Inevitable

Today's guest is Dan White, Co-Founder & CEO of Clean Crop Technologies.

Clean Crop Technologies provides a solution for solid food supply chains, which currently choose between killing pathogens and maintaining the health of crops. Eliminating this trade-off, Clean Crop's product treats pathogens while leaving the food intact. Utilizing groundbreaking research, the startup reduces molds, toxins, and pests in commercial-scale services for the global grain and nut sectors. In June 2020, Clean Crop Technologies raised $3M in a Seed round led by Prime Impact Fund. Before co-founding Clean Crop Technologies, Dan served as the Technical Director at ACDI/VOCA. Dan began his career in the US horticulture industry and spend the past decade in agri-business development and agro-input markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. He has over 16 years of experience in horticulture, nut, and grain value chains as an Agtech Entrepreneur. 

In the episode, Dan explains how Clean Crop Technologies was founded, its solution, and the technology they use. Dan outlines their market strategy and how to evaluate potential customers. We also dive into a broader discussion about the current agriculture systems and how they impact our future. Dan is a great guest, and it was exciting to learn more about Clean Crop Technologies.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded July 26th, 2021

To learn more about Clean Crop Technologies, visit: https://cleancroptech.com/

To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/clean-crop-technologies

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Thomas Jonas, Co-Founder & CEO of Nature's Fynd.

Nature’s Fynd is a Chi­ca­­go-based food com­pa­ny cre­at­ing ver­sa­tile alterna­tive pro­teins to nour­ish the world’s grow­ing pop­u­la­tion while nur­tur­ing the plan­et. Born out of research con­duct­ed for NASA on microbes in Yellowstone Nation­al Park, the company’s break­through tech­nol­o­gy pro­duces Fy™. 

Before Nature's Fynd, Thomas was President of Beauty & Personal Care and Home & Garden at MeadWestvaco, a packaging corporation based in Virginia, and General Manager of Alcan Beauty Solutions, a French packaging company. Thomas has an MBA from HEC Paris. While taking a sabbatical in Hawai'i, Thomas met his co-founder, Mark Kozubal. Mark was working for NASA, researching ways to find life on other planets which led him to explore Yellowstone, where he discovered the Fy™ protein. Since founding the company, Thomas has served as CEO of Nature's Fynd.

In this episode, Thomas and I explore the unique solution that Nature's Fynd is providing, the problem the company is working to solve, and the startup's market strategy. He also gives advice to entrepreneurs looking to raise capital, an overview of their most recent $350M raise, and how to influence customers at the shelves. Thomas is a great guest and it was fascinating to learn more about Nature's Fynd. 

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded July 16th, 2021

For more information about Nature's Fynd, visit: https://www.naturesfynd.com/

For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/thomas-jonas

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Jeff McAulay, Co-founder & President of Energetic Insurance. 

Energetic Insurance is an InsurTech startup with a novel, data-driven approach to developing new insurance products for the renewable energy industry. Before co-founding Energetic Insurance, Jeff worked in distributed energy resources at TechBridge Program Manager and solar, storage, and distributed energy resources at EnerNOC. While at EnerNOC, Jeff discovered many small- and mid-sized businesses don't have an investment-grade credit rating. With backgrounds in insurance and renewable energy, Jeff and his co-founder, James Bowen, invented a new kind of insurance product to backstop the credit risk of commercial electricity buyers and make financing renewable energy projects easier.

Jeff walks me through his time at EnerNOC and how that motivated him to co-found Energetic Insurance. He also explains Energetic Insurance's mission, product, and the problem it's working to solve. Jeff and I discuss the key phasing of the company, what success looks like for the startup, and why a PPA model is successful in renewable energy financing. Jeff is a great guest, especially for those looking to deploy commercial renewable energy.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded July 21st, 2021

To learn more about Energetic Insurance, visit: https://www.energeticinsurance.com/

To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/energetic-insurance

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Pat Sapinsley, Managing Director of Cleantech Initiatives at the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. 

