Invested In Climate

Imagine if solar panels could be invisible and so thin that you could install them inside windows. Exciting, right? 

This isn’t a science fiction thought experiment, but it’s a real technology being developed by a company called Ubiquitous Energy. And it gets even better: they’re developing this technology in partnership with Andersen Windows, one of the largest and perhaps best-known residential window manufacturers in the US. 

We’re joined today by Ubiquitous Energy’s CEO Susan Stone and Andersen Corporation’s Director of Ventures Prabhakar Karri (who goes by KP), who led Andersen’s investment in Ubiquitous. We talk about the technology that makes transparent solar possible, how it was developed, the path to market, the transformative impact it could have on the built environment, and much more. For anyone interested in technology that could really change the world around us and the types of partnerships needed to reach scale, this episode is for you. Enjoy.

• [3:40] Ubiquitous Energy & the technology it’s developing
• [7:30] The history of Ubiquitous Energy & key milestones
• [12:28] How Andersen Windows & Ubiquitous Energy found each other
• [14:56] Andersen’s transparent solar products & when they’ll go-to-market
• [16:04] How Andersen is gauging customer interest & what they're learning
• [19:13] The impact on price for customers & solar investment tax credits
• [23:12] How efficient is transparent solar technology
• [27:24] The physical placement of this technology
• [31:08] How much of a contribution could transparent solar make to our overall energy needs
• [33:09] The main barriers to widespread adoption
• [35:39] The investment potential & critical factors for achieving that potential
• [38:12] The transparent solar market 
• [41:35] Andersen’s investment thesis, how Ubiquitous fits in & what else they’re looking at
• [43:55] Andersen's sustainability commitments & what they’re doing 
• [45:38] What listeners considering becoming an early adopter of transparent solar can do
• [46:35] Final thoughts

• Ubiquitous Energy
• Andersen Windows

• Connect with Susan on LinkedIn
• Connect with KP on LinkedIn

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If you’re listening to this podcast you probably agree that climate solutions need to be deployed at scale, across industries, and ultimately influence the lives of everyone. And yet, it’s still hard for most people to invest in and access the solutions our future relies on. 

The episode features two companies that are working towards increasing access to climate tech for investors and consumers.

RaiseGreen is an investment platform that enables non-accredited investors to invest in climate solutions such as climate tech startups, energy efficiency retrofitting programs, green bonds, and renewable energy projects. I’m a fan of RaiseGreen’s approach – helping people invest across a spectrum of climate solutions and helping more diverse entrepreneurs raise capital, and full disclosure, I’m a RaiseGreen investor. 

WeSolar is a community solar developer. It enables more people to access residential solar, and it successfully raised capital on RaiseGreen.

We’re joined today by the CEOs and Founders of RaiseGreen and WeSolar: Franz Hochstrasser and Kristal Hansley. Both Franz and Kristal bring fascinating backgrounds and perspectives. We talk about the genesis and aspirations of each of their companies, where they are in their journeys, what it takes to educate people about investing in climate opportunities, and much more. Enjoy.

• [3:04] Kristal’s background & how it led to WeSolar
• [5:24] Franz’s background & how it led to RaiseGreen
• [6:55] The need for a climate-focused online investing platform
• [9:34] Investment crowdfunding, how it emerged, how it's evolved & its importance today
• [11:01] Companies & projects that have raised money on RaiseGreen
• [12:03] The scale that RaiseGreen has reached so far
• [12:50] RaiseGreen’s track record working with underrepresented founders & improving access to capital
• [14:25] WeSolar & the problem that it’s aiming to solve
• [15:53] How the community solar market has developed and its role in the future
• [18:04] WeSolar's competitive advantage 
• [20:22] How Kristal believes partnerships with solar developers will evolve over time
• [20:53] A walkthrough of WeSolar’s user experience
• [22:14] Getting people interested in solar, educating them about benefits & how it works
• [23:56] What’s working & what isn’t working for communicating with investors
• [28:02] Kristal’s experience raising capital with RaiseGreen 
• [30:05] Wesolar’s current campaign on WeFunder & why listeners should check it out
• [31:21] RaiseGreen as a business: How big can it be & key metrics for success
• [34:46] WeSolar’s trajectory: Key metrics & milestones for success
• [35:55] Final thoughts from Kristal & Franz

• RaiseGreen
• WeSolar

• Connect with Franz on LinkedIn
• Connect with Kristal on LinkedIn

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Agriculture is a sector that needs to be transformed. We need to cut emissions, improve soil health, and sequester more carbon, all while feeding more people. This episode focuses on how California’s Department of Food and Agriculture is investing in this change. 

