Climate Positive

In this episode, Gil Jenkins sits down with Bill Weir, Chief Climate Correspondent at CNN, for a rich, engaging, and meaningful conversation about his new book, “Life As We Know It (Can Be): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World.”While reporting from every state and every continent, Bill Weir has spent decades telling the stories of unique people, places, cultures, and creatures on the brink of change. As the first Chief Climate Correspondent in network news, he's immersed in the latest science and breakthroughs on the topic, while often on the frontlines of disasters, natural and manmade. In 2020, Bill began distilling these experiences into a series of Earth Day letters for his then-newborn son to read in 2050, to help him better understand the world he will have grown up in and be better prepared to embrace the future. Bill's work and his letters were the inspiration for “Life As We Know It (Can Be),” which confronts the worry and wonder of climate change with messages and examples of hope for all of us on how a better future can still be written. Highlighting groundbreaking innovation in fields of clean energy, food and water sources, housing and building materials, and more, and touching on how happiness, resilience, and health and wellness factor into the topic of climate change, Bill's stories take readers on a global journey, from one community in Florida that took on a hurricane and never lost power, to the Antarctic Peninsula where one species of penguin is showing us the key to survival, to the nuclear fusion labs where scientists are trying to build a star in a box.  Through a tapestry of stories—tales of resilience, community, and the indomitable human spirit— ‘Life As We Know It (Can Be)’ celebrates our planet’s marvels, contemplates our collective desires, and calls us all to unite with nature and each other. It’s about preparing and planning for the future, together. Links: Book: “LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (CAN BE): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World”Bill Weir’s fourth letter on Earth Day to his young son (CNN, April 22, 2024)Bill Weir BioBill Weir on XBill Weir on LinkedInEpisode recorded April 19, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Steel is the world’s most used metal, and enables the construction of everything from buildings to wind turbines. Unfortunately, steel manufacturing is incredibly carbon intensive, contributing to approximately 8% of global green house gas emissions. As CEO of InventWood, Josh Cable envisions a future where the demand for steel can be satisfied with a renewable resouce: fast growing woods like Poplar. By densifying wood, Josh Cable’s team produces a fire-resistant product that is stronger, lighter and cheaper than steel. The final product, MettleWood is actually carbon negative. In this episode, Hilary Langer and Josh Cable discuss InventWood’s foundational technology, its early partnership with the University of Maryland, and its new 89,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland. Links:Josh Cable on LinkedInDOE Award to InventWoodLiangbing Hu makes wood stronger than steel (acs.org)Fast Company profile of InventWood innovations Episode recorded April 10, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Disclosure. Disclosure. Disclosure. In early March, the SEC issued final climate-related disclosure rules for U.S. public companies. Designed to enhance standardization and in response to increasing investor demand, the new rules mandate companies disclose material climate risks they face and greenhouse gas emissions they generate as well as other material climate-related information. While not as comprehensive as existing mandatory climate disclosure regimes in the European Union or California, the rules represent a groundbreaking step forward in climate disclosure across the United States. In this episode, Chad Reed discusses the new rules, their implications and their detractors with Steven Rothstein, managing director at the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. Steven and his colleagues at Ceres over two decades have been instrumental in building a large and powerful investor coalition in support of greater climate disclosure and provide crucial insights on this complex and significant public policy issue. Links:SEC Adopts Rules to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for InvestorsLetter from Jeffrey W. Eckel (then CEO and now Executive Chair of HASI) to U.S. SEC (June 15, 2021)Ceres: Get ready for standardized climate disclosureEpisode recorded March 29, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this episode, Gil Jenkins sits down with Akshat Rathi, a senior climate reporter at Bloomberg News and the host of Bloomberg Green's Zero podcast, to discuss his new book, "Climate Capitalism: Winning the Global Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of our Age," which was released on March 12 in the U.S. "Climate Capitalism" takes readers across five continents, tracking the unlikely heroes driving the fight against climate change. The stories within the book reveal how people, policy, and technology are converging to create a green economy that is not only possible but profitable. Akshat and Gil explore key chapters from the book, touching on stories like that of Wan Gang, a Chinese bureaucrat who played a pivotal role in the rapid expansion of electric vehicles in China. They also discuss India's significant progress toward solar power since 2015, the transformative influence of the International Energy Agency, and the UK's legally binding decarbonization commitments, among other topics.Links: About the BookAkshat on XAkshat on LinkedInZero PodcastEpisode recorded March 8, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

