KPMG announces Nature Positive Challenge 2023 winners

• KPMG Nature Positive Prize of $100,000 being granted to winning venture, Xylo Systems.
• Inaugural KPMG People’s Choice Award of $50,000 won by Cooperative Advantage Alliance
• Five amazing finalists to share a pool of tailored advisory services (valued at $250,000) to help scale their businesses.

• Cooperative Advantage Alliance (Lae, Papua New Guinea) – supporting local communities to access and establish sustainable fishing practices and crop management techniques.
• Hullbot  (NSW, Australia) – deploying autonomous underwater robots to monitor and improve the health of oceans.
• Restore Blue (NSW, Australia) – pioneering a method to rehabilitate lost ‘blue carbon’ wetlands alongside farmers, Traditional Owners and industry partners.
• Wilderlands (VIC, Australia) – protecting vulnerable habitats through a digital biodiversity marketplace for individuals and organisations.
• Xylo Systems (NSW, Australia) – helping businesses to manage their biodiversity footprint with a cloud-based, AI biodiversity intelligence platform.

KPMG Australia has announced the winners and finalists of the KPMG Nature Positive Challenge 2023 – an initiative that helps eco ventures accelerate positive outcomes for nature and biodiversity in Australia and the South Pacific.

“All five of our finalists were hugely impressive – but Xylo Systems stood out to the judging panel because of their unique approach in helping industry assess their biodiversity footprint using an AI biodiversity intelligence platform, ”said Andrew Yates, CEO of KPMG Australia.

Xylo Systems will be awarded the cash prize of $100,000 together with KPMG bespoke advisory services. Cooperative Advantage Alliance has won $50,000 in a new category – the inaugural KPMG People’s Choice Award, voted as favourite by KPMG staff across Australia and the South Pacific.

Andrew Yates said: “We all depend on nature – that’s why our firm has made a public and ongoing commitment to understanding and improving our impact on nature and biodiversity. We’ve been very impressed by the quality of ventures that applied this year. Xylo Systems, the ultimate winner demonstrated an innovative approach to helping industries, like property development and energy, assess their interface with nature.

Xylo Co-Founder and CEO Camille Goldstone-Henry, [who is also an Aboriginal Australian woman and descendent of Kamilaroi], and Jada Andersen, Xylo Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, said they were proud and delighted to have won this year’s Nature Positive Challenge.

Camille Goldstone-Henry said: “Winning the KPMG Challenge is an absolute game-changer for Xylo Systems, and we couldn't be more excited and hopeful about what this means for our natural world and for our company's future. The financial boost and access to advisory services will allow us to fast-track our global expansion plans to key markets in the US and UK, in our mission to transform business for biodiversity globally. We’ll also be using the prize to boost our R&D capacity and we look forward to collaborating with KPMG advisory experts in biodiversity and natural capital accounting to bring even more transparent and reliable biodiversity data and metrics to our platform. We’d also like to take a moment to recognise and celebrate our fellow finalists who are all out here fighting the good fight. We are incredibly proud to be doing this work alongside such passionate and innovative startups.”

Following its successful launch in 2022, the Nature Positive Challenge was expanded to include South Pacific entrants from Fiji and PNG. This year’s South Pacific finalist was from PNG and won the People’s Choice Award.

Cooperative Advantage alliance Co-Founder, Martha Raka said: “The $50,000 can provide training and education to Cooperative members, promote tourism, and allow us to develop ‘Farmer’s Portal’, which provides e-commerce, digital information and services to farmers and fishermen.”

In the final stage of the Challenge this week, the five selected ventures pitched their organisations to a panel of five judges.  They showed how their innovative solutions, business models, and teams were helping solve urgent issues facing our planet – whether their focus was on land or below water.

• Helping ventures that accelerate positive outcomes for nature and biodiversity in Australia, Fiji and PNG.
• Open to the most innovative startups and impact ventures working on ideas, solutions and technology addressing biodiversity and blue economy related challenges.
• Five ventures share a pool of bespoke consulting, tax or accounting services valued at $250,000 from KPMG to help scale-up and grow their nature-positive impact.
• The ultimate KPMG Nature Positive Prize of $100,000 granted to the winning venture $50,000 awarded to a venture following a ‘People’s Choice’ vote by KPMG staff.
• The Challenge also connects ventures to beneficial industry, business, science, knowledge and community partners, and impact investors. 

Ash Pritchard
+61 411 020 680
apritchard2@kpmg.com.au

Marjorie Johnston
+61 407 329 430
mjohnston4@kpmg.com.au