Urban Future Lab is a non-profit center focused on cleantech innovation in New York that runs several programs focused on market-ready climate solutions. In 2014, Pat assumed the role of Managing Director of Cleantech Initiatives at Urban Future Lab, bringing over 15 years of expertise in the industry, connecting startups to funding sources, customers, and business mentors. Pat started her career as a LEED AP architect with a degree from Harvard's design school before shifting her focus to cleantech innovation. Since then, she has worked in venture capital at Good Energies and as a consultant and advisor to startups focused on building energy-efficient spaces. She also served as CEO of Watt Not, an LED lighting consultancy, and as President of Build Efficiently LLC, a firm deploying energy-efficient technologies. 

In this episode, Pat and I cover her career leading up to Urban Future Lab, an overview of UFL's programs, and the criteria UFL looks for when determining which startups to back. We also dive into how policy affects UFL's work, UFL's success rate, and how the programs are funded. Pat is a fantastic guest, especially for founders and entrepreneurs in the cleantech space.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded July 2nd, 2021

For more information about Urban Future Lab, visit: http://ufl.nyc/

For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/pat-sapinsley

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Jasmine Crowe, Founder & CEO of Goodr Co.

Every year, 80 billion pounds of food is wasted in the US, just from consumer-facing businesses. Food waste is also a massive climate problem. When food is wasted, it ends up in landfills and starts emitting greenhouse gases. To tackle this problem, Jasmine founded Goodr, a sustainable food surplus management company leveraging technology to reduce food waste and feed the hungry. Prior to Goodr, Jasmine founded BlackCelebrityGiving.com, where she helped start over 1,400 non-profits. She also holds a BA in Mass Communications from North Carolina Central University and has given multiple TED talks about ending hunger. 

In this episode, Jasmine and I explore the adverse effects of food waste on hunger and the environment. Jasmine walks me through what motivated her to found Goodr, key phases and raises to date, and the company's future. We also dive into the barriers to distributing food, why food waste is ultimately a policy problem, and its climate impacts. It was great to sit down with Jasmine and learn more about Goodr.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded July 22nd, 2021

To learn more about Goodr, visit: https://www.goodr.co/

To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/goodr

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Michael Terrell, Director of Energy at Google.

Michael is the Director of Energy at Google, where he leads global strategy and 24/7 carbon-free energy initiatives for Google's data centers and global energy portfolio. In this role, he has advanced new approaches to Google's procurement of over 5GW of renewable power, pioneered groundbreaking renewable energy purchase programs, and delivered landmark projects such as converting coal plants to data centers. Before joining Google in the early 2000s, Michael worked in energy and climate law and policy. In addition, he's held various roles in the Federal government, including the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Clinton, where he helped guide US policy on energy and environmental issues. Michael holds a JD from the University of Michigan, an MS from Yale University's Environment School, and a BS from The University of the South.

I was looking forward to sitting down with Michael because Google has a massive footprint and influence as a tech leader. In this episode, Michael gives me an overview of his role as the Director of Energy, how his family's coal mining company influences his climate journey, and key learnings he's had over the past 14 years at Google. We dive into Google's clean energy commitments, how the company has evolved since the early 00s, and where the future lies for the tech giant. I also pepper Michael with questions about his thoughts on carbon capture, if natural gas and fossil fuel companies fit into the clean energy transition, and what policies would accelerate Google's initiatives and a greener future. Micheal is a fantastic guest.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded June 25th, 2021

For more information about Google Sustainability Initiatives, visit: https://sustainability.google/commitments/

For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/michael-terrell

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Yishan Wong, Founder & CEO of Terraformation. 

Before founding Terraformation, Yishan served as CEO at Reddit and was an engineer at Pay Pal and Facebook. After exiting Reddit, Yishan learned that native forest restoration outperformed any other known method of carbon capture by nearly an order of magnitude. However, he also found three significant bottlenecks to large-scale forest restoration: land availability, freshwater, and seed. So, in 2017, Yishan founded Terraformation to restore forests and reduce global emissions. Terraformation believes that reforestation is one of the fastest, most efficient, and immediately scalable solutions to address climate change. Its low-risk, politically feasible carbon drawdown solution aims to restore forests at a global scale. In June of this year, Terraformation announced a $30M raise.