The Sustainable Energy in America Factbook serves as a key reference for the state of renewables in the United States. To mark the release of the 12th edition, Gil Jenkins and Hilary Langer talked to the people behind the annual report: Lisa Jacobson, President of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Tom Rowlands-Rees, Head of Research for North America at BloombergNEF. Despite significant headwinds in 2023, including high interest rates and supply chain challenges, the factbook is full of record-shattering figures that reveal momentum toward a more sustainable energy future. Lisa and Tom discuss the importance of stable federal policies, the optimism they find in reduced emissions, and how America will need to accelerate sustainable energy development to meet carbon reduction targets.Links: The 2024 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook | BloombergNEF (bnef.com)The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (bcse.org)Lisa Jacobson | LinkedInTom Rowlands-Rees | LinkedInBloombergNEF (bnef.com)Episode recorded February 26, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

As the energy density of batteries continues to increase even as costs keep declining, the stationary energy storage market is booming, with investment growing by over 7x over the last few years – from $5 billion in 2020 to over $35 billion in 2023 – and with battery installations tripling just last year alone. While an influx of storage is certainly needed to integrate the vast amount of renewables we need to fully decarbonize the grid, the storage we are adding to the grid is not always or even usually reducing overall carbon emissions. In fact, too often new batteries are resulting in positive net new emissions – an outcome almost no one wants. In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Jacob Mansfield and Emma Konet of Tierra Climate and Adam Reeve of REsurety to learn more about the efforts of the Energy Storage Solutions Consortium (ESSC), which seeks to align the economic incentives of the storage market with truly accelerating grid decarbonization.Links:Energy Storage Solutions Consortium (ESSC)Charging Towards Zero: Harnessing Batteries and Carbon Contracts to Accelerate Grid DecarbonizationDecarbonization: Stocks and flows, abundance and scarcity, net zero Episode recorded February 14, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this week's episode, Gil Jenkins sits down with Steve Raeder, the founder and CEO of Summit Ridge Energy. As a leading player in the community solar market, Summit Ridge Energy (SRE) has made significant strides since its inception in 2017, deploying over $1.6 billion into clean energy assets. With a robust development pipeline of more than 2 GW, SRE will have more than 400 MW of solar PV online by the end of 2024, powering 50,000 homes and businesses. During the conversation, Steve opens up about his journey from SunEdison to founding Summit SRE. He breaks down the incredible value proposition for community solar, which offers guaranteed savings to both residential and small commercial customers while underscoring its pivotal role in the broader energy transition. Steve also discusses SRE’s growth strategy. Giving his outlook on the future of the community solar market, he details how the company is positioning itself to capitalize on this sector's continued growth. Additionally, Steve talks about the company’s solar panel supply partnership with Qcells, which was announced last year and is the largest domestic community solar purchase ever. He also shares insights into their innovative sustainability apprenticeship program in Chicago. Note: Summit Ridge Energy is a client of HASI. Links: Summit Ridge Energy WebsiteSummit Ridge Energy on LinkedInSummit Ridge Energy on XSteve Raeder on LinkedInPress Release: Summit Ridge Energy and Qcells Announce Largest Community Solar Partnership in the U.S (April 6, 2023)Article: Clean energy job training has started at Chicago’s Sustainability Hub (Solar Power World, May 2, 2023)Summit Ridge Energy’s “Bomber” Project - Nation's Largest Rooftop Community Solar ArrayPress Release: HASI and Summit Ridge Energy Expand Partnership with New 250 MW Community Solar Portfolio in Illinois and Maryland (August 29, 2023)Article: How to run your house on clean electricity, no solar panels required (Washington Post, February 8, 2023)Steve’s Book Recommendation: A Sense of Urgency, by Dr. John KotterEpisode recorded January 24, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

