Seattle – Amazon has selected 11 new startups and scale-ups to join the latest ClimateTech cohort of the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, a four-week program designed to foster the development of innovative climate technologies. The initiative combines expert-led workshops and tailored mentoring sessions, while also offering some participants the chance to run pilot projects with Amazon in Europe.

Chosen from more than 550 applicants, the selected companies are tackling three critical environmental challenges: energy efficiency, waste reduction, and water resource management. Among them is NANDO, an Italian company that turns ordinary trash bins into smart waste-monitoring stations. Using an app to track small bins, sensors for larger containers, and AI-powered cameras to analyze waste in real time, the system can identify more than 70 different types of waste, helping facility managers quickly spot recycling errors and contamination.

“Waste management has remained largely unchanged for decades, relying on manual checks and delayed reporting,” explained Riccardo Leonardi, CEO and co-founder of NANDO. “We believe technology and sustainability must go hand in hand. By introducing AI into this sector, we are changing the way organizations think about waste—transforming it from a problem into an opportunity for impact.”

Launched in 2022, the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator initially focused on supporting the creation of more sustainable consumer products, later expanding to include climate-tech solutions. With this new cohort, the program has now supported over 70 companies across six editions.