Inevitable

Today's guest is Mindy Lubber, CEO and President of Ceres.

She's been at Ceres’ helm since 2003 and, under her leadership, the organization and its powerful network have grown significantly in size and influence. I've had a couple of other Ceres people on the show: Alicia Seiger, who's on the board, and Barney Schauble, the Chair of the board. Both of them have raved to me about the work that Mindy and the organization does. I was also excited for this episode because Mindy is very plugged in with the sustainability movement as well as with what is on the minds of the companies and institutional investors, who are instrumental in this 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.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• What is Ceres and its mission
• How it works with capital markets and companies to integrate climate risks into their planning
• The role of Ceres as an advocacy organization and relationship with companies
• The genesis of Ceres and how it came into being
• Ceres’ 30-year history since the Exxon Valdez oil spill
• Mindy’s multi-disciplinary legacy working in climate change advocacy
• The necessity to re-align major corporations toward the goals of the Paris Accord
• How change and impact requires a multi-faceted strategy and effort
• How the problem of climate change has evolved since Mindy first started her career
• Why changing the public policy framework around setting climate rules is critical
• Important political levers for enacting change
• What motivates companies to address climate change and sustainability
• How Ceres selects companies to engage with
• The types of changes and policies Ceres strives to implement with its corporate partners
• The distinction between “sustainability” and “climate”
• The role of a sustainable leader within a corporation
• What are the biggest barriers to change for companies to date
• How companies report and measure their sustainability initiatives
• Mindy’s perspective on the long-term implications of COVID-19 on climate change
• The need for more attention on climate change as it relates to the developing world
• Opportunities for individuals who want to take action on climate change

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• Ceres: https://www.ceres.org/
• Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill
• Global Reporting Initiative: https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB): https://www.sasb.org/
• We Mean Business: https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/

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
• Visit mcj.vc
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus.

We have a great discussion in this episode, covering a wide range of topics including Danny's background and experience, what led him to become an activist, his interest in climate change and how that interest has manifested over the years. In addition, we touch on how his views on the problem have evolved and also where he's spending his portfolio of time today. 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.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• How Oakland, CA has become the clean tech capital of the Bay Area
• Danny’s work as an activist and entrepreneur to address climate change
• How addressing climate change requires a war effort
• How renewable energy presents not only a climate opportunity but also a much-needed employment opportunity
• How Danny got into climate work and his underlying motivation
• Danny’s journey into solar and founding his first startup
• How the problem of climate change has evolved since Danny began his work
• How clean tech and U.S. leadership in the movement represents a huge economic opportunity
• How grassroots entrepreneurship is making up for an absence of government action
• What government leadership to address climate change would need to look like
• How the government-command of industry priorities to respond to COVID-19 is emblematic for what is required to address climate change
• What the viable renewable energy mix for the future looks like
• How Danny would address the main contributing sectors to GHG emissions
• How effort needs to be focused on Africa and Asia, which will be the long-term contributors to carbon
• How financial and software engineering are ripe areas of innovation
• What is New Energy Nexus (NEN) and its mission
• How NEN’s Clean Energy Fund invested in Tesla and other clean tech companies
• How the “puck” of opportunity and innovation is headed to Asia
• NEN’s clean energy accelerator in Indonesia
• How Danny thought about incorporating NEN as a non-profit vs. for-profit model
• Danny’s role in co-founding Oakland-based incubator, Powerhouse

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• New Energy Nexus: https://www.newenergynexus.com/about/
• California Carbon-Free By 2045 Goal: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/business/energy-environment/california-clean-energy.html
• kWh Analytics: https://www.kwhanalytics.com/
• California Clean Energy Fund: http://www.calcef.org/
• Bridge Lux: https://www.bridgelux.com/
• Powerhouse: https://www.powerhouse.fund/

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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

In today’s episode, we cover:

• What is Shopify
• What are its values
• Tobi’s thoughts on consumerism
• Tobi’s view that companies need to think of the world holistically
• Shopify’s journey and what it discovered purchasing carbon credits
• The misaligned incentives caused by poor quality carbon credits
• Tobi’s personal journey in learning about climate change and taking action on it
• The need to reform capitalism and the mechanisms to do so
• Where Shopify is currently on its climate journey
• Tobi’s reasons for optimism and what he sees as the key solutions
• The need to reframe solutions beyond carbon sequestration and offsets
• Why companies need to take responsibility for climate externalities

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• “We Need To Talk About Carbon”: https://tobi.lutke.com/blogs/news/we-need-to-talk-about-carbon
• The Shopify Sustainability Website: https://www.shopify.com/about/environment
• Shopify’s 2019 Sustainability Report: https://cdn.shopify.com/static/sustainability-report/2019%20Shopify%20Sustainability%20Report.pdf
• CarbonCure: https://www.carboncure.com/
• Externality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality

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

Today's guest is Sonia Aggarwal, Vice President at Energy Innovation.