At the end of 2022, 200 countries signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – what some have called the “Paris Agreement for Nature”. It calls on signatories to work together to enhance the resilience of natural ecosystems and to turn the tide on species extinction rates through the setting of national targets, the establishment of disclosure regimes and the creation of innovative financing mechanisms – such as biodiversity credits. While there has been some subsequent positive international progress on this front driven by the UK and others, most biodiversity credit markets remain in very nascent stages.In this episode, HASI’s investment team lead for nature-based solutions Tim Mooradd speaks with Tim Male and Ryan Sarsfield of the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). They discuss the imperative of protecting and valuing biodiversity, the existing and potential buyers for biodiversity credits, lessons learned from other environmental markets and much more. Note also that the HASI Foundation recently provided a grant to EPIC for its work at the intersection of climate action and social justice. Links:Environmental Policy Innovation CenterBiodiversity Credits Gain Traction but Questions PersistNature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West by William CrononEpisode recorded January 10, 2024Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

America’s dramatic shift towards renewable energy generation in remote areas will require a substantial transmission build-out in the years ahead, potentially doubling or tripling the current grid. In other words, there is no transition without transmission. While it's crucial that we expedite the construction of large power lines at a much faster clip, there's another technology solution that demands equal attention. This parallel approach involves the use of Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs). GETs offer a modular, cost-effective path to enhancing our existing infrastructure while also significantly amplifying the efficacy of new transmission investments. To gain deeper insights into how GETs can help us meet the needs of the 21st-century electric grid, accelerate the clean energy transition, and lower energy costs, Gil Jenkins and Manish Chaturvedi spoke with Julia Selker, Executive Director of WATT Coalition.Links:WATT Coalition WATT Coalition WebsiteWhat are Grid Enhancing Technologies?Whitepaper: Building a Better Grid: How Grid Enhancing Technologies Complement Transmission Buildouts (WATT Coalition & Brattle Group, April 20, 2023)WATT Coalition LinkedInWATT Coalition XMore on Julia: Julia Selker is Executive Director of the WATT Coalition and Director of Policy and Strategy and Chief Operating Officer for Grid Strategies. She previously worked for the Business Council on Sustainable Energy, the technology startup Faraday Grid, and interned with Congressman Peter DeFazio focused on energy and climate policy. Prior to coming to Washington, DC, Julia worked on the launch of Monterey Bay Community Power through the public relations agency Miller Maxfield, Inc., in Santa Cruz, California. Julia previously worked for the Bulleit Group, a San Francisco public relations agency. She has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Reed College. Julia Selker LinkedInJulia Selker XLinkedIn Post: The grid fairy godmothers of the energy transition (Julia Selker, August 3, 2023)Episode recorded December 8, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In our final episode of 2023, we sit down with Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXT), a leading provider of intelligent, integrated solar tracker and software solutions used in utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects globally. With over 30 years of experience in the field, Dan has been a driving force in advancing climate tech solutions in the U.S. and around the world.In the conversation with Gil, Dan reflects on Nextracker's incredible success over the past ten years, including its successful IPO earlier this year; they talked at length about the company's steadfast customer-focused mindset and how that has driven so many industry-first solar tracker innovations in their mission to transition the world to affordable, renewable power. Dan also talked about Nextracker's remarkable initiatives with U.S. manufacturing expansions over the past three years and the importance of public policy engagement for our industry. He also touched on a few non-U.S. markets that are key to his optimism for the future of solar power. We even found time at the end to have fun talking about great guitar music and his new musical products venture, AmpMojo.Links:More on Dan Dan Shugar BioShug Speaks BlogPress Release: Nextracker CEO Dan Shugar Named S&P Global’s ‘Chief Trailblazer of the Year’ at the 25th Annual Platts Global Energy Awards (December 12, 2023)Dan Shugar on LinkedInVideo: Dinner with Dan - Intro - 'Solar Myths Debunked"Website: AmpMojo - Dan’s new musical products companyVideo: Introducing AmpMojoNextracker, Inc. WebsiteNextracker American Manufacturing MicrositeNextracker on LinkedInNextracker on XPress Release: Nextracker Opens New U.S. Factory with Dedicated Capacity in Las Vegas with Unimacts (September 11, 2023)Video: NX Horizon Hail Pro - The Gold Standard for Hail Risk MitigationEpisode recorded December 8, 2023.Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

