Inevitable

Today’s guest is Rob Day, General Partner at Spring Lane Capital. Spring Lane Capital partners with strong management teams who are selling or using distributed assets with compelling customer economics in the energy, water, food and waste sectors. In these sectors, they focus on solutions that have significantly positive impacts on the sustainability of our natural resources, which they believe offer advantaged long-term benefits economically and socially. They’ve found that in practice, most such solutions have major physical components – “distributed assets” are those solutions using equipment or facilities smaller and less concentrated than traditional project finance can address. Rob has been a sustainable resources private equity investor since 2004, and acts or has served as a Director, Observer and advisory board member to multiple companies in the energy tech and related sectors. Rob also serves on the Board at the New England Clean Energy Council. From 2005-2016 he authored the column Cleantech Investing, which appeared on GreentechMedia.com, and co-hosted several conferences with that group on the topic of new investment models for the sustainability sector. Formerly a consultant with Bain & Company, Rob has worked with companies and evaluated private equity transactions in the energy/ utilities, telecom, IT, medical/pharmaceutical, and retail industries. Earlier in his career, Rob was a member of the World Resources Institute's Sustainable Enterprise Program, where he co-authored the report The Next Bottom Line: Making Sustainable Development Tangible. Rob received his MBA at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University), and his BA at Swarthmore College. In this episode we discuss: Overview of Spring Lane Capital Rob’s background & history and what got him initially caring about the planet and sustainability Spring Lane Capital model, target customers, what alternatives existed before they came along, and how they are different How they measure success, in terms of both financial returns and the mission What Rob would be doing to focus on climate change if he wasn’t doing this Rob’s advice to people trying to find their own ways to make a mark in this problem space Links for topics discussed in this episode: Aries Clean Energy: https://ariescleanenergy.com/ Generate Capital: https://generatecapital.com/ Ultra Capital: https://www.ultracapital.com/ Rob Day’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robday/ Rob Day’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/cleantechvc I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and via email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests. 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 Diego Saez Gil, co-founder & CEO of Pachama. Diego Saez-Gil is Co-founder & CEO of Pachama, a company focused on restoring the forests to solve climate change. Prior to Pachama, Diego co-founded Bluesmart (acquired by TravelPro) and WeHostels (acquired by StudentUniverse). Diego was awarded MIT 35 Under 35 and was selected High Impact Entrepreneur by Endeavor. Pachama is working to help restore the forests to solve climate change. They are developing technologies to bring trust, transparency, and efficiency to the Forest Carbon Market. They are combining machine learning with satellite and drone data to accelerate the verification of carbon in forests and increase the flow of capital from those offsetting their carbon emissions to those protecting and restoring the forests. They are backed by some of the best investors in Silicon Valley including Chris Sacca, Paul Graham, Y Combinator, among others. In this episode we discuss: Overview of Pachama Background on carbon offsets and how they work Overview of reforestation and why it is important Background on why reforestation has been difficult to certify land for historically, and how Pachama can help Progress of the company to date, long vision, and what is coming next What success looks like, and how it ties into broader climate fight What else can be high leverage on climate change, besides reforestation Role of policy, specific to Pachama and with broader lense in climate fight Role of venture capital in climate fight, and what types of climate solutions are the right fit for VC Advice to people trying to figure out how to help Links for topics discussed in this episode: Diego Saez Gil Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsaezgil/ Diego Saez Gil twitter: https://twitter.com/dsaezgil Pachama website: https://www.pachama.com/ Project Drawdown: https://www.drawdown.org/ Why Forests? Why Now?: The Science, Economics, and Politics of Tropical Forests and Climate Change: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933286857/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.krdDbWWR127E I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and via email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics and guests. 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 Noah Deich, the Founder & Executive Director of Carbon180. Carbon180 is a new breed of climate-focused NGO on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon. They partner with policymakers, scientists and businesses around the globe to develop policy, promote research, and advance solutions that transform carbon from a liability to an asset. Their vision is to build a prosperous, carbon-conscious economy that removes more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit. Noah is a cleantech professional with a passion for fighting climate change. Prior to founding Carbon180, Noah worked in consulting, and gained experience with environmental market and carbon offset modeling, financial valuation of renewable and fossil energy power plants, energy efficiency and demand response program design and implementation, and corporate social responsibility strategy assessments. Noah received his M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and his B.A. from the University of Virginia, and his writing has been published in GreenBiz. In this episode we discuss: Carbon removal defined & why we need it Carbon180 