Inevitable

Today's guest is Gary Cohen, President & Co-Founder of Health Care Without Harm.Gary has been a pioneer in the environmental health movement for thirty years. Cohen is President and Co-Founder of Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth. He was also instrumental in bringing together the NGOs and hospital systems that formed the Healthier Hospitals Initiative. All three were created to transform the health care sector to be environmentally sustainable and serve as anchor institutions to support environmental health in their communities.Gary was Executive Director of the Environmental Health Fund for many years. He has helped build coalitions and networks globally to address the environmental health impacts related to toxic chemical exposure and climate change. Gary is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal, India, which has been working for over 25 years to heal people affected by the Bhopal gas tragedy and to fight for environmental cleanup in Bhopal. He is also on the Boards of the American Sustainable Business Council, Health Leads and Coming Clean.He has received numerous recognitions for his achievements, including: The MacArthur Foundation’s Fellows Award (2015), the White House’s Champion of Change Award for Public Health and Climate Change (2013), the Huffington Post’s Game Changer Award for Health (2012), the Frank Hatch Award for Enlightened Public Service (2007), and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2006).In today’s episode, we cover:Overview of Health Care Without Harm and origin storyGary's background and path leading up to itTheir initial starting point and strategyProgress to-dateTeam compositionHow they measure successHow decarbonization fits inBiggest levers to bring about decarbonization of health careBarriers impeding progressChanges that would be most  impactfulHow Gary would allocate $100B to maximize its impact on the problemHow you and I can helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Health Care Without Harm: https://noharm.org/Practice Greenhealth: https://practicegreenhealth.org/United Nations Development Programme: https://www.undp.org/International Monetary Fund: https://www.imf.org/external/index.htmHealth care energy impact calculator: http://www.eichealth.org/World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/  Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Tim Freundlich, CEO of ImpactAssets.Tim is a long-time innovator in new financial instruments in the social enterprise sector, which he now applies as the head of ImpactAssets, the $1 billion boutique donor advised fund and investment note offerer for impact investments. While previously at Calvert Foundation for 12 years, he conceived of and launched the donor advised fund. He was also instrumental in building the $250mm Community Investment Note with more than $1 billion invested into 300-plus nonprofits and for profits globally.He co-founded and serves as Managing Partner for Good Capital that, in addition to its flagship Social Enterprise Expansion Fund LP, founded the 2,500-person annual Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) conferences in San Francisco and four Impact Hubs in the US; co-working, meeting and community space serving approximately 2,000 social innovators.Tim is a sought-out industry speaker and regularly featured and quoted in media such as ThinkAdvisor and WealthManagement and has appeared on TheStreet and Forbes. He received a BA from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. Tim and his wife, Julie, live in San Francisco with their sons, Milo and Gus.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview of ImpactAssetsOrigin story and how the model worksHow it is different than a typical institutional asset allocationWho the target customers areTraction and progress to dateSome example success storiesLong visionImpact, if successfulWhat comes nextBarriers holding them backWhat could change to help them move fasterAdvice for people looking to allocate their philanthropic capital to maximize its impactLinks to topics discussed in this episode:ImpactAssets: http://impactassets.org/Tim Freundlich: https://www.impactassets.org/about_us/team/timothy-freundlichUN Sustainable Development Goals: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/Seth Goldman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Goldman_(businessman)Beyond Meat: https://www.beyondmeat.com/MSCI KLD 400 Social Index: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/domini_400.aspCalvert Impact Capital: https://www.calvertimpactcapital.org/What is a donor-advised fund? https://www.nptrust.org/what-is-a-donor-advised-fund/Toniic: https://toniic.com/CREO Syndicate: http://creosyndicate.org/You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today’s guest is Akshat Rathi, a London-based reporter, covering science, energy, and environment for Bloomberg News. He has a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Oxford, and a BTech in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai.He tells stories of the people and their ideas tackling the biggest problem facing humanity: climate change. And he is currently working on a book about scaling up climate solutions.Previously, Akshat was a senior reporter at Quartz and a science editor at The Conversation. He has also worked for The Economist and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His writings have also been published in Nature, The Hindu, The Guardian, Ars Technica, and Chemistry World, among others.In 2018, Akshat won Journalist of the Year at the Drum’s Online Media Awards ceremony, he was a finalist for the John B. Oakes award for distinguished environmental journalism, and he was shortlisted for British Science Writer of the Year by the Association of British Science Writers. In 2019, he was shortlisted by the British Journalism Awards for the best science journalism category.Akshat has won fellowships from Columbia University and City University of New York to enhance his reporting work. He has also served on the advisory panel of the 2019 Cairncross Review on the sustainability of high-quality journalism in the UK.In