This bonus episode of Climate Rising features an episode from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health's podcast "Better Off" that explores the intersection of decarbonization and public health. While decarbonization requires shifting away from fossil fuels, this episode emphasizes the equally crucial health reasons to do so – especially for natural gas stoves. Tune in for a thoughtful conversation led by Anna Fisher-Pinkert of the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and her guests Brady Seals,...
Jan 03, 2024•22 min
This bonus episode of Climate Rising features an episode of Harvard Business Review’s Cold Cast podcast with Brian Kenny interviewing HBS professor George Serafeim about his case on Northvolt, a Sweden-based start-up company producing batteries for Europe’s EV auto manufacturers. They'll discuss Northvolt’s efforts to build government partnerships, hire the right people, and attract financing in order to scale rapidly. Guest/Host: Brian Kenny , Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Harvard...
Dec 20, 2023•32 min
The third in our series on hard-to-abate sectors, this episode features Jacob Susman, CEO and co-founder of Ambient Fuels, a developer of green hydrogen projects. He describes how green hydrogen can help decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and which applications are especially promising for green hydrogen solutions. Jacob also describes Ambient’s role in green hydrogen project and infrastructure development, provides career advice, and shares tips to attract early-stage financing. For transcripts ...
Dec 06, 2023•43 min
The second episode of our hard-to-abate series features Rahul Shendure, CEO and Director at CarbonBuilt. The company has developed and commercialized a Carbon XPRIZE-winning technology to produce what it calls “ultra low carbon” concrete. We start with the basics of how concrete is such a high-emitting product, then describe how CarbonBuilt’s technology is reducing product costs and emissions by replacing cement with a combination of industrial waste materials and CO2 – often captured directly f...
Nov 22, 2023•37 min
This first episode of our hard-to-abate series features Linnéa Kornehed Falck, Einride's Founder, Deputy CEO and Board Member. Einride is launching a fleet of battery electric autonomous trucks, orchestrated via route-optimization software. We discuss how its fleet-based freight capacity-as-a-service business model seeks to disrupt the cargo trucking industry, and better serve customers while decarbonizing the sector. Linnéa also shares some advice for purpose-driven entrepreneurs. For transcrip...
Nov 08, 2023•33 min
This bonus episode of Climate Rising features Harvard Business Review’s Cold Cast podcast with Brian Kenny interviewing HBS professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel about their teaching case about Kenya-based Sian Flowers. They discuss the company’s efforts to create a “low-carbon rose” by shipping them to their clients around the world by sea instead of by air without eroding their quality, and the effects this has on its production process. For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising...
Oct 25, 2023•25 min
The final episode of our 2023 back-to-business school series features three Harvard Business School MBA students: Nabig Chaudhry, Mitch Hirai, and Kamya Jagadish. They describe how they spent the summer interning in climate-related businesses, from impact investing to a climate tech incubator and climate risk analytics. They also discuss what sparked their interest in the field and how they stay current on information and trends to explore career opportunities in business and climate change For ...
Oct 11, 2023•36 min
As part of our 2023 back-to-business school series, this episode features a session from Harvard’s Climate Action Week in May 2023. Moderated by HBS Prof. George Serafeim, the panel includes Carter Roberts, President & CEO of World Wildlife Fund, HBS professor Deb Spar, Bonita Stewart, Board Partner at Gradient Ventures, and Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Cofounder & Managing Partner of Impactive Capital. They discuss how companies and their boards can use accountability and transparency to drive ...
Sep 27, 2023•47 min
Today’s episode is the first in our 2023 back-to-business school series. The episode features Gabriel Serber, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainable Development, Arcos Dorados, the largest McDonald’s franchise in the world. He discusses how Arcos Dorados designs and implements climate solutions across the 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries where they operate, the vast cultural diversity across the region, and how his work fits into the larger McDonald’s corporate climate goals Fo...
Sep 13, 2023•39 min
Today’s episode in our corporate net zero climate series features Paul Bodnar, Director of Sustainable Finance, Industry, and Diplomacy, Bezos Earth Fund, and former Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock. Paul discusses how investors approach the complex web of weighing climate priorities with fiduciary responsibilities. He also talks about his career in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and where he thinks the next big climate-related investment priorities will be. For tran...