Why California? Well, agriculture in the Golden State is a big deal. It’s a $51 billion-a-year industry, that grows over a third of the vegetables and three-quarters of the fruits and nuts in the United States. California is a recognized leader when it comes to climate action, and there’s much to learn from its agriculture policy and practices. So I was delighted to sit down with California’s Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross. Secretary Ross has decades of experience in agriculture and ag policy and is deeply committed to climate action. We talked about everything from dairy digesters and regenerative ag practices to the role California ag innovation plays nationally and globally, and much more. If you’re interested in how the food system is changing to address climate change, there’s a lot here for you. Here we go. 

• [2:25] Recent weather impacts on California farmers 
• [4:20] Secretary Ross’ background, experience & current role
• [6:34] California’s agricultural agenda & its main priorities
• [8:57] The CA Department of Food & Agriculture’s top programs 
• [11:23] The Dairy Digester R&D Program - goals & how it works
• [13:52] Reducing methane emissions from cow burps
• [15:41] The menu of items to reduce emissions
• [16:51] The Biden Administration’s Methane Emissions Reduction Plan
• [18:23] Other success stories or signs of progress 
• [19:40] The biggest barrier to reaching “every farmer and at least one practice on every acre in California”
• [20:49] What is the state aiming to address through its Healthy Soils Program
• [22:49] The target of farms to be reached with 80,000 acres per year 
• [24:58] Some ways that California & the federal government's climate initiatives influence one another
• [27:35] Other initiatives & states that Sec. Ross admires & is learning from
• [29:11] Opportunities within the ag tech space for innovators & investors to start dialing up their attention
• [32:44] Other highlights from Sec. Ross on global impact, International Womens Day & CA’s accolades
• [34:49] What else needs to happen in US agriculture to meet Paris Accord climate commitments & other climate goals
• [36:26] What can listeners do to address climate change through food & agriculture

• California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA)
• CDFA’s Dairy Digester R&D Program
• The U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Plan
• CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program
• Invested in Climate: Saving the planet with seaweed, Symbrosia & Sway, Ep #25
• Invested in Climate: Regenerative Ag with Biodel’s Ben Cloud and Dr. Paul Zorner, Ep #35

• UC Agriculture & Natural Resources’ Verde Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship (Vine)
• The Almond Board of California
• Invested in Climate: Danone & EDF’s partnership to transform agriculture, Ep #44

• Connect with Secretary Ross via CDFA

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

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While new innovations from climate tech startups are exciting, effectively addressing the climate crisis simply isn’t going to happen without big companies making big changes. To be honest, that’s part of why I recently started a new role at NationSwell where I get to help a growing community of chief sustainability officers and ESG leaders take bold action. But don’t worry this episode isn’t about me. 

It’s about Danone, a global dairy company that is taking significant steps to reduce emissions, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a nonprofit partnering with Danone and other companies to accelerate climate action. Recently, Danone became the first food and agriculture company to set a methane-specific climate target - a 30% reduction from its fresh milk sourcing by 2030 - through their partnership with EDF. We’re speaking with EDF Director Katie Anderson and Danone’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Regenerative Agriculture Policy Chris Adamo about how this collaboration is helping Danone reach its ambitious goal, what other companies are learning from their experience, the role of policy, and what the future holds. This episode offers valuable, frontline insights into the transformation of a large corporation and agriculture as a whole. Enjoy.

