having received equity funding from angel/VC investors or Innovate UK/Scottish Enterprise grant funding;

- are pre-Series A (ventures can be registered companies or not yet registered);

- are (i) pre-revenue or (ii) commercially launched and generating revenue; and

- are sole founders or part of a co-founding team.

No, providing a venture meets the eligibility criteria set out in these FAQs, we welcome all applications.

One individual should complete an application for the relevant Eco Venture and include details of any key team members.

No, you can be a sole founder.

From Friday 1 August to 11:59pm on Sunday 24 August 2025 (see the application process set out in more detail below).

We will review your application and may share it (or extracts from it) with our operations service provider, EVC member law firms and the Supporting Organisation you are connected to for the purposes of reviewing your application. Please see further details on how we will use your personal information in the Privacy Policy available on the EVC website.

Applications will be reviewed from Monday 25 August to Friday 5 September 2025.

We will review each applicant’s:

- mission (i.e. the environmental/climate problem the venture is looking to solve and its expected solution);

- approach (how the venture expects to execute on its idea and operationalise the venture);

- venture maturity/commercial traction (e.g. investment levels, TRL and revenue amounts (if any));

- actual/expected legal needs for the next 12 months and the expected timing for such legal needs arising (we are looking to provide substantial legal support and we will look more favourably on applications that show careful consideration of the venture’s legal needs); and

- level of external support (e.g. third party funding and support from a university innovation hub, incubator, accelerator, venture builder/studio or makerspace/workspace).

We are looking for applications from ambitious Eco Ventures that have an infectious zeal for saving the planet. We will be excited about innovations that have a potentially big planet-positive impact. Bear in mind that the application is not being read by scientists, engineers or technical experts, so explain your innovation and business clearly and succinctly and with as little technical jargon as possible.

Our law firms want to support Eco Ventures that have a reasonable prospect of success for their planet-saving innovation, so we are unlikely to accept Eco Ventures based solely on them having a cool innovative idea. It will be easier to impress us with a clear outline of traction you have received so far.

Finally, the key service of the EVC programme is the provision of free legal and IP support. We are more likely to accept Eco Ventures with a broad range of legal needs that have been thoughtfully set out in detail in the application form.

EVC member law firms have different criteria to determine the eligibility of ventures for pro bono support. Some firms are keen to support ventures that are “social enterprises” or that have “low-income” company directors/founders. Some firms focusing on social enterprises want to work with ventures that are recognised as a social enterprise by a third party such as Social Enterprise UK, whereas other firms can support ventures that could be deemed equivalent to a social enterprise. Firms supporting ventures whose company directors/founders have a “low-income” use a U.S. income test which sets the low-income threshold at £58,000 annual income. When assessing the £58,000 income threshold for each company director/founder, please consider salary, dividends and any other income stream.

We’re not overly prescriptive about what should be in the pitch deck, but it would help to include a high-level summary of your venture’s mission, approach, venture maturity, commercial traction, level of external support and actual/expected legal needs (again, with as little technical jargon as possible).

- Application submission: applications may be submitted from Friday 1 August to Sunday 24 August 2025.

- Application review: applications will be reviewed (and interview booking invitations will be issued) from Monday 25 August to Friday 5 September 2025.

- Interviews: selected applicants will be invited to book and attend a video interview from Monday 8 September to Friday 26 September 2025.

- Recommendation: EVC will recommend shortlisted Eco Ventures to its member law firms from Monday 29 September 2025 to Friday 3 October 2025 for inclusion in EVC Cohort 2.

- Decision: EVC and its member law firms will decide by Friday 31 October 2025 which interviewed Eco Ventures to accept into EVC Cohort 2.

- Notification: applicants will be informed by Monday 3 November 2025 whether they are invited to join EVC Cohort 2.

- Cohort 2 launch: the annual cohort launches w/c 3 November 2025 and runs for 12 months.

You will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of your application and, if selected for the interview phase, will be invited by Friday 5 September 2025 to book a video interview with EVC to be held between Monday 8 and Friday 26 September 2025.

Selected Eco Ventures will be assessed against the vetting criteria in a video interview (over Microsoft Teams) in September 2025. Interviews will begin with the applicant giving a short 5 to 10-minute presentation of their pitch deck to help the interviewer(s) better understand the Eco Venture’s mission, approach, venture maturity, commercial traction, level of external support and actual/expected legal needs.

By Monday 3 November 2025.

Week commencing Monday 3 November 2025.

We are looking to support Eco Ventures who, first and foremost, are laser-focused on saving/improving the planet in some way and have an exciting novel solution for doing so. We will select ventures that, as an aggregate cohort, are (i) connected to a range of Supporting Organisations, (ii) based across the breadth of the UK; (iii) focusing on a range of greentech solutions and (iv) at a range of Technology Readiness Levels/maturity levels.

EVC and its member law firms will decide, in their sole discretion, which Eco Ventures are accepted into any cohort.

We expect to launch Cohort 3 in early 2026.

