Brand colours · Climate tech
Brand colours for climate tech startups
A ready-to-use palette for a climate tech brand, tested for contrast and shown on a real app screen, pitch deck and business card. Copy the hex codes, or use it to see what good looks like before you choose your own.
Meet the sample brand
To show the palette working, we built it for a fictional climate tech company.
How it should feel
Leaf green and earth brown are everywhere in climate. They can feel like activism when buyers want ROI. So Solstice Grid goes a different way, using solar amber as its signature and deep current for the moments that matter.
Fonts: Space Grotesk for headings, IBM Plex Sans for body text.
The palette
Four colours, each with one job. Click any swatch to copy its hex code.
Solar Amber
#F2A93B · RGB 242, 169, 59Warm sun amber escapes the default leaf green of climate brands.
Deep Current
#1F5C8C · RGB 31, 92, 140A confident blue for data, savings and engineering detail.
Carbon
#151A1E · RGB 21, 26, 30Near-black that makes charts and numbers look precise.
Daylight
#FAF6EE · RGB 250, 246, 238A sunny off-white that keeps the brand optimistic.
A good split: mostly light, dark for text, primary for key moments, accent sparingly.
The palette in use
Colours only prove themselves on real things. Here it is on the three places a climate tech startup shows up first.
App screen
Pitch deck slide
Business card, front and back
Contrast check
Text must stay readable. We checked each pairing against the WCAG standard, where 4.5 to 1 passes for body text.
| Use | Sample | Ratio | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body text | Aa Solstice Grid | 16.3 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Text on primary | Aa Solstice Grid | 9.5 : 1 | Pass AA |
| Accent on dark | Aa Solstice Grid | 2.5 : 1 | Avoid for text |
| Primary on light | Aa Solstice Grid | 1.9 : 1 | Avoid for text |
| Light on dark | Aa Solstice Grid | 16.3 : 1 | Pass AA |
What to know about colour in climate tech
The palette is only a start. These are the traps we see most in this industry.
What the category already owns
Leaf green and earth brown are everywhere in climate. They can feel like activism when buyers want ROI.
Avoid
- Green-on-green layouts that blur charts.
- Gradients that look like stock "eco" templates.
Put your palette on a savings chart first. Climate buyers decide on numbers, so the colours must make the payback line obvious.
Choose your own in four steps
Use the sample as a reference, then make it yours.
Write your positioning
Colour follows strategy. Know who you serve and how you want them to feel first.
Map the competition
Screenshot five climate tech competitors and note the colours they own. Pick a lane nobody holds.
Build four colours
A primary, an accent, a dark and a light. Check contrast before anything else.
Test it on real things
Your app, a deck slide and the place customers meet you offline. Fix what fails.
Questions
What are good brand colours for a climate tech startup?
Start from a primary that the category does not already own. Leaf green and earth brown are everywhere in climate. They can feel like activism when buyers want ROI. The sample palette here uses Solar Amber (#F2A93B) as the primary with Deep Current (#1F5C8C) as the accent.
How many colours should a startup brand have?
Four is enough: a primary, an accent, a dark for text and a light for backgrounds. Use them roughly 60, 30 and 10 percent, with the accent the smallest share.
Can I use this palette for my own brand?
Yes, it is free to use as a starting point. Change at least the primary so it fits your positioning and stands apart from your competitors.
How does Astitva choose brand colours?
Astitva writes your brand strategy from a short brief, suggests a palette that fits it, checks the text contrast and then uses the same colours across your logo, brand book and pitch deck.
More for climate tech founders
Every guide for this industry, in one place.
Get a palette made for your startup
Astitva writes your brand strategy from a short brief, picks colours that fit it, checks contrast, and uses them across your logo, brand book and pitch deck.
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