• [3:53] Katie’s background, EDF & her role 
• [5:13] Chris’s background, Danone’s sustainability commitment & his role
• [9:30] How Danone & EDF’s partnership came to be & what it involves
• [11:57] Why do environmental & climate issues matter to Danone & what's at stake 
• [15:02] The scale that Danone operates at, its aim & biggest barriers in doing more
• [17:22] How EDF helps partners like Danone make progress on these issues
• [22:00] Collaboration for financing to support the agricultural transition
• [25:43] Thoughts on grants being viewed as corporate welfare
• [26:58] How methane became a priority & the impact that Danone is hoping to have
• [30:55] Why is Danone working on getting other companies to follow
• [33:09] The most effective strategies for getting companies engaged & committed
• [36:59] Investment areas that Chris thinks investors should look into
• [39:57] Thoughts on reducing animal agriculture & the diversity of the field
• [43:09] EDF & Danone’s policy priorities
• [47:09] What needs to happen in the next decade to transform agriculture

• Danone
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Invested in Climate: Saving the planet with seaweed, Symbrosia & Sway
• Symbrosia
• Danone Manifesto Ventures
• Zelp

• Connect with Katie on LinkedIn
• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

• Sign up for our newsletter
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There’s a lot of talk about electric cars, but what about other vehicles like buses and trucks? Buses and trucks create 30% of emissions from the transportation sector, so they need to be a priority. 

This episode focuses on school buses. It turns out that diesel school buses not only pollute the environment, but they cause real health problems for the kids who ride them. Fortunately, the shift to electric school buses has begun, and we’re featuring two people working hard to make it happen. Today, you’ll hear from Duncan McIntyre and Tim Shannon. Duncan is CEO of Highland Electric Fleets, a startup that helps school districts electrify their buses. Tim meanwhile is the Transportation Director for Twin Rivers Unified School District. He’s known as the godfather of electric school buses. We talk about the importance of phasing out diesel buses, what it takes, where we’re at in the transition, and what’s coming.

Alright, hop on the bus and let’s go.  

• [2:29] Highland Electric Fleets & Duncan’s journey into climate work
• [5:40] Tim’s role & journey into climate work
• [6:25] The US school bus landscape & what's wrong with it
• [8:53] The climate impacts of diesel buses & how electrifying them will help
• [10:41] The harmful effects of diesel buses on kids
• [11:50] The state of maturity of electric bus technology
• [14:20] What it takes for a school district to transition to electric buses
• [16:39] How Highland Electric is breaking down barriers to electric bus adoption
• [19:02] The economics: justifying investment & accessing funding
• [23:27] Where the adoption of electric buses is at 
• [26:12] What else needs to happen to accelerate the transition
• [28:28] The potential for buses to provide resilient electricity & examples
• [30:18] What can listeners do to be involved in the electric bus transition

• Highland Electric Fleets
• Twin Rivers Unified School District
• WRI’s Electric School Bus Adoption Dataset
• EPA Clean School Bus Program
• Inflation Reduction Act

• Connect with Duncan on LinkedIn
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
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• Sign up for our Newsletter
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Have feedback or ideas for future episodes, events, or partnerships?

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The race to address climate change is creating a whole lot of opportunity and a whole lot of work. Just to offer a sense of the scale, the US Inflation Reduction Act is expected to create nine million jobs alone. This is on top of an already booming climate job market. And, climate isn’t just tackled through newly created jobs, but also through new climate responsibilities within existing jobs. 

To learn more about the world of climate work, I sat down with two experts: Peggy Brannigan and Ellen Weinreb. Peggy is the Director of Global Environmental Sustainability at LinkedIn, where she has access to perhaps the world’s best database of climate-related jobs. Ellen is the founder of Weinreb Group, a recruiting firm that has been focused on filling sustainability and ESG roles for over 10 years. Together, Peggy and Ellen provide a fascinating glimpse into the green job market, how it’s evolved in recent years, the skills that are most needed, and of course, advice for hiring teams and jobseekers. So whether you’re looking for a job, looking to hire people, or just trying to anticipate the skills you’ll need for the future, this episode should be helpful to you. Enjoy. 

• [3:20] Ellen’s role & journey into sustainability work
• [4:27] Peggy’s role & journey into sustainability work
• [5:26] LinkedIn’s economic graph - the data used & the value it brings
• [7:45] The climate job market - how has it changed & what does it look like today
• [9:01] The roles that companies are looking for
• [10:46] Geographies & drivers of climate job growth 
• [12:48] What is ESG & how is it different from sustainability
• [14:26] The evolution of the job market for ESG & sustainability leaders over 15 years
• [16:45] Corporate commitments to hiring ESG professionals 
• [19:33] The most sought-after skills for climate work today 
• [21:57] The prediction that half of all jobs will be redefined by climate change
• [23:04] Advice for companies seeking to grow their ESG & sustainability teams
• [27:15] Peggy’s advice for climate jobseekers
• [30:32] Being a changemaker within both existing & new companies
• [32:48] Ellen’s advice for climate jobseekers
• [33:48] The future of the climate job market

• LinkedIn
• Weinreb Group
• LinkedIn Economic Graph: Global Green Skills Report 2022
• Greenbiz x Weinreb: State of the Profession 2022 Report
• Reuters: PwC planning to hire 100,000 over five years in major ESG push 
• LinkedIn: Green Jobs

• Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn
• Connect with Ellen on LinkedIn

• Invested in Climate
• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

If you have feedback or ideas for future episodes, events or partnerships, please get in touch!