EVC will welcome applications for an annual cohort from Eco Ventures that have been part of a prior cohort or have applied unsuccessfully for a prior cohort, provided the Eco Ventures (i) do not have the means to otherwise pay for legal support or (ii) have not been advised by EVC that they are not eligible to apply.

Eco Ventures will have a dedicated team of specialist lawyers from an EVC member law firm providing 12 months of free expert advice during an annual cohort. Each team should have lawyers covering four core areas (as needed): (i) corporate governance and fundraising; (ii) commercial contracts; (iii) employment; and (iv) IP. As needed teams will also cover other areas such as data protection/privacy, tax and regulatory compliance.

Each team will have a primary contact from their law firm who will coordinate the law firm’s legal advice to the Eco Venture. Ventures will also receive bespoke IP support from a leading IP firm.

Free legal support potentially worth £10,000s will be provided to each Eco Venture during an annual cohort. Law firms will also run virtual training sessions during the programme on core legal issues such as what to look out for in NDAs.

- The programme is designed to provide free full-service legal support as far as reasonably possible. Each EVC member law firm will escalate to EVC any legal matters that it cannot assist with so EVC can then refer the matters to the other EVC member law firms.

- We will not advise on any Eco Ventures Counsel contracts/disputes with their connected Supporting Organisation without the Supporting Organisation’s prior written consent (such consent to be requested, or not, by EVC in its sole discretion).

- We may not be able to advise on any contracts/disputes with any other Supporting Organisation (to be determined in EVC’s sole discretion).

- We will not provide legal support for the personal affairs of any individuals connected to an Eco Venture.

Non-legal experts will give talks on issues such as investment-readiness. Non-legal training may also be offered (TBC). EVC will also run networking events for the programme participants where Eco Ventures can network with their cohort members, law firms and other members of the UK climate tech community. EVC have also lined up a new corporate partnership providing valuable free support relating to fundraising – details to be announced very soon.

The legal advice from the law firms will be free. The only fees payable by Eco Ventures will be to their IP firm (i) for substantive support provided by the IP firm after the initial IP health check and advice and (ii) any fees that must be ultimately paid for by Eco Ventures, e.g. patent search/application filing fees.

A range of leading law firms will provide free full-service legal support, with a leading IP firm providing bespoke IP support. The firms will be announced shortly.

EVC is not an incubator, accelerator or venture building programme, so there is no bootcamp or anything similar being offered. Rather, we will provide Eco Ventures with a team of legal experts to assist with their legal needs during the annual cohort. Eco Ventures should send all their legal queries to their EVC legal team save in exceptional circumstances (see further detail below on exclusivity of legal support).

There will also be recommended but optional legal training and non-legal talks (and possibly training) on offer.

Eco Ventures will be expected to treat the programme and their lawyers suitably professionally, e.g. requesting advice in reasonable timeframes and responding to information requests/e-mails from their legal team in a timely fashion. Eco Ventures accepted into the programme will receive an induction guide that sets out in more detail what (i) EVC and its member law / IP firms expect from Eco Ventures and what (ii) Eco Ventures should expect from their law / IP firms.

Whilst most meetings will be virtual, Eco Ventures will be encouraged to try to meet their legal team in person at least once to help to build a close working relationship.

Given the extent of support provided through the programme, Eco Ventures are expected to obtain all their legal support exclusively through EVC during the annual cohort, save for exceptional circumstances such as:

(i) existing work being done by another law firm outside the programme; or

(ii) legal matters being addressed outside the programme where the supporting EVC legal team cannot assist.

Any queries from Eco Ventures about legal support that is in-scope or out-of-scope for the EVC programme should be first discussed with the Eco Venture’s primary contact at their law firm.

The IP support is optional (see further below).

Yes, the IP support through EVC differs from the legal support. We appreciate that Eco Ventures may already receive IP support from an IP firm and we do not expect Eco Ventures to relinquish that relationship. Therefore, any IP support provided in EVC is optional. Eco Ventures who already have IP support may wish to receive a “second opinion” on their IP position through a lighter-touch from our EVC IP firm.

Eco Ventures will either (i) leave the programme at the end of the annual cohort or (ii) if they have successfully gone through the application process, join the next annual cohort. If an Eco Venture is leaving the programme at the end of the annual cohort, it will be at the law / IP firm’s sole discretion as to whether they would like to continue supporting the Eco Venture with any live matters once the cohort has ended.

EVC was founded by Mitesh Jagatia. Before founding EVC, Mitesh was a senior in-house lawyer for 16 years at Sky, Bloomberg and Moody’s, and he also worked in-house at a dynamic tech startup.

Prior to EVC, Mitesh co-created and formerly co-led the award-winning Green Tech Legal Collaborative, supporting early greentech ventures connected to Imperial College London and Undaunted, and he was also a Steering Committee member of the In House Pro Bono Group.

Please e-mail Mitesh Jagatia at mitesh@ecoventurescounsel.com. Best of luck with your application!