The private sector has been a critical driver of increasing clean energy on the grid. Since 2008, corporate renewable purchases have helped bring online nearly 150 GW of new renewable energy capacity globally — more than the total power-generating capacity of France. Despite these purchase commitments, overall global emissions from the power sector have remained flat at a time when we need to see a sharp decline. At the same time, extreme weather events have exposed vulnerabilities in the reliability of the current fossil-fuel powered grid that aren’t yet being addressed at sufficient scale.Earlier this year, a group of leading companies focused on accelerating decarbonization while also bolstering grid reliability partnered with RMI, a leading climate NGO, to launch the Zero-Emissions | Reliability Optimized Grid Initiative, or ZEROgrid, with the objective of developing a comprehensive roadmap to accelerate the transition to a zero-emissions grid.In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Mark Dyson, Managing Director at RMI, about the challenges ZEROgrid aims to address, the objectives it seeks to achieve as well as the concept of applied hope.Links:ZEROgridCorporate Action PlaybookAmory Lovins (RMI): Applied Hope (May 2019)Episode recorded November 28, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

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 WebsiteMill Impact StatsMatt Rogers TwitterMatt Rogers LinkedInMill LinkedInMill TwitterMill InstagramMill TikTokThe episode originally aired on June 15, 2023.Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

According to the International Energy Agency, the world is expected to build more renewable projects in the next five years as we have in the past 20. But this rapid and massive growth in the renewable energy space has proven increasingly challenging for insurers of these assets, who are struggling to deal with mounting losses from natural disasters (which themselves are often driven by climate change) as well as growing demand for new products that insure against other emerging risks such as production and revenue variability. In this episode, Chad Reed sits down Jason Kaminsky, CEO and co-founder of kWh Analytics, perhaps the leader in delivering data-enabled Climate Insurance for zero-carbon assets. In the discussion, Chad and Jason get into the weeds on the recent evolution of the Climate Insurance industry, kWh’s Fifth Annual Solar Risk Assessment as well as data-enabled solutions to address the most pressing risks facing the U.S. solar industry today. Links:2023 Solar Risk AssessmentSolar Revenue PutFrom Niche to Necessity: Insuring Renewable EnergyEpisode recorded October 31, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

With the recent proliferation of sometimes conflicting standards around sustainability and impact reporting, companies across the globe are seeking trusted partners to help them determine and measure sustainability metrics that are truly material to the business and its stakeholders and also generate real value. To this end, Workiva – a global software-as-a-service company – has developed a suite of products to help companies make real progress on their sustainability journeys.  In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Mandi McReynolds, VP of Global Environment, Social and Governance at Workiva and the host of the ESG Talk podcast. Chad and Mandi discuss the at times differing perceptions of company executives and sustainability practitioners, the emerging role of AI in sustainability reporting and the evolving nomenclature surrounding efforts to generate and report sustainable impact.Links:Workiva ESGWorkiva 2023 Global ESG Practitioner SurveyRegister’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI)Episode recorded October 4, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