Aug 30, 2023•56 min
Today’s episode in our corporate net zero climate series features HBS alumna Sanchali Pal, Founder and CEO of Commons, an app created to help consumers make more climate-friendly purchasing decisions. Sanchali discusses why she chose an entrepreneurial pathway out of busine---ss school and what inspired her to focus on the power of consumers to drive corporate climate action. She also talks about building a startup and raising funds and offers advice for those seeking to work in business and cli...
Aug 16, 2023•46 min
Formerly Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer, and now Chief Sustainability Officer & Senior Managing Director at Haveli Investments, Lucas Joppa discusses the strategies and tools Microsoft developed to meet its ambitious carbon negative goals, including setting an internal price on carbon, restructuring their corporate governance, and funding innovative climate technology solutions. He also tells us why he thinks climate finance is entering its most consequential decade. ---- Climate Ri...
Aug 02, 2023•40 min
In this episode, Melissa Lott, Director of Research and Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, discuss how companies can decarbonize their electricity when pursuing net zero climate goals, from increased efficiency to electrification to generating their own carbon-free electricity, and the pros and cons of these ...
Jul 19, 2023•41 min
Today’s episode features Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of the Science Based Targets Initiative explains how they help companies and financial institutions design verifiable and achievable climate targets, and how they assess and validate those targets. He also discusses how the SBTi is transitioning from focusing on technical assistance and assessments to a standard-setting organization. Company Resources: The Science Based Targets initiative How science-based t...
Jul 05, 2023•33 min
For the second episode in our series on corporate net zero programs, we’re sharing an episode on airline decarbonization from the Climate Vision 2050 podcast produced by the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. This episode sets up a scenario in 2050 where the industry relies on liquid nitrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, electric aircraft, and blending-wing body planes, coupled with present-day experts who explain the changes. Link to original podcast: BCG Climate Vision 2050 (“Sustainabil...
Jun 21, 2023•25 min
In this first episode in a new series on companies setting and meeting net zero climate targets, Ashley Orgain, Chief Impact Officer at Seventh Generation, discusses why this home care products company decided to set a real zero climate goal instead of net zero, and how they plan to achieve it. She also describes how Seventh Generation is going beyond a carbon footprint to measure its carbon fingerprints that touch every aspect of their business, from banking to creative services. For transcript...
Jun 07, 2023•36 min
This bonus episode of Climate Rising features Harvard Business Review’s Cold Cast podcast with Brian Kenny interviewing HBS professor Shirley Lu on BMW Group’s decarbonization strategy, which is the subject of a new case study that Shirley wrote with HBS colleagues George Serafeim and Mike Toffel. They discuss why BMW is focusing on reducing vehicle lifecycle emissions, and why the company has so far avoided setting a phase-out date for internal combustion engine BMWs. For transcripts and other ...
May 24, 2023•24 min
Today, as a bonus, we’re sharing an episode of the Skydeck podcast that features interviews with HBS alumni where they share lessons learned and their life experiences. We thought this episode of Skydeck would be particularly interesting to you because it focuses on carbon capture technology. This is one of three Skydeck episodes on this topic. And for even more, check out Climate Rising’s own episodes on carbon capture, released in the fall of 2022. To hear more about the Skydeck podcast visit ...
May 17, 2023•12 min
In this sixth episode in our series on climate change and artificial intelligence (AI), Paul McDonald, Senior Director, Opower Product Strategy & Marketing at Oracle Energy and Water, discusses how OPower uses behavioral science and AI to help utility customers reduce their energy use. He describes why saving electricity benefits both customers and utilities, and shares his advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterisin...
May 10, 2023•56 min
In this fifth episode in our series on climate change and artificial intelligence (AI), Jim Hayden, Chief Data Scientist at Everstream Analytics, discusses how they use AI and machine learning to help mitigate risk and optimize opportunities for supply chain logistics in a changing climate and in the face of extreme weather events, such as heat stress, drought, and temperature extremes. And he shares his advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. For transcripts and other re...
