Climate Positive

In this week's episode, we're stepping into the world of sustainable footwear with Kirsten Blackburn, Director of The KEEN Effect — the social impact division for hybrid footwear brand KEEN. Since its founding in 2003, KEEN has evolved into a leading global footwear company renowned for innovation, originality, and a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Throughout the conversation with Gil, Kirsten, who has spearheaded environmental, social, and governance strategies across for-profit and non-profit sectors for over a decade, shares invaluable insights into KEEN's sustainability journey and its global commitment to ethical practices. Additionally, she sheds light on several actionable strategies to reduce the broader footwear industry's environmental impact.

Links: 

• Kirsten Blackburn LinkedIn
• Kirsten Blackburn Twitter
• KEEN LinkedIn
• KEEN Twitter
• Website: Keen Impact
• 2022 KEEN Impact Report
• KEEN Green Paper: The Road to PFAS Free, a step-by-step guide to removing PFAS from your supply chain
• Video: What is the KEEN Effect?
• Video: The Newport: How the World's Ugliest Sandal Was Born

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

For several years, well-intentioned companies seeking to reduce their emissions from electricity consumption – a primary component of their Scope 2 emissions – have bought Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) or signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Known as energy or megawatt hour matching, this approach, which forms the backbone of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Scope 2 Market-Based Method accounting system, does not distinguish the time, location or emissions profile of a company’s electricity consumption from that of its REC and PPA interventions to offset this consumption.

But as different grids have decarbonized at different rates over the years, the emissions impact of a REC purchased or PPA signed in one location at a particular time no longer necessarily has a similar impact to RECs purchased or PPAs signed in different locations covering different periods of time. In essence, at least as it pertains to carbon impact, not every megawatt hour is created equal. 

In this episode, recorded at the GreenFin 23 Conference in Boston, Chad leads a panel of industry experts – including Katherine Collins of Putnam Investments; Hank He of Tabors Caramanis Rudkevich; Lee Taylor of REsurety; and Rob Threlkeld of General Motors – on the deficiencies of energy matching, the benefits of a new approach known as carbon matching and the resulting implications for ongoing efforts to reform Scope 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. 

Links: 

• Tabors Caramanis Rudkevich White Paper: A Comparison of Strategies for Tackling Corporate Scope 2 Carbon Emissions
• REsurety White Paper: Emissions Implications for Clean Hydrogen Accounting Methods
• General Motors 2022 Sustainability Report

Episode recorded June 26, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

Nanobubbles provide an effective solution to many of the challenges of climate change. These nanoscopic bubbles are 2500 times smaller than a single grain of salt and can be formed with any gas.  Unlike larger bubbles, they remain suspended in liquid longer and remain stable until they interact with surfaces or contaminants. Their size allows them to achieve dissolved oxygen levels many times greater than those achieved using traditional aeration technologies. With applications from industries including agriculture, aquaculture, oil and gas, mining, and municipal and surface water treatment, nanobubbles can improve energy efficiency, save water, and reduce chemical use. 

In this episode Hilary Langer talks with Moleaer’s CEO Nick Dyner.  Moleaer provides nanobubbles-as-a-service, nanobubble equipment, and water quality improvement around the world. 

Links: 

Moleaer

Article: Capitalism Vs. Climate Change: Moleaer’s Innovative Nanobubbles (forbes.com)

Article: Moleaer Deploys Nanobubble Generators to Eliminate Foul Odour (h2oglobalnews.com)

NOAA: Nanobubble Ozone Technology Shown to Eliminate Invasive Species in Ballast Water

Article: A breath of fresh air: how nanobubbles can make aquaculture more sustainable

Article: Nanobubbles as an Emerging Sanitation Technology

Episode recorded: May 25, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

Every community across the globe produces waste. This waste can come from landfills, decomposing food, animal manure, and wastewater sludge. As this waste decomposes, it emits natural gas – primarily composed of methane, which is a naturally occurring but very potent and harmful greenhouse gas. In fact, methane is nearly 30 times more potent at trapping heat in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) projects capture this methane before it harms our environment and repurposes it to create clean and reliable energy that is used to generate electricity, power our vehicles, heat our homes, cook our food, and many other productive purposes. In this episode, Chad and Gil speak with Michael Bakas, Executive Vice President at Ameresco, a leading cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Michael details the various RNG production pathways and revenue streams, discusses his views on RNG market growth drivers, and makes a compelling case for the essential role of RNG in the energy transition. 