We all depend on the cold chain to keep our foods, vaccines, and medical equipment safely chilled from production to use. This energy intensive process requires constant monitoring. As CEO of Therma, Manik Suri deploys small mobile sensors that monitor conditions to optimize energy efficiency and quality along the cold chain. His work is infused with his family’s legacy of service to others, and his team is dedicated to leveraging technology to improve the well-being of both people and planet. In this episode, Hilary Langer is joined by Therma CEO Manik Suri to discuss the impact of the cold chain on human health, food waste and the planet. Links: ThermaThe Role Of Businesses In Creating More Environmentally Friendly Cooling Systems (forbes.com)Manik Suri on LinkedInBeth Simone Noveck Episode recorded September 13, 2023 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

At this point, the science is very clear. If we want to limit global warming to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, we must not only reduce existing emissions, we must also at some point become net negative – meaning that we are removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we are putting into it. In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Climeworks CFO Andreas Aepli to discuss the promise of Direct Air Capture (DAC) to provide a scalable, measurable and permanent solution for carbon removal. In addition to discussing how DAC works and both the DAC facilities Climeworks already has in operation and the DAC hubs in United States they are now developing, they delve into the viability of the business model for carbon removal, the need for supportive policy incentives and the imperative to establish transparency and trust for a truly scalable and tradable carbon removal credit market. Links: ClimeworksIntegrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon MarketU.S. Department of Energy selects three out of three DAC Hub applications that Climeworks participates inEpisode recorded August 22, 2023 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this episode, Chad Reed speaks with Calvert Impact's President and CEO, Jennifer "Jenn" Pryce, and Beth Bafford, Calvert Impact's Vice President of Syndications and Strategy. Calvert Impact is a global nonprofit investment firm that helps investors and financial professionals invest in solutions that people and the planet need. During its 28-year history, Calvert Impact has mobilized approximately $5 billion to build and grow local community and green finance organizations.Jenn and Beth discuss Calvert Impact’s history, evolution, and core mission. They also delve into Calvert Impact's unique nonprofit model, financial self-sufficiency, and structure. Chad, Jenn, and Beth explore the impact investing space overall and highlight the distinctions from ESG investing. Finally, Jenn and Beth share stories about what drew them into the impact investing field before closing with a discussion around Calvert Impact's work spearheading the Climate United coalition, which is participating in the EPA's National Clean Investment Fund $14 billion grant competition announced earlier this summer.Links: Jennifer Pryce BioJennifer Pryce LinkedInBeth Bafford BioBeth Bafford LinkedInCalvert Impact LinkedInWebsite: Calvert ImpactCalvert Impact 2022 Impact ReportWebsite: Climate UnitedClimate United Press Release (June 21, 2023): Leading sustainable energy and community finance organizations join forces to pursue National Clean Investment Fund mandateEpisode recorded August 15, 2023 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this week’s episode, we explore the world of cement.  Concrete is the second most consumed material on earth behind water and is essential to the infrastructure that will enable the transition to renewable energy. But producing cement, which is the material that glues concrete together, is incredibly carbon intensive. As CEO of Fortera, Dr. Ryan Gilliam looks to nature and how coral and shells are strengthened by imbedding ambient carbon. Fortera’s first plant, in Redding, California, will come online by the end of 2023 and Fortera cement is construction ready. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Gilliam discusses how he partners with existing concrete suppliers, why the first iteration of Fortera failed to gain traction, and how he has built a business savvy team to bring Fortera cement to market. Links: ForteraDr. Ryan Gilliam on LinkedInVideo of Fortera Redding, California PlantMcKinsey: Spotting Green Business Opportunities in a Surging Net-Zero World Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.Episode Recorded August 9, 2023 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

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 LinkedInKirsten Blackburn TwitterKEEN LinkedInKEEN TwitterWebsite: Keen Impact2022 KEEN Impact ReportKEEN Green Paper: The Road to PFAS Free, a step-by-step guide to removing PFAS from your supply chainVideo: What is the KEEN Effect?Video: The Newport: How the World's Ugliest Sandal Was BornEmail your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

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 EmissionsREsurety White Paper: Emissions Implications for Clean Hydrogen Accounting MethodsGeneral Motors 2022 Sustainability ReportEpisode recorded June 26, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.