Invested In Climate

Sierra Club Foundation's Shifting Trillions Initiative to Transform Energy Finance, Ep #82

Feb 13, 2024

43:16

If you’re listening to this podcast you’ve probably heard of the Sierra Club. It’s one of the largest environmental organizations in the United States, with about 4 million members and a history of advocacy going back to 1892.

But what do you know about the Sierra Club Foundation? It’s a $200m organization that, as you’d guess, supports the Sierra Club. It also takes on ambitious initiatives to leverage its resources to protect the environment, transform the energy system, and more. One of those initiatives focuses on shifting trillions of dollars out of the fossil fuel economy. It’s a good example of the level of ambition of these organizations.

To learn more, I sat down with Dan Chu and Pedro Henriques Da Silva. Dan is the Executive Director of the Foundation. Pedro is the Director of the Shifting Trillions Program. We had a fascinating conversation about the history, role, and accomplishments of both organizations, the goals and strategy of the Shifting Trillions program, being a 21st-century fiduciary, the upcoming election, and much more. This episode will push your thinking about the role of the Sierra Club and environmental organizations more generally. Enjoy.

In today’s episode, we cover:

[02:54] Background on Sierra Club
[05:15] Sierra Club’s history & how the Foundation and Club are different
[06:56] Size & funding of the organizations
[08:09] Focus issue areas, how they are decided & how they inform capital allocation
[10:23] Sierra Club Foundation & its broader role
[12:37] The Shifting Trillions program & what it’s aiming to solve
[13:54] The Foundation’s three roles & what it’s doing
[18:21] How the roles of the Club & Foundation are distinct
[22:36] What progress has been achieved so far with Shifting Trillions
[23:57] Exciting goals being pursued
[25:29] Progress & achievements that Dan has seen during his tenure
[29:58] The state of the U.S. environmental nonprofit field
[32:32] Support for climate through philanthropy
[36:02] The importance of this election from an environmental perspective
[39:02] Harnessing climate for young voter turnout