Links: 

• Michael Bakas Bio 
• Ameresco White Paper: Making Your Organization Carbon Neutral with Renewable Natural Gas
• Ameresco White Paper: Beyond Hydrogen: Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) & Deep Decarbonization
• Ameresco Case Study: BMW Landfill Gas to Energy, SC
• RNG Coalition

Episode recorded May 4, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

In this week's episode, Gil speaks with Matt Rogers, the founder and CEO of Mill, a startup revolutionizing how we tackle food waste. They delve into the inspiration behind Mill, discussing how the idea came about and the parallels to Matt's previous work as the co-founder of Nest, the company behind the iconic learning thermostat and other smart home products. Matt discusses the functionality of Mill's kitchen bin, which transforms food scraps into nutrient-rich animal feed, and how the company is bringing this groundbreaking product to the market. He explains the emissions profile of Mill's appliance and the positive impact it can have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Also, Matt shares his insights on the crucial role of technology and innovation in driving sustainable solutions.

Links: 

• Mill Website
• Mill Impact Stats
• Matt Rogers Twitter
• Matt Rogers LinkedIn
• Mill LinkedIn
• Mill Twitter
• Mill Instagram
• Mill TikTok

Episode recorded May 2. 2023 

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

Seafood provides nearly 20% of the animal protein humans consume globally. This growing source of protein is also rather healthy with many of our nutrient-rich foods coming from aquatic creatures. But already, the supply of our wild capture seafood has flattened, meaning that the vast majority of our global fisheries today are being overfished in an unsustainable manner. 

Fortunately, Finless Foods and other sustainable seafood startups are working to bring sustainability-driven innovation to the seafood space. With both plant-based and cell-cultured options, consumers are finally beginning to experience the taste and value of seafood alternatives that are better for our oceans and their inhabitants as well as our climate. In this episode, Chad Reed talks with Finless Foods’ chief strategy officer Shannon Consentino-Roush about the past, present and future of the sustainable seafood movement and industry. 

Links: 

Finless Foods

Article: World Tuna Day: How sustainable are tuna fisheries?

Article: Wild seafood has a lower carbon footprint than red meat, cheese, and chicken, according to latest data

Episode recorded: April 21, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

In this week's episode, Gil Jenkins and Hilary Langer speak with Jason Horowitz and Emma Bubola of The New York Times about their recent cover story on Venice's battle against the relentless forces of rising seas. They discuss the unlikely early success of the MOSE sea walls in protecting the city during high water events that have become increasingly commonplace due to climate change.

Links: 

As Sea Levels Rise, the Savior of Venice May Also Be Its Curse, (The New York Times, April 2, 2023)

MOSE Venezia Project

All Emma Bubola Stories

All Jason Horowitz Stories

Jason on Twitter

Emma on Twitter

Recorded: April 21, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

With extreme weather events proliferating, insurance companies are already on the front lines of climate change. In this episode, Chad Reed speaks with Sarah Chapman, Chief Sustainability Officer for Manulife – one of the world’s largest insurance providers and investment managers. Sarah discusses how Manulife incorporates ESG risks and opportunities, including emissions accounting and biodiversity issues, into its operations and investment decisions, the three pillars of Manulife’s ambitious impact agenda, and the role of industry associations and policy in supporting financial material ESG initiatives. 

Links:

Manulife’s Environmental, Social and Governance Report (2021)

Manulife’s Impact Agenda

Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

Episode recorded: April 12, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

More than 90% of Fortune 500 companies report their emissions using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP), which supplies the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards. But despite significant advances in data analytics around emissions measurement, it’s been nearly a decade since the GHGP was last updated. Thankfully, the NGOs that manage the GHGP recently kicked off the update process, soliciting feedback from stakeholders across the spectrum. 

In this episode, Chad Reed and HASI Strategic Advisor Brendan Herron speak with Faraz Ahmad, Head of Net Zero Grid for Amazon. Faraz dives deep into the efforts of the Emissions First Partnership, a consortium of companies working together to reduce their emissions with the most impactful clean energy projects and to move away from megawatt hour matching and toward integration of an emissions-based framework into the GHGP. Faraz also discusses how underserved regions – both across the globe and within the U.S. itself – could economically benefit from an emissions first approach to the energy transition.

Links: 

Greehouse Gas Protocol

Emissions First Partnership

CarbonCount

Episode recorded: March 28, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].

Expanding access to clean energy like solar is essential to global climate goals, and it is especially impactful for the residents on island nations in the Caribbean that face high energy costs and are exposed to increasingly violent storms. As the director of projects for the Rocky Mountain Institute (now known as RMI), Chris Burgess navigates the decarbonization and decentralization of energy in markets that have previously been left out of the energy transition. 

Hilary Langer and Chris Burgess (Director of Projects for RMI) discuss why decentralized power is especially important to quality of life in underserved communities, how to establish alignment among disparate stakeholders, and how urgent action can be scaled. 

Links: 

RMI on 60 Minutes

RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute)

RMI’s “Solar Under Storm” Report

Christopher Burgess on LinkedIn

Amory Lovins, Soft Energy Paths

Mia Mottley UN Profile: Champions of the Earth 

Episode recorded: March 23, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected]or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at [email protected].