Young Innovators Success Stories: Chloe Foster, Applied Negative Emissions Centre (ANEC), Scotland

Scotland-based Chloe Foster co-founded Applied Negative Emissions Centre (ANEC) to support organisations and businesses with their carbon removal journey.

When she won the Young Innovators Award, Chloe already had some client work under her belt.

“We had some previous success with client work and had worked with a few councils across England to develop their decarbonisation plans. We were building momentum with the aim of becoming a well-known name in carbon removal,” she says.

Business vision and strategy

A year on, Chloe has secured a number of new clients and completed projects with Scottish Enterprise and a council based in London. This has given her more experience of working with organisations, as well as new case studies and a wider reach.

The Young Innovators programme has also helped her to refine her business vision and strategy, and explore potential finance and cash flow tools for ANEC.

“Looking at our cash flow and business vision gave us more stability, control and reminded us of the overall goal we’re working towards,” she explains.

A confidence boost

Chloe believes her biggest areas of personal growth have been in her confidence and time management skills. A key part of that is learning when to switch off.

“The programme has boosted my confidence, grown my business skills and helped me with better self-management practices. These include organisation, prioritisation and time management. It’s also important to know when to switch off from the business and take some time for myself,” she says.

In addition to increasing confidence in her strategic skills, Chloe is more sure of herself when it comes to presenting ANEC to others.

“I feel more confident talking about my business, engaging with the investment community and presenting in front of large groups.”

Mentoring advice

Like many Young Innovators, Chloe highlights the value of the programme’s mentoring support. Her innovation champion understood what it was like to run a new business, and she describes the experience as “really influential” and even “therapeutic”.

“It’s been great to have someone to turn to for advice, confirmation or just to vent. It’s motivating and comforting to know there’s someone outside of our own team that is always supportive and available to assist and work towards the success of the business. It sparked lots of new developments,” she says.

She adds that the Young Innovators funding also gave ANEC the freedom and flexibility to experiment with new ideas.

“The funding covered the running costs for the company over the year. It also allowed us to try new things, utilise the full potential of the platforms we use and relieve financial pressures.”

Be active in the community

With new skills in place and a clear business vision, it’s an exciting time for ANEC. Chloe hopes to work on several new projects over the next year, as well as expand her range of services and products. That includes raising general awareness and understanding of carbon removal, and the role it plays in the Net Zero journey.

For the next cohort of Young Innovators, Chloe recommends making the most of the programme’s community and extended network.

“Talk to your cohort and be active in the supportive community you have there. Have regular meetings with your innovation champion and make sure to utilise their network too. Finally, be open to new opportunities, even if they aren’t 100 per cent what you think you’re looking for,” she says.

Join us and become part of the Young Innovators community. Find out more about the programme here.

Read the other Young Innovators’ success stories here.