When you think of residential solar, you probably think of solar installations that are tied to the grid. These installations have many benefits. You can rely on the grid when you need to, you don’t need to store all the energy you generate in batteries, and you can sell energy back to utilities. But on-grid solar isn’t for everyone, and our future surely requires some mix of on- and off-grid technology.  

To learn about the use case and business opportunity of distributed off-grid solar, I sat down with the founders of two growing, off-grid solar companies. Arnold Leitner is the CEO of YouSolar, and Sean Luangrath is the CEO of Inergy Solar. Both Arnold and Sean have been in the industry for a long time and helped clarify why off-grid solar matters, who it's for, where the industry is, and where its likely to go. Their two companies offer really different products and understanding their differences really helped me comprehend some of the different applications for off-grid solar. And, as it happens, YouSolar is actually in the final stretch of an equity crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine, which you might want to check out if you really like what you hear. 

Ok, here we go!

• [3:02] Arnold’s CEO journey
• [6:11] Sean’s CEO journey
• [9:11] Inergy’s product lineup & target customers
• [11:32] The power of a 26-pound electricity system
• [13:01] YouSolar’s progress toward commercialization
• [13:53] YouSolar’s current & future products
• [17:59] YouSolar’s history
• [18:53] The importance of off-grid solar
• [25:11] The difference between YouSolar, Inergy & big solar companies
• [29:36] The future of balancing on-grid & off-grid power
• [36:46] Key barriers to scaling
• [40:52] Experiences with crowdfunding
• [45:45] ​​How listeners learn more about distributed off-grid solar

• YouSolar
• Inergy Solar
• StartEngine: YouSolar Crowdfunding Campaign
• NREL: Fuel from the Sky Study

• Connect with Arnold on LinkedIn
• Connect with Sean on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

Given the enormity of climate change and the unprecedented opportunity for innovation that comes with decarbonization, I love learning about ambitious efforts that really take seriously the speed and scale at which we need to invest in change. I’ve long been a fan of New Energy Nexus – an organization that aims to make clean energy accessible to everyone by supporting 100,000 climate entrepreneurs. They take an ecosystem approach, recognizing that entrepreneurs need not just cash, but supportive networks to succeed, and they’ve been building up ecosystems all over the world to support diverse entrepreneurs.

I was thrilled to learn more about New Energy Nexus and one of their best-known accelerators Third Derivative, which is a partnership with RMI. In this episode, you’ll hear from Nexus’ founder and CEO, Danny Kenedy, and Third Derivative co-founder and CMO, Elaine Hsieh. We talk about their backgrounds, the work that Nexus and Third Derivative are doing, their approach to ecosystem building, the importance of justice, equity, and inclusion in climate investing, underhyped and overhyped spaces in climate tech, and much more. Third Derivative is currently accepting applications through March 21 for its next two cohorts - so if you’re a startup founder, consider putting in an application. For everyone else, hope you enjoy.

• [3:43] Third Derivative & Elaine’s role
• [4:31] New Energy Nexus & Danny’s role
• [5:07] Danny’s path to starting New Energy Nexus
• [8:15] Elaine’s path to starting Third Derivative
• [11:28] Nexus’ large-scale approach
• [14:48] Nexus’ country-level programs in practice
• [18:41] Challenges & learnings from setting up programs in other countries
• [20:41] What makes Third Derivative different & important
• [25:53] Underhyped & overhyped spaces in climate tech
• [31:54] The climate justice lens that informs Nexus’ & Third Derivative’s work
• [37:10] Recent growth & continued interest in climate investments
• [41:07] What needs to change to address today’s climate crisis
• [44:10] ​​How listeners can get involved with New Energy Nexus & Third Derivative

Resources Mentioned

• New Energy Nexus
• Third Derivative’s (D3) startup accelerator application
• Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
• BloombergNEF’s Energy Transition Investment Trends report

• Connect with Danny on LinkedIn
• Connect with Elaine on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

If you have feedback or ideas for future episodes, events or partnerships, please get in touch!