I was excited for this episode because so many guests on My Climate Journey have said that policy is the biggest lever we've got, but we haven’t really double clicked on that and dug into what that means and how to bring it about. It just so happens that filling in those gaps and educating lawmakers on what needs to happen is what Sonya does for a living! We cover a lot in this episode, including a deep dive into the clean energy policy landscape, what the different levers are, and for whom. We also discuss the role of federal vs state governments here in the US, and the impact a price on carbon may have. I learned a lot in this one, and I bet you will too. 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.

Topics discussed:

• What is Energy Innovation (EI) and what it does
• Genesis of EI
• How Sonia’s love of nature influenced her journey into energy policy
• The multidisciplinary talent of experts comprising EI’s team
• How EI launched a opensource energy diagnostic model for policymakers globally
• EI’s broad work in energy systems from utility regulations to work in carbon pricing in China
• EI’s role as a resource for policymakers and regulatory decision-makers
• How tonnage of GHG removal is EI’s success metric
• Gamut of services EI offers its clients
• How a range of societal benefits are also success metrics for EI
• The role of carbon pricing and some of the perceived shortcomings
• How policies that focus on power plants, factories, buildings and cars represent the lion share of impact
• How EI weighs environmental impact vs. what’s politically feasible
• How opportunities of bipartisanship on the state-level compare with those on the federal-level
• How jobs, economic development and public health are important considerations in EI’s work
• How EI projects that renewables can get the world to 90% carbon reduction, while keeping the costs stable
• How leadership on the federal-level is critically needed in order to address climate change

Correction: Energy Innovation started at the end of 2011 - beginning of 2012, not in 2013 - 2014.

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

Today's guest is Davida Herzl, Co-Founder & CEO of Aclima Inc.

This is the first episode that we're putting pollution front and center. It's an important topic and Aclima is one of the leaders in helping provide more visibility. Through Aclima’s data and reporting, we can better understand, measure and become more aware of the harm that pollution is having in our local communities and the world at large. 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.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• What is Aclima and its mission
• Davida’s journey to working on pollution
• The notion of “ubiquitous measurement” as a way to assess the impact of climate change
• How climate change and pollution are interconnected and impact human health
• The lack of discussion of climate change being a public health challenge
• Davida’s search for experts in the field of pollution and climate change
• Davida’s early-focus on making traditional measurement technology cheaper and scalable
• Aclima’s focus on empowering officials in government, regulators, and big companies with credible data
• Aclima’s technology and deployment to measure hyper-local pollution
• The hyperlocal variability of pollution in a community
• Who are Aclima’s customers and the applications of its data
• Partnership with Google Street View
• The type of pollutants Aclima is measuring
• How data extrapolations enable Aclima to “fingerprint” the source of a pollutant
• How regulation can aid action to curb pollution
• How pollution represents a global health issue and the leading cause of death
• How climate change is fundamentally an economic problem
• How the transportation and energy used by it represents a major opportunity to address climate change

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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

In today’s episode, we cover:

• Varun’s wide-ranging background in academia, startups and public policy
• His career as a technologist beginning with Cleantech 1.0
• How he moved from science to public policy
• How cooperation across sectors is critical to solve climate change.
• The need for aggressive increases in federal funding for energy innovation
• The lessons of Cleantech 1.0
• How the missteps of VC cleantech investing offers insight into future funding models for climate companies
• How the complexities of climate change make it different from the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Program
• Varun’s three-prong prescription for addressing climate change
• How climate change in the U.S. should be couched and framed in terms of global competitiveness
• How funding needs to be robust enough to demonstrate new technologies
• How coordination between R&D and deployment needs to be the cornerstone of energy innovation policy
• Varun’s view that VC is not the right model for the new wave of climate innovation technologies
• How climate change priorities and challenges are distributed and regional
• How the influx of Silicon Valley talent into climate tech can be challenged by lack of domain knowledge
• How a “sector-switching” fellowship could help cross-pollinate talent across industries to address climate change
• The importance of India’s energy transition

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• Bio at Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA: https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/dr-varun-sivaram
• “Taming The Sun”: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/taming-sun
• Nano Solar: http://www.nanosolar.com/
• Perovskite Solar Cells: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perovskite_solar_cell
• AAAS Fellowship: https://www.aaas.org/fellowships

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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

In today’s episode, we cover:

