The Decarbonization Race
Cleartrace
It's not enough to think about what it takes to be more sustainable. Now is the time to act. The question is, who will lead the pack in saving our planet*, and what do they need to stay on track and honest with their goals? The Decarbonization Race is a show for ESG and sustainability leaders ready to go beyond 100% renewable, beyond the bare minimum, and truly make an impact. Join host Lincoln Payton, CEO of Cleartrace, and a passionate executive leader with over a decade of experience in the energy sector. He explores what organizations are doing around the...
Ingredients for a Nuclear Power Renaissance with Brookfield All-Star Panel
Nuclear energy is facing a marked uptick in private investment over the next five years, spurred by the escalating demand for clean energy and energy security. Both governments’ and the private sector's net-zero ambitions are driving significant interest in high-growth energy areas like nuclear energy. Further, according to the International Energy Agency, existing nuclear plants make up a large part of global energy production today - representing nearly 10% of global energy production and near
Dec 18, 2023 • 41:23
Energy Minute: How The Emissions First Partnership is Putting Emissionality Front & Center
Following a riveting conversation with Killian Daly of EnergyTag about hourly matching in carbon accounting, this Energy Minute looks at the work of the Emissions First partnership - a group of companies including Akamai, Meta, General Motors and Salesforce - and its collective focus on carbon matching in clean energy procurement. Cleartrace’s Steven Goldman delves into the difference between hourly matching and carbon matching approaches, and what principles the partnership members are applyin
Dec 11, 2023 • 4:42
Devil’s in the Details: Advancing Granular Carbon Data with EnergyTag’s Killian Daly
Decarbonization has diversified from simply vanilla to 31 flavors, where a range of goals and strategies are being adopted as companies work to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. One key strategy that’s emerged has been time-matched procurement of electricity, ensuring that the electricity that’s sourced corresponds to when and how much electricity is used onsite. Granular energy attribute certificates (EACs), which add transparency by including information on where and whe
Dec 4, 2023 • 47:12
REPLAY: Creating Sustainable Infrastructure-as-a-Service with Generate Capital’s Nam Nguyen
Investing in infrastructure is different and more complex than many other investment classes, often involving significantly longer timeframes and larger capital expenditures. Investing in sustainable infrastructure — like renewable energy, energy storage, or electric vehicle fleets — can be attractive to investors but adds complexity and often requires delivering with newer technologies. Generate Capital was founded in 2014 with an unusual approach: invest, operate and maintain a range of sustai
Nov 27, 2023 • 34:46
Energy Minute: Green Tariffs as a Path for Sourcing Clean Energy
On this Energy Minute mini-sode, Steven Goldman explores the world of “green tariffs,” voluntary utility programs that enable eligible customers to buy the “bundled” energy and associated Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from renewable energy projects. These programs are typically offered by local electric utilities and approved by state public utility commissions (PUCs). He explains the main types of green tariffs and how they are an important tool for companies seeking to procure clean ene
Nov 20, 2023 • 5:40
Decarbonizing Flight: Growing the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Market with Kim Carnahan
Most people think of jet fuel the same way they think of filling up their car with gasoline: go to the pump, fill the tank, pay the price per gallon. But decarbonizing business travel and air freight is a much more complex task, where sellers, buyers and users are all part of the transaction, and standards for what makes aviation fuel “sustainable” are still being set. On this episode of The Decarbonization Race, new co-host Steven Goldman takes flight into the world of Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Nov 13, 2023 • 46:53
Moving Corporate Clean Energy Adoption “Beyond the Megawatt” with Apex’s Erik Haug
Corporate demand for clean energy continues to grow across the globe, particularly in the United States. Apex Clean Energy, a developer of commercial-scale wind, solar and battery storage projects, is a key player in this growth. With a diversified portfolio of 60 gigawatts and more than $2B in assets under management across the United States, Apex has a range of corporate offtakers including Google, IKEA, Cargill, and Meta. On this episode of the Decarbonization Race, VP of Energy Marketing fo
Nov 6, 2023 • 39:06
Evolving Nuclear Power and Its Role in Decarbonization with Westinghouse’s Dr. Rita Baranwal
Nuclear energy is a low-carbon source of electricity that has been playing a vital role in the global energy mix for decades. Today, there are about 440 nuclear power reactors operating in 33 countries, providing about 10% of the world's electricity. While the nuclear energy industry has faced an array of challenges over the last few decades - including plant closures due to competition from cheaper natural gas and renewable energy sources, as well as overall safety concerns - nuclear technology