overview, history, etc Where they are the journey today, the long vision, and what is coming next Types of projects they work on, some examples, and how they measure success State of carbon removal and where it needs to go Some barriers holding it back and the best way to unlock faster progress Role of policy vs innovation Carbon 180’s role How you and I can help What else matters in the climate fight Advice to people trying to find their lane Links for topics discussed in this episode: Noah Deich LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahdeich/ Noah Deich Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecarbonsink Carbon180: https://carbon180.org/ National Academy of Science: http://www.nasonline.org/ Carbon removal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_removal Occidental Petroleum: https://www.oxy.com/Pages/default.aspx I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and via email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests. 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 Alicia Seiger, a lecturer at Stanford Law School who leads sustainability and energy finance initiatives at Stanford Law, Graduate School of Business and the Precourt Institute for Energy. Alicia serves as Managing Director for both the Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance and the Sustainable Finance Initiative. Her work focuses on business and financial innovations to accelerate the transition to a decarbonized and climate resilient global economy. In 2018, Alicia was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to serve on the first-ever Decarbonization Advisory Panel for the $209 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund. She also serves on the boards of Ceres and PRIME Coalition, and co-founded Stanford Professionals in Energy (SPIE). In 2014, she created Investing in a New Climate, an investor workshop series to help asset owners manage climate risk and capitalize on innovation opportunities. A serial entrepreneur and pioneer of new business models, Alicia has been designing and executing climate and energy strategies for businesses, foundations, investors, and NGOs since 2004. She has served on the management teams of multiple startups, including at TerraPass, a pioneer of the US carbon offset market, and Flycast Communications, one of the world’s first web advertising networks. In this episode we discuss: The type of work Alicia does at Stanford with the Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance and the Sustainable Finance Initiative How the financial world is thinking of climate change, including the disconnect between valuations and climate risk Where the US stacks up against the rest of the world in terms of sustainable investing Advice for people trying to figure out how to find their place in the climate fight What Alicia would do with a big pot of money, if she could put it to work to maximize its impact on deep decarbonization I hope you enjoy the show! 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. Edit notes from Alicia: I failed to mention “minimum standards”, which was the third headline of our report. To read more on this check out the NYCRF climate action plan (https://www.osc.state.ny.us/pension/climate-action-plan-2019.pdf) or our panel’s recommendations (https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/newer.PDF-NYCRF_DAP_FinalReport_Full.pdf.pdf). NYCRF did everything except adopt the headline. They didn’t actually publicly commit to 100% sustainable assets by 2030, but they started on the road towards that goal. Links for topics discussed in this episode: Alicia Seiger’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aseiger Alicia Seiger’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaseiger Alicia Seiger’s Stanford Bio: https://law.stanford.edu/directory/alicia-seiger/ Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance: https://law.stanford.edu/steyer-taylor-center-for-energy-policy-and-finance/ Stanford Sustainable Finance Initiative, Precourt Institute for Energy: https://energy.stanford.edu/sustainable-finance-initiative Ceres: https://www.ceres.org/ FSB, TCFD Website: https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ FSB, Mark Carney Video on TCMD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvLsLJ7kl3E Sarah Kearney: https://www.myclimatejourney.co/episodes/sarah-kearney Matthew Nordan: https://www.myclimatejourney.co/episodes/matthew-nordan Prime Coalition: https://primecoalition.org/ Cyclotron Road: https://www.cyclotronroad.org/ Tom Steyer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Steyer 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 Pat Brown, CEO & founder of Impossible Foods, a company at the forefront of making nutritious, delicious meat and dairy products from plants to satisfy meat lovers and address the environmental impact of animal farming.  Founded in 2011, the Bay Area-based company has now raised a total of $687.5 million from a host of backers including Khosla Ventures, UBS, Bill Gates, Serena Williams and singer Katy Perry. In this episode we discuss: Pat’s background as a chemist and the sabbatical that led him to founding Impossible Foods What the company does, how it goes to market, and progress to date Mission, long-term vision, and how it ties back to broader climate fight What else can be impactful on climate change beyond the work of Impossible Foods Pat’s advice to consumers on the most impactful things they can do to be helpful in the fight against climate change I hope you enjoy the show! 