There were bubbles at EY’s Copenhagen office on the first Friday in March – not to celebrate a big deal or an anniversary, but to mark a milestone: five startups had just completed the two-day bootcamp that kicks off their journey in EY’s Amplifier.
The impact accelerator is the crown jewel of the Nordic arm of EY’s corporate volunteering program. Over three months, two EY consultants donate 300 hours to each selected company in a tailored engagement.
And the five startups can look forward to it, says Johann Liebeton. He leads business development at BioHalo, which went through the accelerator half a year ago.
“The program is tailored, and during the initial bootcamp the consultants help assemble a plan that fits what your company needs. It lays a fantastic foundation for the work ahead,” he says.
An alternative to “forever chemicals”
BioHalo is a deep-tech startup spun out of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 2023. The company is tackling the problem of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), used in everything from non-stick pans and waterproof clothing to electronics.
PFAS are linked to serious environmental and health risks and are notoriously persistent in nature. The Nordic Council of Ministers estimates annual health costs of €52–84 billion across the European Economic Area due to PFAS exposure.
BioHalo’s approach is to develop biodegradable, bacteria-produced polymers as PFAS alternatives and it is now seeking partners to co-develop more sustainable prototypes—for example in semiconductor-related applications.
Raising €2–3 million
For a startup like BioHalo, fundraising is a constant challenge, Liebeton notes. This is where the accelerator played a central role.
“We don’t have revenue yet, and we need capital to scale our technology from the lab to industrial production,” he says.
Specifically, BioHalo plans an investment round in 2025 of €2–3 million (approx. DKK 15–22 million).
“We worked closely with two EY consultants, Sophie and Henrik, who helped us prepare that round,” Liebeton says.
EY: “We want to take responsibility”
Amplifier was born in Norway and has since expanded to Sweden and Denmark, with Finland expected to follow. EY Denmark’s Frederik K. Hansen, who leads the program locally, doesn’t hesitate to call it a success.
“We’ve seen it really lift companies that normally couldn’t afford the capabilities we bring,” he says.
For EY, it’s also about responsibility.
“As a big corporate, we want to contribute to the transition to a more sustainable future,” says Hansen. “We believe the best way is to invest our people and know-how in growth companies that have ideas to solve many of the problems we see around the world.”
In the Nordics, Amplifier collaborates with BioInnovation Institute (BII) and the EQT Foundation, among others; both can nominate promising startups from their communities.
Mapping the PFAS market
In early 2023, authorities in five European countries – Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden – submitted a joint proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to restrict PFAS under the REACH regulation.
ECHA published an updated proposal in 2025 reflecting more than 5,600 stakeholder comments; the agency’s scientific committees are continuing their assessment to inform a final restriction decision by the European Commission.
Those public comments were invaluable – but difficult to analyze at scale, says Liebeton.
He turned to Sophie and Henrik, who connected him with EY data and AI specialists. They built a dashboard that organized the thousands of inputs, giving BioHalo an actionable overview.
“That knowledge helped us identify, for example, Japanese actors that had commented on the EU process—potential signals of interest in the European market,” he says.
“It means we can reach out and explore collaboration on alternative solutions.”
900,000 volunteer hours—and counting
Amplifier is part of EY Ripples, a global corporate volunteering platform focused on scaling impact entrepreneurs, supporting the next generation and protecting the environment, with the ambition to positively impact one billion lives by 2030. EY reports hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours contributed so far.
This reflects a broader skills-based volunteering trend: programs that tap employees’ professional expertise – strategy, operations, data – rather than just general volunteer tasks. Research links such programs with benefits for nonprofit partners and for volunteers’ development and engagement.
Multiple studies also connect employee engagement to business outcomes; for example, Gallup’s long-running meta-analysis has linked highly engaged teams with ~21% higher profitability compared to low-engagement peers.
Hansen adds that in the Nordic Amplifier cohorts, it’s often younger consultants who put in the hours:
“They are professionals, but still early in their careers. They gain real project leadership experience – plus exposure to startups working on the solutions of tomorrow. It’s exciting.”
Look after the people
Experts caution that volunteer programs must remain genuinely voluntary. Participation should be balanced with workload, and employees should feel safe to say no when needed.
Hansen underscores that Amplifier hours are drawn from regular work time, not piled on top. Internal satisfaction scores are high, he says.
“You can feel it makes EY a bit more fun when you’re clearly creating value for people who need it.”
Commitment required
The value goes both ways, says Liebeton.
“I’m really happy with the outcome,” he says.
“But you have to commit. Three months go quickly. If you wait three weeks to reply to an email from a consultant, you waste precious time. Commit, and you can get a lot out of it. I highly recommend impact startups try to get into the program.”