Oct 30, 2023 • 40:45
Pioneer Portrait: Inside Jan Pepper’s Push to Provide 24/7 Renewable Energy for Californians
Clean energy doesn't have to cost more. California electricity supplier Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) is charting a path to supply 24/7 renewable electricity in northern California that is competitive today and less expensive in the long run compared to typical utility electricity offerings. How is the company getting there? On this episode of The Decarbonization Race, renewable energy pioneer and PCE CEO Jan Pepper joins Lincoln to explain it all, including the genesis of PCE’s ambitious strateg
Jun 12, 2023 • 44:32
Energy Minute: A Shift Towards Mandatory Due Diligence on Sustainability in the EU
In this Energy Minute episode, Dana Dohse and Steven Goldman jump into the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Direction (or CS3D for short) recently passed by the European Parliament. While the CS3D is not a regulation -- meaning member states will have several years to develop their own respective national laws on implementing the directive -- it still holds significant weight, and will impact both EU-headquartered companies as well as non-EU firms exporting goods via the E
Jun 5, 2023 • 17:24
Building (and Rebuilding) for Net Zero with Architect Lori Ferriss
On this episode of the Decarbonization Race, Lincoln Payton dives deep into the world of sustainable architecture with architect Lori Ferriss, who’s worked across her career to square sustainability, historic preservation and aesthetic concerns in cities swimming in history, like Boston. As Director of Sustainability and Climate Action at Boston architectural firm Goody Clancy, Lori leads research initiatives and project design and implementation serving a range of sectors including higher educ
May 29, 2023 • 32:35
Energy Minute: The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive Ups the Ante on ESG Disclosures
On this Energy Minute episode, Dana Dohse and Steven Goldman take a deep dive into the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) legislation that will be taking effect in the European Union in 2024. Under the new legislation, aligning with Paris climate goals or ensuring ethical supply chains will move from voluntary practices or proactive risk management to regulatory requirements with oversight by EU nations. Listen in as they examine the legislation's details, requirements, and pot
May 22, 2023 • 18:35
REPLAY: Taking Data Centers to Net Zero with Iron Mountain’s Chris Pennington
Iron Mountain Data Centers are in the vanguard of the clean energy transition: they not only run their facilities on 100% renewable energy, they are working towards a more ambitious goal, powering them with carbon-free energy 24/7. In this episode, host Lincoln Payton dives deep into decarbonization with Chris Pennington, Director of Energy and Sustainability at Iron Mountain Data Centers, to understand the more ambitious goal, and how Iron Mountain is using hourly energy and carbon data as the
May 15, 2023 • 33:15
Energy Minute: Appetite for Hydrogen is Booming, But How Do We Ensure It’s Green?
Hydrogen is used as a heat source, a fuel or a feedstock in a range of industries… but depending on how it’s made, it can be a boon or hazard to our climate. Shifting to zero-carbon “green hydrogen” - produced using renewable energy sources like solar and wind - is critical for using hydrogen as a decarbonization resource, so much so that both the United States and European Union have passed legislation and targets aimed at quickly growing hydrogen adoption. But making sure hydrogen production
May 8, 2023 • 22:48
Creating Sustainable Infrastructure-as-a-Service with Generate Capital’s Nam Nguyen
Investing in infrastructure is different and more complex than many other investment classes, often involving significantly longer timeframes and larger capital expenditures. Investing in sustainable infrastructure — like renewable energy, energy storage, or electric vehicle fleets — can be attractive to investors but adds complexity and often requires delivering with newer technologies. Generate Capital was founded in 2014 with an unusual approach: invest, operate and maintain a range of sustai
May 1, 2023 • 34:46
Energy Minute: Get in the Game: Shifting into a Climate, Sustainability or ESG Career with Mike Hower
In time for Earth Day, Dana Dohse and Steven Goldman are joined by a special guest to talk about how to begin your journey into the ESG or sustainability career field. Over the past year, we’ve seen a “green wave” of skilled workers looking to shift to roles focused on sustainability or ESG issue areas, either at their current company or at a new one, or taking their talents from Big Tech to Climate Tech companies. Mike Hower, a sustainability expert with an unconventional career trajectory, ha
Apr 22, 2023 • 28:50
Scaling Up Local Government’s Sustainability Ambitions with Harris County’s Lisa Lin
When it comes to decarbonization, local governments have a twofold role to play: reducing the impacts of their own operations, which can be broader than one thinks depending on the footprint of county services; then in supporting the ecosystem of public, private and stakeholder groups like NGOs in growing impacts within the region. In this episode, Lincoln is joined by Lisa Lin, who currently serves as the Director of Sustainability for Harris County, Texas, the third-largest county in the Unite