Apr 26, 2023•37 min
In this fourth episode in our series on climate change and artificial intelligence (AI), Gary Agnew, CEO and Co-founder of Ideon Technologies Inc, and Kim Lawrence, VP, Talent and Customer Experience, discuss how they use energy from supernovas, sensors, satellites, and machine learning to improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of mining for minerals critical to the clean energy transition. They also share their advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. ...
Apr 12, 2023•40 min
In this third episode in our series on climate change and artificial intelligence (AI), Apoorv Bhargava, CEO and co-founder of WeaveGrid, a company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help electric utilities optimize the integration of electric vehicles into a clean energy grid. He describes how they approach the intersection of transportation and energy as a systems problem, and he shares his advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. For transcripts a...
Mar 29, 2023•42 min
In this second episode in our series on climate change and AI, Yossi Matias, Vice President, Engineering & Research at Google, and the founding Managing Director of Google Center in Israel, explains how Google uses AI and Machine Learning to tackle some of the biggest challenges for climate mitigation and adaptation. He describes how Google uses partnerships and collaboration to innovate in the climate space, and shares his advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. For ...
Mar 15, 2023•35 min
In this first episode in a new series on climate change and AI, Hamid Maher and Charlotte Degot, Managing Directors and Partners at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), explain how BCG has developed and uses AI tools to help their clients manage climate risks and address mitigation and adaptation challenges. They describe how they pitch these solutions to potential clients, and share their advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. For transcripts and other resources, visit climat...
Mar 01, 2023•42 min
This special episode features a discussion on solving the challenges climate change poses to food & agriculture, recorded as part of the HBS Short Intensive Program on Accelerating Climate Solutions. HBS Senior Lecturer Eleanor Laurans interviews Alex Bondar, partner at Acre Venture Partners, and Rebekah Moses, Vice President of Impact Strategy at Iron Ox. They discuss climate tech and venture capital and the roles played by consumers, farmers, investors, and corporations. For transcripts an...
Feb 15, 2023•35 min
This bonus episode features Harvard Business Review’s Exponential View podcast, where Azeem Azhar interviews climate tech investor Shayle Kann, a partner at Energy Impact Partners. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of investing in the net zero economy and why Shayle prefers to frame it as deep decarbonization. They also cover what metrics venture capitalists should consider when investing in climate tech and how net zero electricity fits into solutions. For transcripts and other reso...
Feb 01, 2023•49 min
This bonus episode features the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program’s CleanLaw podcast, where professors Jody Freeman (Harvard) and Greg Dotson (University of Oregon) talk about the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act that was enacted in 2022. They discuss how the bill got passed, what the law contains, how its provisions connect to other climate-related laws, and how it seeks to accelerate the country’s deployment of clean energy and other efforts to address climate change. For tra...
Jan 18, 2023•55 min
Nat Keohane, President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, discusses how companies participate in global climate talks and policy development, such as the recent UN Conference of Parties (COP) in Egypt. He also talks about what to expect as countries move from crafting climate agreements to implementation and what companies’ role is in that work. He also offers advice for those interested in careers in business and climate change. For transcripts and other resources, visit climateris...
Dec 28, 2022•41 min
Grant Canary, CEO of DroneSeed, a startup company designed to accelerate reforestation after wildfires, shares his perspective on the landscape of nature-based carbon removal solutions and how DroneSeed has developed a business model to address both climate and financial risk. He also discusses how his venture capital background lends itself to tackling complex climate solutions and he offers advice for those interested in careers in business and climate change. For transcripts and other resourc...
Dec 14, 2022•44 min
Shantanu Agarwal, Co-Founder and Director of Sustaera, a startup company developing a Direct Air Capture technology to remove carbon from the atmosphere, shares his perspective on the landscape in the race to develop scalable and affordable carbon removal technologies–from engineering to financing to deployment–and how Sustaera’s specific technology fits in. He also discusses how his entrepreneurial background led him to finding solutions for climate change and he offers advice for those interes...
Nov 30, 2022•37 min