today’s episode, we cover:Akshat’s most recent role at QuartzHow and why Akshat came to be a climate journalist, and where his concern about this issue came fromHis transition from PhD to journlismThe importance of rigor in science journalism, and how Akshat defines itThe state of media business models, and the implications for climate coverageSome different paths to introduce more scientific expertise in the newsroomAkshat’s assessment of the problem of climate changeAkshat’s thoughts about market forces vs regulation, a carbon price, US role vs developing countries, carbon removal, fission & fusion, solar geoengineering, and moreRole of the fossil fuel companies in the transitionConsumer and corporate offsetsAdaptation and resiliencyHow Akshat would allocate $100B to maximize its impact towards decarbonizationAkshat’s advice for others looking to figure out how to helpA teaser for Akshat’s upcoming role with Bloomberg News (which he’s since started!)Links to topics discussed in this episode:Quartz: https://qz.com/UN Climate Change Conference - December 2019: https://unfccc.int/cop25The "would you nationalize sausages?" question: https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2019/12/10/would-you-nationalise-sausages-wins-the-weirdest-question-of-the-election-award/Bloomberg News: https://www.bloomberg.com/ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/Climate Home: https://www.climatechangenews.com/Carbon Brief: https://www.carbonbrief.org/Heated: https://heated.world/Emily Atkin: https://twitter.com/emorweeClimate Feedback: https://climatefeedback.org/NewScientist: https://www.newscientist.com/The Economist: https://www.economist.com/AAAS Fellowship: https://www.aaas.org/programs/science-technology-policy-fellowshipsBreakthrough Energy Ventures: https://www.b-t.energy/ventures/Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Joey Bergstein, CEO of Seventh Generation, recently acquired by Unilever. Seventh Generation’s mission is to inspire a consumer revolution that nurtures the health of the next seven generations. The company is a leader in positive business practices through the use of renewable plant-based products, industry-leading transparency with respect to ingredient disclosures, and recyclable packaging.Joey joined Seventh Generation in 2011 and, together with the Seventh Generation team, has been transforming its business, more than doubling revenue during this time, while fulfilling the company’s mission to incite a consumer revolution that nurtures the health of the next seven generations. Following the sale to Unilever, Joey was appointed CEO. Growth is accelerating, as is the company’s ability to impact millions of people around the world.A graduate of University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business, Bergstein began his career at Procter & Gamble where he held marketing leadership roles over the course of ten years across North America and in Europe. Since then, his career turned to beverages where Joey served as VP Global Business Development and then VP Marketing at Molson and finally at Diageo where as Senior Vice President of Global Rum, Joey led a global team that doubled the rum business to over $1 billion, transforming Captain Morgan into the fastest growing premium spirit brand in the world.In today’s episode, we cover:Seventh Generation overview and origin story'Discussion about it’s unique principles, and when/how those came to beJoey’s career arc, and what led him to Seventh GenerationWhen/how/why he became passionate about helping address climate changeHow he thinks about the problem, and the best ways to solve itSome examples of initiatives within the company to help with this issueHow they prioritize which projects to take on, and how they measure results from an impact standpointDiscussion about B corps, and their role going forward versus changes that need to come with capitalism overallWhat else matters in the climate fight, beyond the work of Seventh GenerationHow Joey would allocate a big pot of money to maximize its impact on climate changeJoey’s advice for others looking to determine how to best helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Seventh Generation: https://www.seventhgeneration.com/homeB corps: https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corpsGreat Law of Peace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Law_of_PeaceSierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/Generation IM: https://www.generationim.com/Seventh Generation: https://www.seventhgeneration.com/homeAmerican Sustainable Business Council: https://www.asbcouncil.org/Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Senator Stephen Fenberg, a Democrat who serves as state Senator in the 18th District in Colorado where he's served since 2017. He also serves as the Senate Majority Leader.A few years after graduating from CU, Senator Fenberg founded New Era Colorado, a nonprofit organization dedicated engaging, educating, and training young people in the political process. The organization has registered hundreds of thousands of young people to vote in Colorado and successfully passed several pieces of legislation related to election reform, student debt, and climate.He has also served on the Board of Directors for ProgressNow, One Colorado Political Committee, and INVST Community Studies as well as the Boulder Housing Working Group and the city of Boulder Capital Improvement Taskforce. Senator Fenberg now serves as an Advisory Board member for the dZi Foundation, an international nonprofit providing development work in remote areas of Nepal.Senator Fenberg is part-owner of the Bread Bar, a cocktail bar in the historic town of Silver Plume. Bread Bar resides at the site of a historic bakery from the 1800's.In today’s episode, we cover:Senator Fenberg’s history prior to holding officeNew Era Colorado, a nonprofit organization founded by Senator Fenberg, dedicated to engaging, educating, and training young people in the political processHis decision to run for office and whyHis early work in office to gain Democratic majorityHis assessment of the state of the Federal government, and the role of the statesHow