Apr 17, 2023 • 28:18
Energy Minute: Growing the Carbon Impact of Renewable Energy through Additionality or Emissionality
In this Energy Minute, Dana Dohse and Steven Goldman discuss the importance of examining the marginal impact of different energy sources - using principles like additionality and emissionality - and why businesses may want to consider them in during clean energy procurement processes. Some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and others are looking hard at their energy procurement through one of these lenses, with different outcomes in mind for the fac
Apr 10, 2023 • 10:18
Growing Clean Energy Jobs & Decarbonizing Low-Income Communities with Nicole Steele, U.S. EPA & DOE
To decarbonize the world, ensuring all homeowners and communities can play a role in adopting clean energy is critical. Under the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative, the U.S. federal government is directing 40 percent of certain funds and programs at helping low-income and historically excluded communities scale up renewables and energy storage locally. Why those communities? Because low-income households typically have higher energy burdens - meaning they pay a larger amount of their i
Apr 3, 2023 • 34:56
Energy Minute: Reuse, Repurpose or Recycle - Pathways to Reducing Waste in Key Clean Energy Sectors
Today, discussions on decarbonization are focused about what we need to build - more clean energy assets, more electric vehicles, more hydrogen and EV-charging infrastructure, more new efficient buildings or software and equipment to make older building more efficient. But a soon-to-be-huge issue that’s emerging is waste - retired solar panels, wind turbines and blades, batteries from electric vehicles and energy storage - and what to do with it all. In this Energy Minute, co-hosts Dana Dohse an
Mar 27, 2023 • 20:41
Closing the Loop on Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Batteries with Nth Cycle’s Megan O’Connor
Electrification is a critical part of decarbonization - but ensuring emissions come down in the process means ensuring the processes that get us there don’t create their own excessive impacts. The global appetite for electric vehicles and battery-based energy storage has grown considerably, and with it, the need for more raw materials to produce them. But as the first generations of electric vehicles and battery storage start to retire and replace batteries, processes for recycling them at end-o
Mar 20, 2023 • 33:42
Energy Minute: Inside the Global Push to Accelerate and Deliver “Green Steel”
As more and more industries are pushing to decarbonize their processes - and in the process, help curb emissions for companies’ supply chains - green steel is trending. Automakers, builders and companies in a range of other sectors are under pressure to reduce the embodied carbon in their products. But delivering “green steel” means both changing processes that have been in place for decades, and agreeing on what constitutes zero-carbon or near-zero carbon steel. In this Energy Minute, co-hosts
Mar 13, 2023 • 18:36
Decarbonizing The “Forgotten Wedge” of Thermal Energy in Industrial Sectors with Blaine Collison
To create the products and grow the food we eat, the industrial sector requires a lot of thermal energy—heating and cooling—which today represents approximately 13% of total U.S. emissions. However, tackling this “forgotten wedge” of the emissions mix to slow climate change requires a range of approaches and policies beyond electrification. Tackling this difficult challenge is Blaine Collison, Executive Director at the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) and a renewable energy & sustainability
Mar 6, 2023 • 35:27
Energy Minute: Unpacking the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Energy Framework with Environmental Defense Fund’s Michael Panfil
The Inflation Regulation Act, the United States’ most ambitious climate legislation to date, was passed in August of 2022, delivering a range of grants, loan programs, tax incentives and a greenhouse gas reduction fund, all targeted to accelerate clean energy and technologies to mitigate climate change, including energy storage, hydrogen production and direct air capture to name a few. In this Energy Minute, co-hosts Dana Dohse and Steven Goldman are joined by Michael Panfil, Senior Director & L
Feb 27, 2023 • 19:51
Leveling Up Employee Engagement & ESG Leadership with Susan Hunt Stevens
"What we need is a bunch of courageous people right now. People who are willing to advocate and fight in their business life and to fight for what we need at the civic and government and arguably global level." In this episode, Susan Hunt Stevens, CEO of WeSpire, shares with host Lincoln Payton ways in which businesses can energize employees by actively including them in ESG initiatives, develop ESG maturity models, and inspire workers to find the courage to combat the climate crisis. Susan Hunt
Feb 20, 2023 • 40:44
Energy Minute: Peninsula Clean Energy's Ambitious Pursuit of 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy
In 2016, Peninsula Clean Energy made an ambitious move to supply its customers with 100% renewable energy. As of 2021, it met its goal with a mix of renewable and carbon-free energy, including large hydropower and nuclear power at a lower price than customers were paying for power through Pacific Gas & Electric. In this Energy Minute, Dana and Steven jump into how Peninsula Clean Energy then decided to reach for a more ambitious strategy - to provide 100% renewable energy matched every hour, the