• The focus and work of BNP Paribas Asset Management
• Mark’s role in sustainability research
• Sectors of focus for Mark’s team
• How ESG is used as a lens to analyze different sectors
• BNP Paribas Asset Management’s track record of Social Responsibility Investing
• Asset management industry’s shifting focus into more SRI and ESG investments
• The thesis that ESG investing will yield a greater return over the long term
• How his firm has applied ESG into how the firm and fund managers operate
• His firm’s ESG asset rating assigned to companies
• How his firm balances return objectives, values, and sustainability considerations
• The stigma around ESG
• Reasons why ESG leads to better performing companies
• Mark’s journey to sustainability-focused asset management
• How clients are a major driver behind sustainability investing
• Mark’s view on engaging with non-sustainable companies vs. divesting
• Comparing the global economic toll brought on by COVID-19 with climate change threats
• The need to make the world more resilient and adaptable to climate change
• The opportunity around energy storage
• How individuals should think of their own habits and behavior as it relates to climate change

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• BNP Paribas Sustainable Development: https://cib.bnpparibas.com/topics/sustainable+development
• ESG: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental,_social_and_corporate_governance
• SRI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socially_responsible_investing
• Sustainalytics: https://www.sustainalytics.com/
• MSCI: https://www.msci.com/
• True Cost Initiative: https://truecostsinitiative.org/
• Wells, Wires and Wheels: https://docfinder.bnpparibas-am.com/api/files/1094E5B9-2FAA-47A3-805D-EF65EAD09A7F

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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

In today’s episode, we cover:

• Origins of Scale Microgrid Solutions (SMS)
• What’s a “microgrid?”
• “Front of the meter” vs. “Behind the meter” microgrids
• The way utilities are setup in the U.S.
• How Tim found his way into the energy sector
• The value proposition of the microgrid
• How the company’s management software controls the grid components
• SMS’ modular solution
• SMS’ Energy-as-a-Service model
• The motives for customer adoption
• Microgrid’s role in contributing to a resilient energy infrastructure
• The barriers inherent in the U.S. regulatory system
• Similarities and differences between COVID-19 and the climate crisis
• Why one should join the climate fight

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• Scale Microgrid Solutions: https://scalemicrogridsolutions.com/
• Microgrid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgrid

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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

In today’s episode, we cover:

• Early learnings and thoughts on COVID-19 pandemic and parallels with climate change
• Alex’s role at BCG and his work in the energy industry
• His work with oil and gas companies in responding to climate change
• How oil and gas companies’ climate change strategies have evolved
• Oil and gas companies’ attitudinal change to accepting climate change as an existential issue
• Impact of the IPCC report on the oil and gas industry
• How stakeholders are demanding action on climate change
• Reconciling the fossil fuel industry’s legacy of climate denial
• Who should be accountable for the fossil fuel industry’s contribution to the climate crisis?
• The argument that fossil fuel companies have assets needed to address climate change
• Why should the public trust the fossil fuel industry?
• Carbon pricing as a policy tool
• Applying targeted regulation to ensure best behavior by the industry
• Shift in lobbying focus from denying the science to focusing on the socio-economic considerations
• Impact of divestment vs. ESG investing
• Reasons why oil and gas industry has lagged in “total shareholder return” over the past decade
• The increasing cost of capital for the industry and reasons for it
• BCG’s ethical policies as it relates to climate change
• “Deep de-carbonization technologies”

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• Alex’s work at BCG: https://www.bcg.com/en-us/about/people/experts/alex-dewar.aspx
• “Social license to operate”: https://learningforsustainability.net/social-license/
• ESG Investing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental,_social_and_corporate_governance
• Letter from BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink: https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/larry-fink-ceo-letter

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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

In today’s episode, we cover:

• Carbon Lighthouse, its business, vision and clientele
• The genesis of the company
• The opportunity of improving energy efficiency
• The early challenges of driving sales
• Carbon Lighthouse’s non-profit arm
• The substantial role commercial buildings play in emitting GHG
• Misaligned incentives of the many stakeholders involved
• Factors that led to a tipping point in the sales challenge
• What is HVAC optimization
• How Carbon Lighthouse uses software to optimize commercial HVAC systems
• Value and savings delivered to commercial buildings
• Carbon Lighthouse’s customer profile
• How landlord adoption is a continuing obstacle
• Carbon Lighthouse’s financing, operational expenses and costs
• Brenden’s views on utility-level policies to reduce emissions
• Brenden’s thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic and how it relates to climate change

Links to topics discussed in this episode:

• Carbon Lighthouse: https://www.carbonlighthouse.com/
• Carbon Lighthouse Association (non-profit arm): https://www.carbonlighthouse.org/
• “Spaghetti diagram” of energy use: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/index.html
• Green Building Initiative: https://thegbi.org/

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
• Visit mcj.vc
• Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter

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