he thinks about the climate problemHis assessment of Republicans and the climate change problemImportance of going after coal plantsOne benefit of regulated monopoly utilityHow to not just get policy done, but durable policyWhat the oil and gas industry wantsSenator Fenberg’s advice to those that want to helpHis advice for the future incoming President in 2021How Senator Fenberg is thinking about his futureLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Senator Fenberg: https://leg.colorado.gov/legislators/stephen-fenbergNew Era Colorado: https://neweracolorado.org/Joe Neguse: https://neguse.house.gov/Leslie Herod: https://leg.colorado.gov/legislators/leslie-herodLisa Kaufmann: https://www.denverpost.com/2018/11/09/jared-polis-chief-staff-lisa-kaufmann/Xcel Energy: https://www.xcelenergy.com/Senate bill 181: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/environment_energy_resources/publications/trends/2019-2020/november-december-2019/senate-bill/Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Shreya Dave, co-founder and CEO of Via Separations.Via Separations has pioneered a new membrane based on graphene oxide for fine liquid filtration in harsh environments, with applications in food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and bulk and specialty chemicals.  They are scaling up and commercializing the material platform for use in industrial separation processes such as food ingredient production and chemical manufacturing. Shreya graduated from MIT with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Her PhD research focused on the design and manufacture of graphene oxide membranes for water desalination, including fundamental characterization methods of graphene oxide, membrane synthesis, and economic analysis of the role of membranes in cost constraints of desalination plants. She also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MIT in mechanical engineering and technology & policy.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview and origin story of Via SeparationsDiscussion about industrial processes and their emissions footprintWhy and when sustainability became important to ShreyaHow she came to be doing the PhD research that led to the company formationThe importance of doing customer discovery, and how the I-Corps program helped themComparison between I-Corps and Cyclotron Road / ActivateSimilarities between customer discovery and fundraisingThe key phases of company building so farBusiness modelDiscussion about project finance, and how accessible it is to early stage hard tech companiesDiscussion about project insuranceDiscussion about when and how to engage strategicsDiscussion about where, as a new founder, Shreya turns for help navigating the different phases of growthWhat some of the more impactful things are that could change to accelerate progressRole model companiesAdvice for other PhDs in the lab thinking of following a similar pathLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Shreya Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shdave/Via Separations: https://www.viaseparations.com/Professor Jeffrey Grossman: https://dmse.mit.edu/people/jeffrey-c-grossmanI-Corps: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/Brent Keller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-keller-88430811a/Cyclotron Road: https://www.cyclotronroad.org/The Engine: https://www.engine.xyz/Reid Hoffman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_HoffmanBlitzscaling book: https://www.blitzscaling.com/Chobani: https://www.chobani.com/You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is David Perry, President, CEO, and Director of Indigo Ag, Indigo Ag is harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. They improve grower profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health through the use of natural microbiology and digital technologies. Founded in 2016 Indigo Ag has raised more than $650 million in funding. The recently announced Terraton Initiative is a global effort to remove a trillion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to enrich agricultural soils.David is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and built three innovative companies in the last 20 years, leading the last two through successful IPOs and to multi-billion dollar market capitalizations and raising over $1.2 billion while generating significant returns for investors. He was most recently CEO and Co-Founder of Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ANAC), a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel small-molecule therapeutics to treat infectious and inflammatory diseases. The company was acquired by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) in 2016 for approximately $5.2 billion. David previously co-founded and served as CEO of Chemdex (NASDAQ: CMDX), later creating its parent company Ventro Corporation (NASDAQ: VNTR), a business-to-business marketplace focused on the life sciences industry. At its peak, Ventro was valued at $11 billion and was later sold to Nexprise. David is Founder and Chairman of the San Francisco-based digital health startup Better Therapeutics (f/k/a FareWell) and a Board Director of the human microbiome company Evelo Biosciences.In 2000, David was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Northern California by Ernst and Young. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Tulsa. He also attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he was a National Merit Scholar. In today’s episode, we cover:Overview and origin story of Indigo AgDavid’s career as an entrepreneur, and how he has prioritized what projects to take on along the wayThe most striking problems to David about the food and agriculture systemDavid’s consistent approach to starting from zero as he kicks off a new ventureIndigo’s vision, strategy, and progress to-dateOverview of regenerative farmingValue prop to farmersOverview of Terraton Initiative and other key Indigo projectsHow they fit into the climate fight, and what their impact can be if successfulHow David thinks about climate change in general, and what else can be impactful in the climate fight beyond Indigo’s workHow David would allocate $100B to maximize its impact in the climate fightDavid’s advice for others looking to find their laneLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Indigo Ag website: https://www.indigoag.comFlagship Pioneering: https://www.flagshippioneering.com/Cargill: https://www.cargill.com/ADM: https://www.adm.com/Bunge: https://www.bunge.com/Indigo Carbon: https://www.indigoag.com/for-growers/indigo-carbonTerraton Initiative: https://terraton.indigoag.com/Regenerative farming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_agriculture45Q primer: https://www.betterenergy.org/blog/primer-section-45q-tax-credit-for-carbon-capture-projects/You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today's guest is Dr. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown. Project Drawdown is a world-class research organization that reviews, analyzes, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions, and shares these findings with the world. Their book, Drawdown, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and describes the hundred most substantive solutions to global warming. For each one, describes its history, its carbon impact, the relative cost and savings, path to adoption, and how it works.Dr. Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, and public speaker. His work is focused on understanding our changing planet, and finding new solutions to sustain the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources we all depend on.Foley’s groundbreaking research and insights have led him to become a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and business leaders around the world. He and his colleagues have made major contributions to our understanding of global ecosystems, food security and the environment, climate change, and the sustainability of the world’s resources. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including many highly cited works in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named him a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science, placing him among the top 1 percent most cited global scientists.A noted science communicator, his presentations have been featured at hundreds of international venues, including the Aspen Institute, the World Bank, the National Geographic Society, the Chautauqua Institution, the Commonwealth Club, the National Science March in Washington, D.C., and TED.com. He has taught at several major universities on topics ranging from climate change, global sustainability solutions, the future of the food system, and addressing the world’s “grand challenges”. He has also written many popular pieces in publications like National Geographic, the New York Times, the Guardian, and Scientific American. He is also frequently interviewed by international media outlets, and has appeared on National Public Radio, the PBS NewsHour, the BBC, CNN, and in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Salon, WIRED, the HBO documentary on climate change “Too Hot Not to Handle”, and the upcoming film series “Let Science Speak”.Foley has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Clinton; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation’s 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America; and the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Award. In 2014, he was also named as the winner of the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment.Before joining Project Drawdown, Foley led a number of world-leading environmental science and sustainability organizations. From 1993 to 2008, he was based at the University of Wisconsin, where he launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program (CPEP), founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and served as the first Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. From 2008 and 2014, he was the founding director of the Institute on the Environment(IonE) at the University of Minnesota, where he was also McKnight Presidential Chair of Global Environment and Sustainability. Then, between 2014 and 2018, he served as the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences, the greenest and more forward-thinking science museum on the planet.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview and origin story of Project DrawdownDr. Foley’s background and experience leading up to his time at DrawdownSome of the challenges that come with being a scientist focused on this areaThe nature of the climate problem, and what the scientists have gotten very rightWhat kind of leadership will be needed to solve itWhat are the biggest levers to solve itWhere Drawdown 2.0 fits in, and how it can helpHow Dr. Foley would allocate a big pot of money, to maximize its impact on decarbonizationHis advice for others looking to find their lane to helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Project Drawdown: https://www.drawdown.org/California Academy of Sciences: https://www.calacademy.org/Merchants of Doubt: https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/Naomi Oreskes: https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/naomi-oreskesKatharine Hayhoe: http://katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/Michael Mann: https://www.michaelmann.net/Montreal Protocol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_ProtocolCAFE Standards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_economyTED talk by Katharine Wilkinson: https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_wilkinson_how_empowering_women_and_girls_can_help_stop_global_warming?language=enTED talk by Chad Frischmann: https://www.ted.com/talks/chad_frischmann_100_solutions_to_climate_change?language=enClimate Take Back Program: https://www.interface.com/US/en-US/sustainability/climate-take-back-en_USCitizens United: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_(organization)Mary Robinson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_RobinsonYou can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today’s guest is Barney Schauble, Chairman, Nephila Climate, the world's largest asset manager dedicated to weather and catastrophe insurance