Accelerating innovation around sustainability solutions is critical to supporting industry achieve their sustainability commitments. Academia and startups play a key role in driving this innovation, however, defining focus areas and identifying the most promising projects early in the process is necessary to accelerating these efforts. Micron understands this and has implemented a novel proof of concept (PoC) business process. The process is aimed at defining our focus areas, identifying key partners to help us solve our challenges, developing criteria for success, establishing the scope of work and ultimately, obtaining budget and executive approval prior to PoC. We focus on understanding our biggest sustainability challenges, then our venture scout champions partner with existing forums and academia to develop complex technology solutions. Ultimately, our PoC not only supports corporations and investors in recognizing and partnering with impactful sustainability startups, but it is also accelerating the incorporation of sustainability into core business strategies, driving innovation and fostering a greener future.