I’m always excited to talk to climate investors who have been around for a bit, those who were investing during the Cleantech 1.0 phase, saw the ups and the downs, and have stuck through to our current climate tech boom. Some of the challenges that the earlier era of cleantech investing saw – like high capex and long payback periods – are still relevant today, and experienced investors offer nuanced insights into current opportunities and what the future might hold.

I was thrilled to talk to Greg Wasserman. Greg started investing in clean energy almost 20 years ago at Goldman Sachs. I’ll let you hear the twists and turns of his background directly from him, but suffice to say he fits the bill of someone who’s worn multiple prestigious hats to finance climate solutions. Greg recently closed a new $385 million climate fund at Wellington Management, one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms with over $1 trillion AUM.

We talk about Greg’s journey, how climate investing has changed, what he’s currently excited about, opportunities for the future, and much more.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• [3:03] Greg’s background & what got him interested in climate investing
• [5:30] Greg’s experience at Goldman Sachs
• [6:54] Greg’s experience at the Clinton Foundation
• [9:47] Greg’s experience at Generation Four Investment Management
• [13:53] Wellington & what it’s known for
• [15:19] Wellington’s Climate Fund
• [17:42] Leveraging resources & resources for Wellington’s fund
• [20:20] The state of climate investing
• [22:32] Interesting innovations & where the fund is focused
• [24:40] The influence of blockchain technology in climate solutions
• [26:28] Measuring impact of the fund
• [29:14] Wellington’s investment in Orennia
• [31:54] Wellington’s investment in SPAN
• [34:56] What’s coming in the next 5-10 years for climate investing

Resources Mentioned

• Wellington Management
• Orennia
• SPAN

Connect with Greg Wasserman

• Connect with Greg on LinkedIn

Connect with Jason Rissman

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

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