Climate Positive

Are there unavoidable tradeoffs between human economic development and environmental conservation? Long before there were carbon offsets to help address climate change, there were environmental offsets – or projects undertaken to counterbalance significant but unavoidable negative impacts to wetlands, streams, and other important natural resources caused by infrastructure, commercial, industrial, or residential development. In the U.S., these sorts of projects are actually mandated by various state and federal environmental permitting regulations. But many of us – including many environmentalists – are completely unaware of the environmental offset market and how it works. In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Nick Dilks, Managing Partner at Ecosystem Investment Partners (or EIP). EIP acquires, restores, and permanently protects conservation properties and sells the mitigation credits generated by the projects to a diverse group of customers who must offset their unavoidable environmental impacts. Nick discusses EIP’s role in the environmental offset and mitigation banking markets in support of environmental restoration at scale. Note that EIP is a client of Hannon Armstrong.We also note and celebrate today the one year anniversary of the launch of the Climate Positive Podcast. With support from Hannon Armstrong, Chad, Hilary, and Gil started this podcast to delve into both the personal stories of the leaders, innovators, and changemakers driving our climate positive future and the sometimes wonky details of the wide array of climate positive topics and initiatives these leaders are engaged with. We encourage you to check out each of our first year’s 20 episodes, and we thank you for listening. LinksEcosystem Investment PartnersThe Conservation FundCopperas Stream Mitigation BankEpisode recorded March 10, 2022 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

In this episode, host Gil Jenkins speaks with Paula Glover, president of the Alliance to Save Energy – a bipartisan, nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders advocating to advance federal energy efficiency policy. Since its founding 45 years ago, the Alliance has played an integral role in nearly every major energy efficiency policy achievement on the national stage.  Paula and the Alliance team believe that a nation that uses energy more productively can achieve economic growth, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security, affordability, and reliability. It was wonderful to sit down with Paula roughly one year into her tenure as president of the Alliance. We are lucky to have such a wise, passionate, joyful, and dedicated person leading the charge for energy efficiency in America!Links:BioPaula on TwitterPaula on LinkedInAlways Bet on Black: Conversations with African American energy thought leaders covering a variety of topics hosted by Paula GloverAlliance to Save EnergyAlliance to Save Energy TwitterActive Efficiency CollaborativeOp-Ed: Want Environmental Justice? Look to Energy Efficiency (Politico, Paula Glover, February 1, 2021)Op-Ed: The clean energy economy has a diversity problem. Let’s change that as we build back.(Canary Media, Paula Glover, July 22, 2021)Article: 21 Wins For Energy Efficiency In 2021 (Ellie Long, December 30, 2021)Robert’s Rules of Order Episode recorded: February 23, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

In this episode, Chad Reed and Jeff Eckel sit down with Jeff Hooke, senior finance lecturer at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business and acclaimed author, to discuss his new book, The Myth of Private Equity, An inside Look at Wall Street’s Transformative Investments.Jeff dives deep into his thesis that certain private equity funds aren’t nearly as successful as they claim to be and that, as a result, many of their investors, including the pension funds of public employees, are subject to more risk than they think—with taxpayers potentially and ultimately on the hook for unexpected underperformance. Jeff also explores a similar dynamic plaguing the ESG investment space.While more financially focused than many other Climate Positive episodes, we chose to focus on this topic as we believe it is of increasing importance to both taxpayers and investors—including anyone with retirement savings—as we all look to put our dollars into investments that are both profitable and climate positive. LinksThe Myth of Private Equity: An Inside Look at Wall Street’s Transformative InvestmentsWashington Post: Maryland is wasting its pensioners’ moneyJeff Hooke BioEpisode recorded: February 7, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Amanda Simpson, Vice President for Research and Technology and Head of Sustainability for Airbus in the Americas, to discuss her trailblazing career as the first openly trans woman appointed to an executive branch position by a U.S. president. Amanda shares the challenges she has faced and the opportunities she has seized throughout her career as an aerospace corporate executive and senior official at the U.S. Department of Defense. She also deep dives into the future of sustainable aviation—from Sustainable Aviation Fuels or SAF to ZEROe, Airbus’s hydrogen-powered concept aircraft, to the role of policy and consumers in decarbonizing the aviation sector. LinksSustainable Aviation FuelsZEROeSustainability at AirbusThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleAtomic HabitsEpisode recorded: January 20, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

In this episode, Hilary Langer speaks with Kiran Bhatraju, CEO and founder of Arcadia—a tech company that allows consumers to opt-in to clean energy. Kiran and the Arcadia team believe data will catalyze the decarbonization of the grid and community solar will help to tackle climate change and racial injustice while spurring economic growth. Links:ArcadiaKiran on TwitterArcadia on TwitterArcadia on LinkedInKiran Essay on Community Solar in Fast CompanyArcadia’s Acquisition of iSolarEpisode recorded: January 14, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