In this episode, Yishan explains his motivations for founding a climate startup, the ambitious mission Terraformation has set for itself, and why reforestation is essential in addressing climate change. We also discuss Terraformation's solution, its most recent raise, and scaling global forest restoration. This is an excellent episode for those interested in reforestation as a climate solution.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded July 1st, 2021

To learn more about Terraformation, visit: https://www.terraformation.com/

To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/terraformation

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Costa Samaras, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Costa Samaras began his career as a civil engineer working on several multibillion-dollar infrastructure megaprojects in New York, including rebuilding the subway line underneath the World Trade Center after September 11th. After pursuing his Masters in Public Policy at NYU and his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Civil & Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, Costa served as a Senior Engineer and Policy Analyst at the RAND Corporation and an Adjust Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon. Costa has also led analyses on energy security, strategic basing, and infrastructure issues faced by the Department of Defense. Since 2014, Costa has been an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He has published studies examining electric and autonomous vehicles, renewable electricity, transitions in the energy sector, was a contributor to the 4th National Climate Assessment and was one of the Lead Author contributors to the Global Energy Assessment. Costa also developed the course "Climate Change Adaptation for Infrastructure," one of the first civil and environmental engineering courses in the world that teaches climate change adaptation to engineers. 

Costa joins me to talk about the clean energy transition and why climate mitigation and resiliency are paramount as we built the infrastructure of the future. Costa explains his research at Carnegie Mellon and what motivated him to focus on climate as a civil engineer. We also have a lively discussion about voluntary individual action versus significant systems changes and why policy and public engagement is essential to address climate change. Costa is a great guest with a wealth of knowledge on resiliency, automation, and the energy transition.

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded June 23rd, 2021

For more information about Costa's research, visit: https://www.costasamaras.com/

For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/costa-samaras

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Chris Stern, Co-Founder & CEO of Carbicrete. 

Carbicrete is a Montreal-based carbon removal technology company that is developing innovative, low-cost building solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company's patented technology, first developed at McGill University, enables cement-free, carbon-negative concrete production. The process uses an industrial by-product – the slag from steel factories – to replace cement as a binding ingredient in precast concrete products. The process injects CO2 into the fresh concrete to provide strength while permanently sequestering the carbon.

In this episode, Chris outlines Carbicrete's mission, its technology, and what makes the company unique. Then, we dive into the process of taking technology from the lab to market and non-dilutive capital versus equity capital when raising funds as a startup. Chris also explains why cement is so hard to decarbonize and what gives him hope that we can address climate change.  

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded June 21st, 2021

To learn more about Carbicrete, visit: https://carbicrete.com/

To learn more about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/ctss-episodes/carbicrete

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

Connect with MCJ:

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Graeme Pitkethly, CFO of Unilever.

Unilever is a multinational consumer goods company with 400 brands focusing on foods and refreshments, home care, and beauty and personal care. In 2010, Unilever announced its Sustainable Living Plan with climate-focused benchmarks and goals. 

Graeme joined Unilever in 2002 and has served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Unilever UK and Ireland business. Before taking the CFO role, he held several senior financial and commercial positions within Unilever, including Senior Vice President of Finance for Global Markets, Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, and Chief Financial Officer of Unilever Indonesia. Graeme brings considerable experience to the role, having spent the earlier part of his career in senior corporate finance roles in the telecommunications industry and at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.

I was excited to record this episode as Graeme has been on our guest wishlist for quite some time. Graeme walks me through Unilever's sustainability goals over the last decade, an overview of the company's carbon footprint, and how he ended up focusing on climate. We dive into Graeme's perspective on carbon offsets, carbon pricing, and the areas that are hardest to decarbonize for Unilever. He also touches on why sustainability is vital to the future of the global economy and what initiatives would most accelerate tackling climate change. 

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded June 17th, 2021

For more information about Unilever, visit: https://www.unilever.com/

For more information about this episode, visit: https://myclimatejourney.co/episodes/graeme-pitkethly

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].

Connect with MCJ:

• Cody Simms on LinkedIn
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant