With extreme weather events proliferating, insurance companies are already on the front lines of climate change. In this episode, Chad Reed speaks with Sarah Chapman, Chief Sustainability Officer for Manulife – one of the world’s largest insurance providers and investment managers. Sarah discusses how Manulife incorporates ESG risks and opportunities, including emissions accounting and biodiversity issues, into its operations and investment decisions, the three pillars of Manulife’s ambitious impact agenda, and the role of industry associations and policy in supporting financial material ESG initiatives. Links:Manulife’s Environmental, Social and Governance Report (2021)Manulife’s Impact AgendaTaskforce on Nature-related Financial DisclosuresEpisode recorded: April 12, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

More than 90% of Fortune 500 companies report their emissions using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP), which supplies the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards. But despite significant advances in data analytics around emissions measurement, it’s been nearly a decade since the GHGP was last updated. Thankfully, the NGOs that manage the GHGP recently kicked off the update process, soliciting feedback from stakeholders across the spectrum. In this episode, Chad Reed and HASI Strategic Advisor Brendan Herron speak with Faraz Ahmad, Head of Net Zero Grid for Amazon. Faraz dives deep into the efforts of the Emissions First Partnership, a consortium of companies working together to reduce their emissions with the most impactful clean energy projects and to move away from megawatt hour matching and toward integration of an emissions-based framework into the GHGP. Faraz also discusses how underserved regions – both across the globe and within the U.S. itself – could economically benefit from an emissions first approach to the energy transition.Links: Greehouse Gas ProtocolEmissions First PartnershipCarbonCountEpisode recorded: March 28, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.  Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Expanding access to clean energy like solar is essential to global climate goals, and it is especially impactful for the residents on island nations in the Caribbean that face high energy costs and are exposed to increasingly violent storms. As the director of projects for the Rocky Mountain Institute (now known as RMI), Chris Burgess navigates the decarbonization and decentralization of energy in markets that have previously been left out of the energy transition. Hilary Langer and Chris Burgess (Director of Projects for RMI) discuss why decentralized power is especially important to quality of life in underserved communities, how to establish alignment among disparate stakeholders, and how urgent action can be scaled. Links: RMI on 60 MinutesRMI (Rocky Mountain Institute)RMI’s “Solar Under Storm” ReportChristopher Burgess on LinkedInAmory Lovins, Soft Energy PathsMia Mottley UN Profile: Champions of the Earth Episode recorded: March 23, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this episode, Gil Jenkins speaks with Peter Krull, Partner & Director of Sustainable Investing at Earth Equity Advisors, A Prime Capital Investment Advisors Company. Peter focuses on creating and managing Earth Equity’s sustainable, responsible, and impact investment portfolios as well as writing thought leadership pieces and elevating the responsible investing story.Gil talks with Peter about his background and journey into the industry, how sustainable investing has evolved from socially responsible investing (SRI), which focused on exclusion, and the differences between impact investing, ESG investing, and sustainable investing from his point of view.  Peter also shares his thoughts on a few of the energy and environmental sectors that excite him most. Links:WebsitePeter Krull TwitterPeter Krull LinkedInFull Bio: Pete is a well-known leader in the green business community and a long-time advocate for fossil-fuel-free and sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing.He began his investment career at Merrill Lynch in 1998 where he earned the firm’s Certified Financial Manager designation. He honed his investment management skills as he guided his clients through the dot-com bubble and recovery.In 2004, he hung up his shingle as Krull & Company and began the journey as a conscious entrepreneur. From the beginning, he knew that his firm would focus on responsible investing and trademarked the phrase, helping you align your investments with your values®. In 2017, Krull & Company became Earth Equity Advisors.Over the years, he has provided leadership to clients, colleagues, and communities. From chairing the Asheville-based environmental non-profit MountainTrue through a pivotal expansion to guiding Earth Equity Advisors’ rapid growth and rise to prominence as a six-time Best for the World™ honoree, Pete’s impact on the responsible investing movement is clear.He was named one of the 100 most influential financial advisors in America by Investopedia in 2018 and became one of the first individuals to earn the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation from the College for Financial Planning. In 2021, Pete was featured by The Collider among the Faces of Climate City, which highlights Asheville, NC residents who are providing leadership in the Climate industry. He was also recognized on Real Leaders’ list of 70 Environmental Leaders You Should Know alongside Sir David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, and Greta Thunberg, and was selected for the LUMINARIES Class of 2021 by ThinkAdvisor in the category of Thought Leadership & Education. Recognition continued in 2022 with Pete being announced as a finalist for the RIA Intel Awards’ ESG Advocate of the Year, appearing on AdvisorHub’s list of Fastest Growing Advisors to Watch in 2022, and receiving the 2022 Sustainable Champion Award from the North Carolina Business Council.Pete’s expert opinion is sought after by The New York Times, Bloomberg, Money Magazine, CNBC, The Washington Post, Investors Business Daily, US News & World Report, MarketWatch, Investment News, Wealth Management, RIA Intel, Barron’s, and other notable national publications, podcasts, and channels. He is also a contributing writer to top business publications, Forbes and Kiplinger. As Partner and Director of Sustainable Investments, he is responsible for leading the firm’s SRI initiatives, including thought leadership, education, and managing the sustainable investment portfolios.A native of Western New York, he lives in Asheville, NC with his wife, Dr. Melissa Booth, a microbiologist, author, and the founder of The Science Communicator. He is a serious amateur photographer, a lover of world travel, and a huge fan of the Buffalo Sabres. As you would expect, their house is solar-powered and their cars are electric.Episode recorded February 3, 2023 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Over the last few years, there has been an influx of venture capital seeking out profitable climate tech startups. At the same time, asset-backed financing has become generally more available and cheaper – all else equal – for renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure projects. But there has been a missing middle – investors willing to underwrite both technology and project-level risk to drive systemic climate positive change. This is why Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) was created – to reimagine infrastructure investing for the 21st century. By integrating technological expertise, infrastructure experience, creative capital, and multistakeholder engagement, the firm has been making significant platform investments in the technology-enabled infrastructure of the future. Chad Reed and Jonathan Winer (SIP Co-Founder and Co-CEO) dive deep into many of the spaces SIP is investing in – from autonomous vehicle roadways, to shared broadband solutions, to waste-free recycling, to truly resilient electric grids. Links: Sidewalk Infrastructure PartnersAccelerator for AmericaOhmConnect Episode recorded: February 3, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Way back in early 2020, Microsoft made some of the most ambitious climate pledges of any corporation on the planet. It pledged to be carbon negative by 2030 and by 2050 to remove from the atmosphere all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by way of electricity consumption since its founding nearly 50 years ago. It also launched a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund to accelerate the global development of technologies required to achieve these pledges.In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Brandon Middaugh – Senior Director of Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. From direct air capture to sustainable aviation fuels to urban green buildings, the discussion spans several of the verticals into which Microsoft has invested a portion of the $500 million it has already deployed through its fund. In addition, Brandon touches on the value of industry coalitions, the role of climate philanthropy, and the importance of centering people at the heart of the climate movement. Links: Microsoft Climate Innovation FundThe Carbon CallThe Big BurnEpisode recorded: January 18, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Kim Kovacs is the Chief Executive Officer of element6 Dynamics. She is spearheading a transformation in the hemp industry to bring industrial hemp production to scale.  By replacing tree-based pulp in paper and in packaging, hemp can reduce the pressure to harvest forests while also sequestering carbon and replenishing soils. In this episode, Hilary Langer and Kim Kovacs discuss how hemp works as a carbon sink, why both farmers and corporations are eager to get involved in hemp production, and why now is the time to grow in the volume needed to reverse the carbon impact of the paper and packaging industry.  Links Element6 DynamicsKim Kovacs on LinkedInNew York Times: Where Does All the Cardboard Come From?NRDC: The Issue With TissueEpisode Recorded: January 13, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.  Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Dr. Brian von Herzen is the founder and executive director of the Climate Foundation, and a champion of marine permaculture – a process that the Climate Foundation is bringing to scale to reduce carbon, improve food security and regenerate marine ecosystems.In this episode, Hilary Langer and Brian von Herzen discuss the importance of restoring balance to the ocean, how marine permaculture engages populations that depend on the ocean for food, and how his team plans to expand marine permaculture in Asia and around the world. Links Climate FoundationBrian von Herzen, PhD LinkedIn Profile2040 FilmGreenwave Regenerative Ocean Farming on Climate PositiveEpisode Recorded: January 10, 2023Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Every day, the alphabet soup of climate and ESG-related NGOs seems to thicken. But their respective raisons d’etre can seem like a mystery for all but the closet of insiders. To help unravel the role of each of these organizations in the broader social movement and policy push for urgent climate action, Chad Reed speaks with Ivan Frishberg, the chief sustainability officer of Amalgamated Bank and a pioneer of climate collaboration for big banks and corporates. Given his historically central and successful role in driving industry collaboration on climate action, Ivan provides key insights into the current state of this evolving landscape, delves into the hot topic of divestment versus engagement, and discusses the merits and significance—or lack thereof—of the so-called ESG backlash. Links:Amalgamated Bank 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility ReportScience Based TargetsIvan Frishberg on TwitterEpisode recorded: December 19, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Corals are the gems of the oceans, creating beautiful colors and shapes that form our reefs while serving many vital functions for life on this planet. With 25-40% already lost, the worldwide coral population faces incredible danger from climate change and other threats. But there is hope. On this week’s episode, Hilary and I talk with Dr. David E. Vaughan, an esteemed marine biologist and author of the new book The Secret Life of Corals: Sex, War, and Rocks that Don’t Roll.Dr. Vaughan has held aquaculture research and development positions for over 45 years. He is best known for developing the innovative restoration technique of “micro-fragmentation, which can speed up coral growth by 25 times by breaking them into tiny little pieces. He is focused on making this innovative process a scalable tool for reef restoration as the Founder of Plant a Million Corals. As you’ll hear in this conversation, David brings great clarity and joy when talking about corals and why they are so important.Links:Book: The Secret Life of Corals: Sex, War and Rocks That Don't RollWebsite: Plant A Million CoralsDr. David E. Vaughn TedX TalkNOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem OverviewEpisode recorded:  December 7, 2022 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.