In this episode, hosts Gil Jenkins and Chad Reed speak with Ravi Mikkelsen, co-founder of ATMOS Financial -- an exciting new climate fintech startup that offers ethical banking and savings accounts for a fee-free and climate positive future.Ravi and the ATMOS team are on a mission to develop the best technology solutions and banking experience available so that you never again have to give up convenience or yield for doing the right thing. Links:ATMOS FinancialRavi on LinkedInRavi on TwitterATMOS on TwitterATMOS on LinkedInATMOS Nonprofit PartnersHow ATMOS Calculates Carbon ImpactBros for Decarbonization Report: Banking on Climate Chaos 2021, Rainforest Action NetworkEpisode recorded: January 12, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Profits should come not from creating the world’s problems but from solving them. Companies must ask themselves: Is the world better off because your business is in it? These are just a few of the urgent and inspiring lessons offered by the globally renowned sustainable business author and advisor Andrew Winston in his recent book, “Net Positive: Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take,” co-authored with Paul Polman, the visionary former CEO of Unilever.In this episode, host Gil Jenkins speaks with Andrew about the principles and practices of net positive companies that are outlined elegantly and colorfully in his seminal new book. Gil and Andrew talked at length about the growth of clean energy and sustainable businesses, what ultimately convinced Andrew to write his fourth book on the subject, and what makes his co-author’s journey so compelling and instructive for others. They also discussed the Golden Rule, why corporate climate advocacy is so important, the failure of shareholder primacy, and a whole lot more. We hope you enjoy this spirited conversation on how businesses can prosper while also helping to confront the massive dual challenges of climate change and rampant inequality. Links:Andrew’s Website Book: Net Positive Andrew on TwitterAndrew on LinkedInArticle: Sustainable Business Went Mainstream in 2021 (Andrew Winston, December 27, 2021)Article: Companies Must Find the Courage to Back Up Statements on Climate Action (Andrew Winston and Paul Polman, September 7, 2021)Episode recorded: December 15, 2021 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

U.S. power markets are evolving. Three factors—(1) the increasing penetration of generation from more intermittent renewable resources; (2) an increasing number of extreme weather events; (3) and the influx of new, especially corporate, buyers and sellers into the market—together are driving the development and adoption of new contracted revenue structures, risk management strategies, and products to measure emissions at a granular level. Born and bred to be an environmentalist, Lee Taylor founded REsurety nine years ago to develop new critical data analytics and risk management products to address the challenges faced by buyers and sellers in these evolving power markets. In this episode, host Chad Reed dives deep with Lee into the shift of focus from commodity price risk faced by fossil generation to volumetric risk faced by renewable generation. Chad also speaks with Lee about REsurety’s innovative Locational Marginal Emissions (LME) Product, which, by measuring emissions at a localized level, seeks to drive investment to clean energy projects with the highest impact on reducing carbon. Links:REsuretyLocational Marginal Emissions (LME)Proxy Revenue SwapLee Taylor on LinkedInNote: Hannon Armstrong is a both client of and investor in Resurety.Episode recorded November 30, 2021 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Leading analysts estimate that more than 7% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated by small-to-medium buildings. Too often, these buildings are terribly inefficient—wasting as much as 50% of the energy they consume, which significantly drives up energy bills—and unhealthy—with deadly viruses and other toxins circulating freely. What’s more, many of these buildings primarily serve low-to-moderate income Americans, who often lack the upfront capital needed for proven upgrades. In part driven by his childhood experience with energy poverty and the related localized pollution, Donnel Baird founded BlocPower seven years ago to ensure that everyone, especially those with lower incomes and/or from other disadvantaged backgrounds, has access to greener, healthier, smarter, and more cost-effective homes and buildings. To date, BlocPower has helped to identify, finance, and upgrade more than 1,200 buildings—many in communities that had previously been left behind in our transition to a greener economy. In this episode, host Chad Reed dives deep with Donnel into how his professional experiences in community organizing and with the Obama Administration led him to his entrepreneurial efforts to decarbonize buildings in disadvantaged communities. Chad also speaks with Donnel about how best to ensure all communities—whether in neglected urban areas or deindustrialized rural areas—share in the economic benefits of a cleaner, greener economy. We hope you find this discussion as inspiring and entertaining as we did.Links:BlocPowerWashington Post: This US city just voted to decarbonize every single buildingDonnel Baird on LinkedInEpisode recorded: October 6, 2021 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.

The recent meteoric rise of ESG or sustainable investing is both compelling and undeniable. Today, more than 3,500 asset managers and related organizations representing more than $120 trillion in assets under management subscribe to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which are a set of voluntary and aspirational principles that encourage the incorporation of ESG factors into investment decisions.But as more and more professional investors publicly proclaim their ESG and sustainability bona fides, real questions persist as to both their sincerity and their actual impact on the pressing social and environmental challenges of our day—most notably, climate change. Tariq Fancy served as the first Chief Investment Officer for Sustainable Investing at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. But since leaving the firm, he has become a prominent critic of the efficacy of ESG investing and the greenwashing efforts of many investment firms and a strong proponent of policy solutions to address climate change.In this episode, Chad Reed and Jeff Eckel dive deep with Tariq into the heart of ESG investing and the sustainable capitalism movement. We also speak with Tariq about the mission and initiatives of the education technology nonprofit he now leads—Rumie. LinksThe Secret Diary of a Sustainable InvestorSEC Chair Gary Gensler: Prepared Remarks Before the Principles for Responsible Investment “Climate and Global Financial Markets” Webinar (07.28.21)United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)RumieTariq Fancy on LinkedIn Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com.