ImpactAlpha Open | November 8, 2022

ImpactAlpha Open: Impact stakes in U.S. elections + COP27 watch

Dennis Price

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ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

Greetings, Agents of Impact!

This is Dennis Price. Welcome to this week’s ImpactAlpha OpenTwo quick opportunities:

💰 Take 50% off. If you’ve been contemplating an upgrade to an all-access ImpactAlpha subscription, now’s the time. Take *half off* an annual subscription for a limited time. Subscribe today.

👋 The Call: Optimizing muni bonds for racial equity. Market shapers are steering the $4 trillion municipal bond market toward racial equity. To share progress and best practices, Marjorie Henning, NYC’s deputy comptroller for public finance, will join Public Finance Initiative’s Lourdes GermánRob Fernandez of Breckinridge Capital Advisors and Kimberlee Cornett of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in conversation with ImpactAlpha’s David Bank and me, Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm London. RSVP today (open to all).

In this week’s newsletter:

  • What’s at stake for impact investors in U.S. elections;
  • Fund managers are linking their financial carry to impact;
  • Stocking the climate tech pipeline; and
  • ‘Climate transition’ proteins.

Ok, let’s jump in. – Dennis


Must-reads on ImpactAlpha

  • COP27 watch. With progress on ‘loss and damages,’ COP27 may exceed low expectations, reports ImpactAlpha’s Amy Cortese.
  • Election watch. Amy also laid out what’s at stake for impact, ESG and sustainable investors in U.S. and global elections.
  • Climate equity. Stakeholders in communities across the country are eyeing the Inflation Reduction Act as an opportunity for environmental justice, Dalberg’s Lauren OloskyMallory Byrd and Jeff Berger preview in a guest post. (Open)
  • Impact carry. Impact fund managers should be linking their financial carry to progress on the impact of their portfolio companies, argues Oxford’s Aunnie Patton Power. (Open)
  • Carbon credits. ZeroSix, launched by ex- Shell executive Martijn Dekker, is leveraging carbon credits to incentivize oil and gas wells to “keep it in the ground,” Amy scooped.
  • ICYMI: The seven fund managers on The Liist of impact funds raising capital in November – and the 21 others we’ve spotlighted to date – are building strategies for realizing impact alpha.

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Agents of Impact

🌐 Mia Mottley, Barbados: Shaping the global finance agenda

Barbados is an island nation of just 166 square miles and less than 300,000 inhabitants. But its leader, Mia Mottley, has emerged as a powerful voice for island nations and other countries on the front lines of climate change. Her message: the global financial system erected after World War II needs to reform for an era marked by cascading climate, food and energy crises.

“We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial revolution,” Mottley said at the COP27 climate summit. “Are we now to face double jeopardy by having to pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gases from the industrial revolution?”

🏃🏿‍♀️ On the move

  • Nakul Zaveri, ex- of Relativity Investment Management and Global Environment Fund, joins LeapFrog Investments to co-lead a new climate investment strategy.
  • Christian Braneon, ex- of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, joins Carbon Direct as its first head of climate justice.
  • Tehmina Haider, ex- of men’s personal care brand Harry’s, and Michael O’Leary, ex- of Engine No. 1, join private equity investment firm L Catterton as partners to lead its new impact fund.

Impact Briefing (podcast)

🎧 On this week’s podcast

Morningstar’s Jon Hale joins host Monique Aiken to talk about what is at stake for impact investors in next week’s U.S. election. Plus, the headlines.


Deal Spotlight

♻️ Elemental stocks the climate tech pipeline for hard-to-decarbonize industries

The early-stage climate tech investor and accelerator has helped launch some of the hottest names in climate tech. Among its winners: BlocPowerChargerHelpSolsticeHeliogenProterra and Stem. Hawaii and California-based Elemental Excelerator prioritizes community relevance, deployment and scalability (for context, see, “Elemental Excelerator’s climate-tech unicorns develop locally, deploy solutions globally”).

Elemental’s latest cohort puts a bullseye on solutions for heavy emitting industries like shipping, air conditioning, transportation and construction. “We are betting on entrepreneurs tackling major sources of emissions,” said Elemental’s Dawn Lippert, “and working with every company to deploy successfully in local communities.”

  • Climate cohort. The 17 startups in the latest cohort include Somerville, Mass.-based Transaera, a producer of efficient air conditioners; London-based Modulous, which digitizes construction design and logistics; Portland-based Community Energy Labs, which builds energy management tech for schools, universities, and government buildings; and Origen, a zero-carbon lime producer, also in London.
  • The new additions bring Elemental’s portfolio to more than 150 startups, with 26 exits.
  • Share this post.

Six Signals

💰 Eric Schmidt’s exclusive new club. The charitable network P150 could one day rival the Gateses. (Puck)

🗳️ Democracy matters. What Fortune 500 companies said after Jan. 6 vs. what they did. (ProPublica)

🚗 Electric returns. Hertz reports electric vehicles are 50% cheaper to maintain in its fleet than similar petrol or diesel vehicles. (The Driven)

🥩 Climate transition proteins. “Meat-free” and “alternative,” meet “climate transition” proteins. The new term is a catch all for food sub-categories with a lower environmental impact than high-environmental impact animal-derived proteins and ingredients. (FAIRR)

👽 Space solar. Caltech is collecting solar power in space and transmitting the energy wirelessly to Earth through microwaves. (SciTechDaily)

 Heat pump era. The first all-electric heating mandate for buildings passes in Washington state. (Grist)


Get in the Game 

💼 Step up

  • BerlinRosen is hiring a senior vice president of ESG, philanthropy and impact investing.
  • Bain Capital has an opening for an ESG manager of impact measurement and reporting.
  • Goldman Sachs Asset Management is recruiting an associate for its sustainable investing group in New York.

🤝 Meet up

  • Devex will host an event from COP27 featuring Eric Berlow of Vibrant Data Labs, who will present a global version of the Climate Finance Tracker, Thursday, Nov. 10. A livestream will be available the next day.
  • Food Funded will bring together food entrepreneurs focused on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, Thursday, Nov. 10.
  • U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will share his thoughts on the future of impact investing at the Mission Investors Exchange national conference, Dec. 5-7 in Baltimore. MIE members can register here

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