The San Francisco Bay Area’s climate-tech market spans carbon accounting, emissions intelligence, distributed energy, waste systems, and building electrification. The founders in this group reflect that range. Some are building software for consumer brands and infrastructure operators, while others are focused on sensors, energy systems, and zero-waste operations. Together, they show how broad Bay Area climate tech has become in 2026.
Davida Herzl
Co-founder & CEO — Aclima
Davida Herzl is the co-founder and CEO of Aclima. She has spent years working at the intersection of environmental justice, public health, and climate technology, and her public profile is closely tied to the idea that better measurement is a prerequisite for better policy and action. Her work has made her one of the more visible Bay Area founders building climate technology around real-world environmental data.
Aclima is a San Francisco company focused on environmental intelligence, air-pollution mapping, and climate emissions measurement. Its platform is built around block-by-block sensing and analysis, and the company has worked on large-scale measurement initiatives in California and beyond. That places Aclima in a part of climate tech centered on data infrastructure for cities, regulators, and communities rather than consumer-facing products.
Julia Collins
Founder & CEO — Planet FWD
Julia Collins is the founder and CEO of Planet FWD. Before starting the company, she was already well known in Bay Area startup circles through her work building food and consumer businesses, including Zume. Her more recent work has centered on climate and supply chains, giving her a founder profile that bridges consumer products, food systems, and sustainability.
Planet FWD is a Bay Area climate-tech company building decarbonization software for the consumer industry. The company describes its platform around helping brands understand and reduce the carbon footprint of products and supply chains. Its focus puts it in a part of climate tech that is closely tied to consumer packaged goods, procurement, and product development rather than energy or hardware alone.
Alexandra Rasch Castillo
Co-founder & CEO — Caban
Alexandra Rasch Castillo is the co-founder and CEO of Caban. Her background is tied to building and scaling companies in technology and energy, and she has been publicly associated with distributed energy and infrastructure systems across multiple markets. That gives her a founder profile rooted in both operations and energy access.
Caban builds energy systems and energy-as-a-service infrastructure, with work spanning telecom, distributed energy, and resilience-focused power solutions. The company has described itself as founded in 2018 by Alexandra Rasch Castillo and Brian Pevear, and its business sits in a practical layer of climate tech where electrification, reliability, and power management meet commercial deployment.
Sara Eve Fuentes
Co-Founder & President — SmartWaste
Sara Eve Fuentes is the co-founder and president of SmartWaste. Her background includes more than a decade in the waste and recycling industry, and she has also been active in Women in Cleantech and Sustainability. Her public profile is closely tied to zero-waste systems, circularity, and operational efficiency in waste management.
SmartWaste is a San Jose company building a waste-management technology platform for capital projects, programs, and operations. The company focuses on improving efficiency in waste systems and vendor management, placing it in a part of climate tech that is tied to materials handling, construction-related waste, and operational decarbonization rather than consumer behavior alone.
Jane Melia
Co-Founder & CEO — Harvest Thermal
Jane Melia is the co-founder and CEO of Harvest Thermal. Her background includes executive work in energy and climate-related industries, and her recent public recognition has positioned her as a visible founder in building electrification and clean heating. That gives her a strong Bay Area founder profile at the intersection of hardware, energy systems, and home decarbonization.
Harvest Thermal is a Bay Area climate-tech company focused on heat-pump-based home heating and hot water systems. Its work is tied to building electrification and the effort to replace more carbon-intensive residential energy systems with cleaner alternatives. That places the company in one of the most practical parts of climate tech: improving how homes use energy every day.
Where Bay Area Women in ClimateTech Are Building
These five founders represent very different parts of the Bay Area climate-tech market. Aclima is focused on environmental intelligence, Planet FWD on decarbonization software for consumer brands, Caban on distributed energy systems, SmartWaste on waste-technology operations, and Harvest Thermal on electrified heating and home energy systems.
That range reflects how broad the category has become. Bay Area climate tech now includes software, sensors, energy systems, and operational infrastructure, with founders building for brands, builders, utilities, and public-sector stakeholders rather than one single customer type.
The Bay Area’s innovation story also extends into healthcare and biotechnology. Read the San Francisco Bay Area Women HealthTech Founders to Watch in 2026 for another look at the women building the next generation of care, diagnostics, and health technology.
