Due Diligence Checklists › ClimateTech › Pre-Seed
ClimateTech Startup Investment Checklist: Pre-Seed Stage (2026)
This checklist covers 20 due diligence items for ClimateTech startups at the Pre-Seed stage. Each item has been validated against institutional investor practice. DDR automates the majority of these checks from a single pitch deck PDF upload.
20 checklist items · 2 red flags automatically detected · See a sample DDR report
Pre-Seed Requirements
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Founding team quality and relevant domain expertise
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Problem evidence: clear pain, ideally lived experience
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Market size: TAM must justify a venture-scale outcome
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Early signal of demand: waitlist, LOIs, or first customers
✓
Founder-market fit: why this team for this problem
✓
Proprietary insight competitors don't have
ClimateTech Sector
✓
GHG Protocol alignment documented and audited
✓
SEC and CSRD compliance roadmap reviewed
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Carbon credit quality policy reviewed
✓
Enterprise reference customers in regulated industries confirmed
Deep Dive
✓
GHG methodology alignment with GHG Protocol and ISO 14064
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SEC and EU CSRD regulatory compliance roadmap
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Carbon credit quality verification for any offset products
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Data security for sensitive corporate emissions data
Regulatory
✓
Verify: SEC climate disclosure rule: Scope 1, 2, and material Scope 3 reporting for public companies
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Verify: EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): mandatory for EU companies and US multinationals
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Verify: Greenwashing liability: FTC Green Guides and EU green claims directive
OSINT Signals
✓
Check: CDP response quality for enterprise customers
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Check: GHG Protocol methodology certification
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Check: LinkedIn sustainability team at target enterprise accounts
DDR AUTOMATES THIS CHECKLIST
Upload a ClimateTech startup pitch deck and DDR automatically completes 14+ of these 20 checklist items — sourcing data from 13 OSINT signals, benchmarking against 2 comparable companies, and detecting all 2 critical red flags.
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