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. Links for topics discussed in this episode: Pat Brown’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-brown-338b467 Impossible Foods website: https://impossiblefoods.com/ Impossible Foods Impact Report 2019 https://impossiblefoods.com/mission/2019impact/ 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 Saul Griffith, the founder of Otherlab. Saul is a prolific inventor and entrepreneur but was trained as an engineer. He received his Ph.D. at MIT in the junction between materials science and information theory. Prior to MIT, Saul studied in Sydney, Australia and at UC Berkeley in metallurgical engineering. Since graduating in 2004 he has started numerous technology companies based in the Bay Area including Makani Power 2007-acquired by Google, Instructables 2006-acquired by Autodesk and Squid Labs 2004-2007. Saul has been awarded numerous awards for invention and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2007. Saul holds multiple patents and patents pending in textiles, optics, nanotechnology, energy production, manufacturing and smart geometry. Otherlab is an independent research & design lab that pairs creativity & rigor to innovations in sustainable energy and robotics. In this episode we discuss: Saul’s childhood experiences that led him to care about the environment and his interest in engineering and robotics, which resulted in his unique views on how to approach the problem of climate change The type of work Saul and his team are doing at Otherlab, including process, projects, success criteria, and how they partner with orgs like ARPA-E and the government The role and importance of hydrocarbon companies in the climate issue, and Saul’s unique idea for how to mobilize them effectively Saul’s idea for a new financial product focused on enabling home electrification for individual families The evolving role of Silicon Valley Saul’s thoughts on climate math and the future I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and via email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share feedback on episodes and/or suggestions for guests/topics you'd like to see covered in the future. Links for topics discussed in this episode: Saul Griffith’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saulgriffith Otherlab: https://otherlab.com/ Otherlab Twitter: https://twitter.com/otherlab James Hansen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hansen Sunfolding: https://www.sunfolding.com/ 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 Matt Rogers, the co-founder of Nest and now Incite.org. Incite turns big ideas to improve the world into big deals. They offer early money & support for changemakers through Incite Labs, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that makes grants and program-related investments to further charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, Incite Ventures, an investment fund that supports mission-driven enterprises through investments in businesses with the potential to scale, inspire others, and make a difference, and Incite Politics, the name of the work of Incite’s founders, Matt and Swati, to personally organize and support initiatives to pass legislation and elect candidates who approach our country’s issues from a fresh perspective. Matt is a builder at heart. He started at Apple, building the software team for 10 generations of the iPod. He was one of the first engineers on the original iPhone and involved in the development of 5 iPhone generations, and the first iPad. As co-founder of Nest, Matt built the team that built the first machine learning thermostat. And by doing so, has built the leading connected home brand — Nest. Matt is a Star Wars enthusiast and can often be spotted playing with his Airedale terrier friend, Bingley. In this episode we discuss: Matt’s time at Apple where he worked on the iPod, iPhone, and iPad The aha moment that led to Matt leaving Apple and founding Nest with Tony Fadell How Matt blended product and mission at Nest, which helped lead to it’s 3.2B acquisition by Google Matt’s time post Google acquisition and what led him and his wife Swati to found Incite.org The work Matt and his wife Swati are doing at Incite in startups, government, philanthropy, and politics Matt’s personal views on climate change and his expectations of those who have achieved success Links for topics discussed in this episode: Matt Rogers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattrogers2/ Matt Rogers Twitter: https://twitter.com/nestmatt Swati Mylavarapu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swatimylavarapu/ Incite.org: https://www.incite.org Yoky Matsuoka: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoky_Matsuoka Apple: https://www.apple.com/ Nest: https://nest.com/ Tony Fadell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyfadell/ Dan Yates: https://www.myclimatejourney.co/episodes/dan-yates Google acquires Nest: https://www.forbes.com/sites/aarontilley/2014/01/13/google-acquires-nest-for-3-2-billion/ Carbon180: https://carbon180.org/ Cyclotron Road: https://www.cyclotronroad.org/ Julio Friedmann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julio-friedmann-86a83a44/ ClearPath: https://clearpath.org/ UC Davis: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/can-seaweed-cut-methane-emissions-dairy-farms/ New York Times article w/ Matt Rogers: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/business/carbon-removal-technology-start-ups.htm I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and provide suggestions for future topics or guests. One correction: In this episode Matt Rogers said Cyclotron Road will soon be called Activation Energy. In fact, Cyclotron Road is a program managed in partnership between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Activate (formerly called Activation Energy), an independent nonprofit organization. 