Feb 13, 2023 • 16:25
Decarbonizing a Manhattan Skyscraper with Brookfield Properties’ Michael Daschle
The Decarbonization Race is back! On our season premiere, Michael Daschle, SVP of Sustainability at Brookfield Properties, joins Lincoln to share how the company’s push to decarbonize its commercial real estate portfolio led to powering Brookfield’s flagship New York City property, One Manhattan West, with 24/7 carbon-free energy. Michael dives into Brookfield’s vision and approach to ESG, how to get the tenants on board with Brookfield’s investments in sustainability, sourcing 100% renewable el
Feb 6, 2023 • 46:00
Fluence’s Kumaraswamy on Energy Storage: The “Flex” Making The Grid Smarter, Cleaner & Faster-Responding
Energy storage is playing a critical role in managing and reducing corporations’ and communities’ carbon footprint. And no one knows this better than Fluence, the technology company whose team pioneered the use of grid-scale batteries as energy storage 15 years ago. Kiran Kumaraswamy, VP of Growth & Head of Commercial at Fluence, joins our host Lincoln to share the history and importance of energy storage in transforming how countries and companies source, store and deliver electricity. They cov
Dec 19, 2022 • 45:42
Energy Minute: The IEA on Advancing Decarbonization Through Clean Energy Procurement
One key publication that was highlighted during the UN COP27 summit was the International Energy Agency's (IEA) report on advancing decarbonization through corporate clean energy procurement. In this Energy Minute, Dana and Steven dive into the report and its key takeaways—in particular looking at the options available to corporations for sourcing clean energy, some differences in how decarbonization efforts would likely differ in the example countries of India and Indonesia, and how even sett
Dec 12, 2022 • 14:18
Lincoln Payton Talks Tracking Carbon & Power by the Hour on the Entrepreneurs for Impact Podcast
Turning the microphone around for an episode, our host Lincoln Payton joined Dr. Chris Wedding on his podcast, Entrepreneurs for Impact. Dr. Wedding interviews CEOs and investors on his podcast who are tackling climate change—an initiative we at The Decarbonization Race can certainly get behind. Listen in to hear the interview, including Lincoln’s “origin story,” - his career in investment banking prior to joining Cleartrace - the energy transition that led him to join the climate tech sector as
Dec 5, 2022 • 46:59
Energy Minute: Quick Hits From COP27
As the UN COP27 meeting was winding down, Dana and Steven sat down to recap and discuss some of the highlights from the first half of the climate summit. The COP negotiation continues to be a key mechanism in trying to move the needle forward and keep countries accountable and collaborative as they work against climate change. On this Energy Minute, Dana and Steven touch on some of the pledges the United States has made, an exciting announcement out of Brazil, an update on the 1.5-degree target,
Nov 28, 2022 • 8:19
Driving Sustainability Progress in Real Estate with Cortland’s Cass McFadden
Technological innovation around energy efficiency and sourcing renewable energy are enabling significant sustainability gains in the real estate sector. At the same time, consumer demand and new local regulations are putting more stringent requirements on the sector to reduce emissions and waste--causing asset owners with billions on the line to set and meet increasingly higher goals in concert with builders, building managers, and even tenants on sustainability. In this episode, Cass McFadden,
Nov 21, 2022 • 36:10
Energy Minute: Carbon Accounting Strategies: Location-Based vs. Market-Based
There are 2 core approaches when it comes to counting carbon emissions from procured electricity: market-based and location-based carbon accounting. Is one better than the other? How can you use each (or both) to your benefit when working toward your clean energy goals? In this Energy Minute, Dana and Steve discuss the pros and cons of both methods, and how granular carbon accounting data fits in, so you can assess how best to work toward your net zero goals. Resources Bloomberg News, “What Real
Nov 14, 2022 • 7:34
Architecting Global Decarbonization with Open Earth Foundation’s Martin Wainstein
As the the United Nations’ 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) climate summit gets underway in Egypt - where all parties are focused on implementation, how is the world working together to tackle the climate emergency? In this special episode, Martin Wainstein, Founder and Executive Director at the Open Earth Foundation, provides a glimpse into what a global framework united on sustainability needs to look like. Wainstein tackles the sticky geopolitical issues when nations convene and define
Nov 7, 2022 • 36:06
Energy Minute: Untangling 100% Renewable vs. 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Goals
Why do are forward-leaning companies centering their decarbonization strategy around 24/7 carbon-free energy? How is it different from a 100% renewable energy target? This episode revisits fundamental concepts on renewable energy (including RECs), looks at the difference in these two models, and explains why hourly data is critical to meeting 100% decarbonization goals.