Get ready. This episode is a really detailed conversation about what could be one of the most important new technologies for addressing climate change. 

Here’s some context: The world has started working to decarbonize virtually every sector of the economy. Yet, even if we had all the political and corporate will, investments and incentives one could imagine, this would still be an incredibly complex process that takes decades. And so, we’ll continue to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses for longer than we want.

Essentially, the faucet will stay on, and we need other ways to reduce the amount of carbon in our atmosphere to slow and eventually reverse climate change. That’s where carbon removal and today’s conversation comes in.

We’re joined by Tomás Álvarez Belón and Tito Jankowski. Tomás is a climate investor at Collaborative Fund, focused on decarbonization. Tito Jankowski is CEO of AirMiners, a community of innovators focused on removing carbon dioxide from the air to reverse climate change. These two are true experts and pioneers that are helping to build the carbon removal industry from scratch. I learned a ton and think you’ll enjoy. Here we go.

• [3:43] Collaborative Fund & Tomás’ role 
• [5:17] AirMiners & Tito’s role
• [6:08] Why focus on carbon removal
• [10:11] The difference between carbon removal & carbon capture
• [11:51] The knee-jerk reaction behind carbon removal
• [17:59] The state of the carbon removal space today
• [22:13] More about AirMiners, who they work with & what they offer
• [25:24] The impact of AirMiners to-date
• [28:38] Tomás’ learnings from the growth of carbon removal startups
• [31:56] Carbon removal becoming a commodity
• [34:14] Tito’s learnings from the growth of carbon removal startups
• [38:05] Collaborative Funds’ investments & the range of possibilities around carbon removal
• [50:09] How large investments have helped the marketplace grow
• [58:46] Why companies should get involved & become purchasers to support the carbon removal marketplace

• Collaborative Fund
• AirMiners
• AirMiners Startup Accelerator
• AirMiners Youtube Channel
• XPRIZE for Carbon Removal
• Frontier: Stripe Climate
• Shopify’s Sustainability Fund
• South Pole: Carbon Removal Solutions
• Microsoft: Carbon Removal Program

• Connect with Tomás on LinkedIn
• Connect with Tito on LinkedIn

• InvestedinClimate.com
• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

• On any podcast platform
• Sign up for our newsletter

If you have feedback or ideas for future episodes, events or partnerships, get in touch!

Today’s episode focuses on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. What began as a fringe interest in socially responsible investing grew at an astonishing rate and is now completely mainstream, considering the ESG performance of companies. According to a PWC report from last November, ESG investing will grow over the next three years to reach over $30 trillion dollars. That’d be over 20% of all assets under management and a real force influencing how well companies act on climate change, amongst many other issues. 

But ESG can be messy and confusing. To learn more about what it actually is, how it's distinguished from impact investing, why it became politically controversial in the US last year, how it’s performed for investors, and how it's likely to change in the future, I sat down with James Stone, VP of ESG Research at Baron Capital. Jamie offered a really clear overview and I learned a ton. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. 

• [3:23] James' background & his experience with ESG investing
• [5:23] Baron Capital & what they specialize in
• [6:33] The ESG market today & trends
• [9:53] Overall interest in ESG investing & how it's been changing in recent years
• [11:03] Who is actually interested in ESG investing
• [14:44] Baron’s ESG commentary & the World Economic Forum study on top global risks
• [20:26] The positive feedback loop due to growing ESG investors & capital deployed
• [25:09] The impact of policy developments related to climate investing within ESG
• [27:49] The political backlash & controversy of ESG
• [31:22] The impacts of ESG investing on companies
• [33:46] The SEC climate disclosure rule change
• [35:17] Policy developments that Jamie is watching for this year
• [35:41] ​​Thoughts on ESG investing opportunities this year & longer-term
• [36:45] Things for climate-focused investors to consider
• [38:40] How listeners can get involved

Resources Mentioned

• Baron Capital

• Connect with James on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

If you have feedback or ideas for future episodes, events or partnerships, please get in touch!