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 Joshua Posamentier, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Congruent Ventures. Congruent partners with entrepreneurs to build companies addressing sustainability challenges, investing early across hardware, software, enterprise, consumer, deep technology, fin-tech, and business model innovation. Joshua oversees Congruent’s investments in PolySpectra, Sense Photonics, Energetic Insurance, TeleSense, Bellwether Coffee, Xtelligent, ArcByt, Fox Robotics, and Emergy Labs. He has rich experience in venture (Prelude Ventures, Intel Capital) and operating roles (Intel, National Semi, TI), and entrepreneurship (CEO of Blipstream). He was an integral member of Intel’s first wireless chip team, started and ran National Semiconductor’s EV, Energy Storage and Smart Grid business units and initiated investment in several new business lines. Joshua has over 50 patents issued or pending, holds a BA in physics from the University California at Berkeley, and holds MBAs from the Columbia Business School and the Haas School of Business. Josh is an avid cyclist, skier, sailor, surfer, and photographer and lives with his family in the SF Bay Area. In this episode we discuss: Joshua’s background in both operating roles and ventures roles that gave him the conviction to start Congruent and focus on sustainability investing How Joshua balances generating returns vs making impact through his investments Examples of some of the companies Joshua and Congruent have invested in and the impact they are having on sustainability markets Joshua’s views on the climate issue and his advice to others who are struggling with the decision on where to spend their time in the climate fight I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and/or requests for topics/guests to cover on the show! Links for topics discussed in this episode: Joshua Posamentier's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/posamentier Joshua Posamentier's Twitter: https://twitter.com/posamentier Congruent Ventures Website: http://www.congruentvc.com/ Congruent Ventures Twitter: https://twitter.com/CongruentVC Abe Yokell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abe-yokell Daniel Hullah: https://www.myclimatejourney.co/episodes/daniel-hullah Prelude Ventures: https://www.preludeventures.com/ Amp Robotics: https://www.amprobotics.com/ Energetic Insurance: https://www.energeticinsurance.com/ James Bowen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbowen/ Jeff McAulay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlmcaulay/ 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 Adele Morris, a senior fellow and policy director for Climate and Energy Economics at the Brookings Institution. Her research informs critical decisions related to climate change, energy, and tax policy. She is a leading global expert on the design of carbon pricing policies. She joined Brookings in July 2008 from the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress, where she advised members and staff on economic, energy, and environmental policy. Before her work in Congress, Morris was the lead natural resource economist for the U.S. Treasury Department for nine years. In that position, she informed and represented Treasury’s positions on agriculture, energy, climate, and radio spectrum policies. On assignment to the U.S. Department of State in 2000, she led negotiations on land use and forestry issues in the international climate change treaty process. Prior to joining the Treasury, she served as the senior economist for environmental affairs at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers during the development of the Kyoto Protocol. Morris began her career at the Office of Management and Budget, where she oversaw rulemaking by agriculture and natural resource agencies. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University, an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Utah, and a B.A. from Rice University. In this episode we discuss: Adele’s background and her climate focused work at the Brookings Institution The political make up of the Brookings Institute and how they work on both the left and right side of the aisle Some of the recent projects Adele has been working on including a deep dive into carbon taxes The no nonsense straightforward approach Adele takes to her work and how she hopes it is received in this current polarized political climate we find ourselves in Adele’s advice to others: vote and educate yourself, and talk to others I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share any feedback or requests for specific topics/guests to have on the show! Links for topics discussed in this episode: The event with the members of Congress on June 20: https://www.brookings.edu/events/leading-carbon-price-proposals-a-bipartisan-dialogue/ The paper on the policy insights from our big modeling study: https://www.brookings.edu/research/policy-insights-from-comparing-carbon-pricing-modeling-scenarios/ The book I mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Implementing-Carbon-Tax-Explorations-Environmental/dp/1138825360 How to find your representative in Congress: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative Contact information for U.S. Senators: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state 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

In this episode I interview Kiran Bhatraju the Founder and CEO of Arcadia Power. Arcadia Power connects customers to local community solar projects and purchases renewable energy certificates from wind farms on their behalf. To date, Arcadia Power has 250,000 customers that have produced 680,000 megawatt hours of clean energy. In this episode we discuss: How Arcadia Power is making it easy for customers to transition to clean energy. How Arcadia Power uses offsets and renewable energy certificates and the impact those have on energy markets and innovation by demonstrating demand. The pricing strategy and freemium model Arcadia Power is using to attract customers. Kiran’s fear about societies tendency to adapt to the “new normal” and the consequences of tendency. Why Kiran believes its important for policymakers to remember those most significantly impacted by the transition to clean energy. I hope you enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and provide suggestions for future guests or topics you'd like to see covered on the show. Links for topics discussed in this episode: Kiran Bhatraju’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiran-bhatraju Kiran Bhatraju’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KiranRaju Arcadia Power: https://www.arcadiapower.com Wealthfront: https://www.wealthfront.com/ Bettermint: https://www.betterment.com Runkeeper: https://runkeeper.com/ Solar Holler: https://www.solarholler.com/ 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