Oct 31, 2022 • 4:39
ESG Investing in the Built Environment with GRESB’s Dan Winters
Institutional investors and investment managers need reliable and certified data to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. Fortunately, efforts to provide high-quality ESG data on real estate and infrastructure-focused funds are rapidly moving forward. In this informative episode, Dan Winters, Senior Director at GRESB, explains how the framework and theoretical basis to gather both high-quality and far-ranging data is taking shape at his organization. Listen in as he reveals how GRESB works t
Oct 24, 2022 • 34:07
Energy Minute: The Next Step to Net Zero is Hourly Tracking
How can companies better work towards meeting their clean energy adoption goals? This episode is about obtaining the best available data to inform your energy decisions. Tracking energy and by extension, carbon data by the hour provides granular-level insights you can’t get from a monthly utility bill. By switching from monthly to hourly emissions reporting, energy procurement and ESG/sustainability teams gain a deeper understanding of their firm’s carbon mix—consumption versus energy sources—an
Oct 17, 2022 • 2:47
Leveraging Sustainability Storytelling to Build Brand Affinity with Suzanne Shelton
Suzanne Shelton, founder and CEO of the Shelton Group, helps clean businesses speak sustainability. In her words, Shelton Group “translates the good you do for people and the planet into business success.” As a leading sustainability marketer, she helps businesses grow by making ESG initiatives understandable and attracting loyal, environmentally conscious consumers. In this lively interview with host Lincoln Payton, she explains why Americans are more concerned about ocean plastics than climate
Oct 10, 2022 • 32:13
Energy Minute: Sustainable Power by the Hour with Load Matching
What is load matching and how does it help companies address climate change? Companies including Amazon, Apple, Iron Mountain, Microsoft, and Google are pioneering this innovative practice with bold goals of going 24/7 carbon-free. But…what does it take for both these companies and the non-tech giants of the world to start decarbonizing their operations? This Energy Minute episode should shed light on the situation! Load matching helps businesses understand how well their electricity demand is a
Oct 3, 2022 • 2:37
Taking Data Centers to Net Zero with Iron Mountain’s Chris Pennington
Iron Mountain Data Centers are in the vanguard of the clean energy transition: they not only run their facilities on 100% renewable energy, they are working towards a more ambitious goal, powering them with carbon-free energy 24/7. In this episode, host Lincoln Payton dives deep into decarbonization with Chris Pennington, Director of Energy and Sustainability at Iron Mountain Data Centers, to understand the more ambitious goal, and how Iron Mountain is using hourly energy and carbon data as the
Sep 26, 2022 • 33:15
Energy Minute: Demystifying RECs & Their Role in Net Zero Goals
How can businesses and individuals offset their carbon footprint and support clean energy? Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) have been the key—and are the topic of the first Energy Minute brought to you by Cleartrace. RECs commoditize renewable energy and encourage investment in green energy projects. But problems arise when too much of the clean energy companies are buying isn't coming from where and when it's being used. Buying RECs wholesale from different parts of the country with different-gr
Sep 19, 2022 • 4:53