risks.Barney joined Nephila Capital in 2004 as a Managing Partner and moved to San Francisco in 2010 to set up Nephila Advisors. Barney is the Chair of the Board of Nephila Climate (NCx), and also a Director of Nephila Capital Ltd. and Nephila Holdings Ltd.Barney is the Head of Nephila Labs, where his primary responsibilities include oversight of research and insurtech; he is also involved in investor relations and business development. Barney began working in re/insurance in New York in 1993 as a broker for Marsh and Guy Carpenter. He joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. in their Risk Markets group in 1996, where he helped to execute the first catastrophe bond and spent six years working on development and distribution of catastrophe andweather-linked products. Barney joined XL Capital in 2003 and was head of marketing for the weather risk management business.Barney attended Harvard College and received his BA in Economics in 1995. He wrote his senior thesis to explore investing in bonds linked to property catastrophe reinsurance risk. He served as a Director of The Climate Corporation (2007-2012), MetroMile (2009-2011), and Advisen (2014-2016).  He is Chair of the Board of Ceres (a non-profit devoted to sustainable capitalism) where he has been a Director since 2011. He is also an advisor and/or board member of several insurance-related technology companies.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview of Nephila, and of reinsurance, in generalHistory of the reinsurance marketFounding story of Nephila, and Barney’s experience leading up to thatThe nature of Nephila’s work and how it has evolved over timeHow Barney thinks about climate change, and his thinking has evolved over timeBarney’s views on climate risk, and short-term/long-term considerations looking into the futureBarney’s views on the best ways to solveBarney’s work at Ceres, and why it is importantIs the reinsurance market a leading or lagging indicator of climate risk?The role of policyHow Barney would allocate a big pot of money to maximize its impact in the climate fightBarney’s advice for how you and I can helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Nephila Climate: https://www.nephilaclimate.com/Swiss Re: https://www.swissre.com/Munich Re: https://www.munichre.com/en.htmlSCOR: https://www.scor.com/enMarsh & McLennan: https://www.mmc.com/World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/Ceres: https://www.ceres.org/Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures: https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Today’s guest is Marilyn Waite, Program Officer, Climate & Clean Energy Finance at William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.Marilyn manages the foundation’s grantmaking on climate and clean energy finance with the ambitious goal of addressing climate change by accelerating the transition to a climate-friendly economy. Her grantmaking mobilizes private capital investments in low-carbon and climate-friendly energy infrastructure and systems, seeking to redirect finance from high- to low-carbon activities and encourage wiser energy investments. A key component to this work includes assessing climate finance flows, identifying ways to lower the cost and risk of investment, and supporting innovations in capital markets to address investor requirements for clean energy and climate-aligned projects.Marilyn has worked across four continents in venture investment, startups, and low-carbon energy. She previously led the clean energy practice at Village Capital, where she sourced and performed due diligence for early-stage startups solving energy challenges and built a network of 1,000-plus clean tech entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, and government stakeholders. As a senior research fellow at Project Drawdown, she modeled and forecasted energy solutions to climate change. Marilyn led several operational and research and development projects at AREVA in France, including performing technical and economic studies in the energy-water nexus and the nuclear energy cycle.Author of Sustainability at Work, Marilyn serves on the board of directors for the Biomimicry Institute and lectures on sustainable business at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. She is an E2 1 Hotels Fellow, and as such, her work and writing highlights opportunities in women-led, green economy startups throughout the country.She holds a bachelor’s of science degree in civil and environmental engineering, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and a master’s degree with distinction in engineering for sustainable development from the University of Cambridge.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview of the Hewlett FoundationMarilyn’s professional history, leading her up to her current roleWhen she started caring about climate change, and whyHer current role, focus areas, how they determine how grants are allocated, and some example projectsHow they measure success, and how this work ties into broader climate fightWhat else can be high impact in climate fightHow Marilyn would allocate a big pot of money to maximize its impact in the climate fightMarilyn’s advice for you and I for how we can helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: https://hewlett.org/New Energy Nexus: https://www.newenergynexus.com/Project Drawdown: https://www.drawdown.org/Village Capital: https://vilcap.com/PCAF: https://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/Multilateral development banks: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41170.pdfClean Energy Federal Credit Union: https://www.cleanenergycu.org/home/homeWinners Take All book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539747/winners-take-all-by-anand-giridharadas/Just Giving book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-giving-rob-reich/1128553898Decolonizing Wealth book: https://www.amazon.com/Decolonizing-Wealth-Indigenous-Divides-Restore/dp/1523097892Global Alliance for Banking on Values: http://www.gabv.org/You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show! Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant