Community lenders look to carve out a role for themselves in the new green bank fund. The Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. sprinted into law almost as fast as an electric Ford F-150 Lightning can go from 0-60 (if you can get your hands on one). Details of the bill, which contains $369 billion in energy and climate-related investments, are still coming into focus. One murky provision: the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion “green bank” facility that will channel capital to hard-to-finance decarbonization efforts, particularly in low-income communities. The funding could turbocharge initiatives like Accion Opportunity Fund’s loan program for independent truckers, which has helped thousands of individual owner-operators reduce emissions and stay in business, or Rhode Island-based Capital Good Fund, which makes loans for energy-efficiency upgrades, like insulation, heat pumps and windows, to borrowers who wouldn’t qualify for a bank loan. But critics have seized on language that specifies that only not-for-profit, non-deposit-taking entities can access the funds. That could rule out a wide swath of minority-owned banks and community lenders who have for decades worked in low-income communities that big banks all but abandoned. “There’s a ton of confusion,” says Beth Bafford of Calvert Impact Capital.
IFC partners with Aspiration in a $10 million fund to lift the quality of carbon credits. Forest projects that don’t remove carbon. Protection for forests that aren’t threatened. The low quality of many of the carbon credits from nature-based climate solutions has hampered growth in the “voluntary” carbon market, whose credits are essential for many companies to meet their net-zero emission targets. A $10 million Carbon Opportunities Fund – anchored by the neobank Aspiration and biodiversity investor Cultivo, along with International Finance Corp. and crypto-tech provider Chia Network – aims to source, tokenize and sell higher-quality credits (for context, see, “Climate is a crypto play”). The fund will initially seek to source up to 700,000 credits – each representing a metric ton of carbon – and recycle the proceeds into additional credits. The credits will be tracked through the World Bank’s climate warehouse, a blockchain repository for verified credits developed by Chia.
Neo Gim Huay, managing director of the World Economic Forum’s Center for Nature and Climate, will join LGT Bank’s board of directors. En Lee, LGT’s head of sustainable and impact investments in Asia, will also join the board… Zeal Capital Partners is recruiting for several roles, including a chief of staff, investment analyst, and vice president of operations in Washington, D.C… Global Partnerships seeks an investor relations analyst in Seattle… Connect Humanity seeks a remote investment director or manager.
ImpactAlpha, June 27 – ImpactAlpha’s spring season of Agents of Impact Calls spanned a period of tumult in the financial markets: instability in …
ImpactAlpha, June 3 – Just as investment in financial inclusion in Africa was really ramping up, a market downturn threatens to slow progress. Or …
ImpactAlpha, May 13 – One defining outcome of the pandemic: a boom in entrepreneurship. A record five million businesses were started in the …
ImpactAlpha, April 22 – The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 1 – High-impact investments in fragile countries invariably entail political risk. And impact investments in a free press, humanitarian tech, financial inclusion …
ImpactAlpha, Mar. 11 – It’s one thing for a corporation to set environmental or social goals. It’s another to shift executives, employees and supply …
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 25 – Bottom-up policies for access to capital in divested communities. Top-down strategies to reshape capitalism to work for all stakeholders. “We …
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 11 – ”$100 a ton?” exclaimed CDP’s Paula DiPerna on ImpactAlpha’s Agents of Impact Call this week. “I should be popping champagne.” …
‘Tis the season for our lookaheads to 2022 and, thanks to ImpactAlpha subscribers, we are able to make the roundups freely available. So …
ImpactAlpha, Dec. 3 – The New Capitalism Project has over the past two years dissected the failings of the current system and crafted a …
ImpactAlpha, November 19 – The boom in African fintech startups began before COVID-19. The economic shutdowns and financial dislocations of the pandemic supercharged …
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 29 – As the COP26 global climate summit kicks off this weekend, much of the focus will be on the massive …
ImpactAlpha’s Zuleyma Bebell and Realize Impact’s Luni Libes join host Brian Walsh to discuss the motivation behind The LIIST, our new monthly sampling …
Zuleyma Bebell and Dennis Price join host Monique Aiken to talk about this week’s launch of ImpactAlpha Open, trends in the media business …
“There’s an inherent power dynamic in investing. Full stop.” That’s Margot Kane, the chief investment officer of Spring Point Partners, in an Agents …
Jessica Pothering joins host Brian Walsh to dissect the crash landing of Airlift, and chew over the broader Covid-fueled boom and bust in …
Roundtable regulars Imogen Rose-Smith and David Bank join host Brian Walsh to discuss Rose-Smith’s latest column on politics and power in asset management …
At a breakfast meeting in Singapore a few years ago, Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber were speaking to asset owners and entrepreneurs about …
Jessica Pothering joins Monique Aiken to share the work of equity and debt capital providers in emerging markets, whom she met with last …
David Bank joins host Brian Walsh to discuss parallels between the LGBTQ+ community and the impact investing community. We also hear from Megan …
ImpactAlpha, June 6 – Pro tip for entrepreneurs or fund managers getting ready to pitch Oakland-based Kapor Capital: Don’t leave diversity out of …
FullCycle’s Stephan Nicoleau deconstructs the climate conversation at the recent Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum with podcast host Monique Aiken, and …
ImpactAlpha, May 26 — Donnell Baird arrived at Davos this week with his partners from Brooklyn and Ithaca, where BlocPower is greening thousands …
“My question when I’m really quiet, or even when I’m talking to close friends and colleagues, is one word: Why? Why does this …
When it comes to climate change the stakes for all of us are high. But the evidence is clear that lower-income and communities …
Alex Jones is getting his overdue comeuppance, but this godfather of conspiracy theories has spawned a new generation of acolytes with marginally more …
A new, more democratic approach to fundraising is putting wind in the sails of new impact fund managers. ‘Community-led investing rounds’ have the …
For financial advisors, impact and investing continue to converge, with new concepts and momentum shaping the way investors view their participation. The desire …
New York State’s $279 billion pension fund understands the importance of planning. When the New York State Common Retirement Fund announced in 2020 …
This post is part of ImpactAlpha’s “Frontiers in Social Innovation” series with Stanford GSB Center for Social Innovation. The posts in the series …
It took Yulia, a mother from Kharkiv, Ukraine, seven days to reach the Polish border with her one-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son. They …
Editor’s note: This blog is part of ImpactAlpha’s series, “Seeding Impact,” authored by participants in the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) Seeding Learning Labs. …
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, which supports ImpactAlpha’s Investing in Health coverage. In partnership with J&J Impact Ventures, ImpactAlpha is exploring the …
At Energy Impact Partners, we just released our 2022 Impact and ESG report, our fourth consecutive public accounting for our environmental and ESG …
Europe must wean itself off of Russian oil and gas. Energy efficiency can go a long way towards alleviating the pain. Energy efficiency …
Editor’s note: This blog is part of ImpactAlpha’s series, “Seeding Impact,” authored by participants in the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) Seeding Learning Labs. …
ImpactAlpha, August 5 – In the roller coaster climate bill negotiations with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Brandon Dennison brought something to the table …
ImpactAlpha, Jul. 29 – Patagonia vests and khakis ain’t gonna cut it, says Taj Eldridge. To spread the word on climate action, the PhD …
ImpactAlpha, Jul. 8 – Amy Bell’s early work as a financier and advisor to impact funds and social enterprises helped establish the nascent field …
If the rise of a Black former maid to vice president was once unthinkable in Colombia, so too was the idea that the …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 10 – Payday loans. Car loans. Student loans. “One way to describe our economy is that it’s about draining every ounce of …
ImpactAlpha, Jun. 7 – Where you stand on the incipient tech slowdown may depend on where you sit. Investors and executives in climate …
ImpactAlpha, May 27 – Five years ago, Olu Oyinsan felt an urgent pull back to his native Nigeria while working in the early-stage practice …
ImpactAlpha, May 6 – Kevin Jones played an early role in convening the disparate, and sometimes unruly, tribes of impact investing under the tents …
ImpactAlpha, Apr. 29 – The climate disruption is spurring a long overdue upgrade for 500 million smallholder farmers, who produce up to 80% of …
If it feels like one calamity after another, put yourself in Maya Winkelstein’s shoes. Open Road Alliance, which Winkelstein has led for a …
ImpactAlpha, April 8 – The U.N. chief and former Portuguese prime minister has a simple critique of government and business leaders saying one …
ImpactAlpha, March 25 – “I’m a horrible banker,” admits Holdsclaw, who served as director of strategic initiatives at the National Cooperative Bank. Holdsclaw …
Photo credit: KIM KYUNG-HOON / Reuters
Choose beats that you're interested in, and we'll show you more of them as you explore...
{{beat.name}}