We know we need to be investing trillions of dollars annually into the climate transition. Venture capital is just a small slice of the pie, but there’s simply no time to slow down its contribution to advancing climate solutions.

In 2023, however, climate tech venture funding dropped 30% to $32 billion. Whether this was a temporary slowdown caused by high interest rates and the macro environment, or the new normal, will make a big difference.

Recently, I’ve been thrilled to start hearing about funds that are closing new and significantly bigger rounds.

One such firm is Clean Energy Ventures. They just raised their second fund, which is three times the size of their first, and I was pleased to get to hear the details from Clean Energy Ventures’ Co-Founder and Managing Partner Temple Fennel. Temple’s been investing in climate tech since 2017 and has held fast to focusing on companies that can reduce emissions by multiple gigatons. In today’s conversation, we hear how Temple got started in climate tech investing and what he seeks in an investment. We hear about some of his portfolio companies, the changes he’s seeing in climate investing and much more. Lots to learn in this one – enjoy.

• [03:02] Temple’s path & how he decided to focus on climate investing
• [7:54] Clean Energy Ventures’ investment thesis & what makes them unique
• [11:38] Expectations, assumptions & surprises from the first fund
• [14:25] Rebound Technologies, their business potential & climate mitigation opportunity
• [17:40] Aqua Membranes & why Clean Energy Ventures invested
• [19:51] Other examples of what Clean Energy Ventures is interested in
• [23:03] The second fund & the focus this time around
• [25:52] The Simple Emission Reduction Calculator: Emissions reduction & the causality for financial return
• [27:33] The process of raising capital today
• [30:42] The current state of the capital market for climate
• [32:36] Change in SBTI rules around offsetting & talk on decarbonization mandates
• [34:49] What needs to happen to get company leadership onboard for making near-term commitments to technologies that will drive their decarbonization
• [36:11] How investors are acting differently & outlook
• [37:45] Other interesting investment areas with opportunity

• Clean Energy Ventures
• Rebound Technologies
• Aqua Membranes
• OXCCU
• Noon Energy
• Clean Energy Ventures’ Simple Emissions Reduction Calculator
• S2G Report: The Missing Middle: Capital Balances in the Energy Transition

• Connect with Temple on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
• On

After two years of waiting, the SEC finally came out with its new climate disclosure rules. As expected, it was met with a mix of celebration, disappointment, criticism, and lawsuits. The suits came from those who felt the rules went too far and from those who felt they don’t go far enough.

Disclosure rules are critical to ensuring companies are taking climate change seriously. They ensure investors can consider a company’s climate risks as well as their progress in cutting emissions.

Beyond the SEC, Europe and California’s rules are also influencing corporate action in profound ways.

To understand what’s been happening and what’s likely to happen next, I caught up with Steven Rothstein. Steven is the Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. He’s been working for years to align financial markets to climate goals and is a well respected expert on this topic. We talked about the history of disclosures, why they matter, the recent SEC rule change, the reaction it sparked, what’s coming next, and much more. I always learn a lot from talking to Steven and I’m sure you will too. Enjoy.

• [03:07] Stephen's role at Ceres accelerator
• [03:25] The Accelerator’s work & capital market change
• [05:02] History of early climate reporting
• [06:58] Disclosure requirements in Europe and CSRD
• [10:29] California law coverage of private companies
• [11:06] Ceres' role in California climate laws
• [13:23] Why SEC rule took two years
• [15:07] The importance of Scope 3 SEC inclusion
• [16:29] SEC rule may evolve over time
• [18:00] Legal challenges to rules and regulations
• [20:47] Continuing climate preparations
• [23:15] Balancing reporting and climate action
• [27:19] The importance of interim targets
• [29:56] Election impact on climate progress
• [31:45] Developing transition plans and data analysis
• [35:13] Actions listeners can take

• Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets

• Connect with Steven on LinkedIn

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

• Sign up for our Newsletter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Twitter

Get in touch!

If you think of Mastercard as simply a piece of plastic that enables you to buy stuff, you’re not seeing their vast network of businesses, their billions of customers, or the potential influence they have on consumer behavior.

There have been countless efforts over the years to encourage consumers to shop more sustainably, but when it comes to the reach and data savvy that Mastercard brings, it’s a whole different ballgame.

I’ve known Mastercard’s Chief Sustainability Officer Ellen Jackowski for many years, and I was delighted to sit down with her to understand Mastercard’s sustainability strategy.

We talk about Ellen’s background and approach to leadership, the current moment in sustainability, Mastercard’s effort to encourage sustainable consumption at scale, how they’ve spread sustainability goals across their entire company, and much more.

Ellen is a widely respected thought leader in corporate sustainability and this conversation offers a peek inside an ambitious and very challenging effort to create real impact. Mastercard is a NationSwell member and we’ll soon share a summary of this conversation as part of NationSwell’s Sustainability Next series. Enjoy!

• [02:13] Ellen’s background & passion for sustainability
• [04:14] Ellen’s role at Mastercard
• [06:13] Present moment in sustainability - trends & concerns
• [08:13] The reach of Mastercard’s network
• [10:58] Sustainable consumption as a systems problem
• [12:29] Areas of opportunity & challenge
• [14:00] The Priceless Planet Coalition video drop
• [15:32] Mastercard’s carbon calculator
• [16:50] Influencing large emitting purchases
• [17:32] Promoting sustainable consumption around the world & US
• [18:52] The biggest challenge in reaching net-zero goals
• [21:00] Best ways to organize sustainability leaders
• [23:24] Tackling Scope 3 emissions
• [26:08] Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition
• [27:53] Mastercard’s Community Pass Platform
• [29:21] Mastercard’s Start Path in Solidarity
• [30:52] How Ellen’s thinking in leadership has evolved
• [33:18] Resources to stay informed on sustainability
• [34:22] What else needs to change

• Mastercard: Priceless Planet Coalition
• NationSwell: Next Series
• Mastercard: Carbon Calculator
• Mastercard: Community Pass
• Mastercard: In Solidarity
• Outrage and Optimism
• Project Drawdown

• Connect with Ellen on LinkedIn

• On