This Week in MCJ (6/20/20)
This pivotal moment and the path forwards.
This Week in MCJ is a free weekly email curating news, jobs, new MCJ episodes, and other noteworthy happenings in the MCJ community.
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Hey all,
We are facing a number of complicated societal challenges, concurrently. Each seems insurmountable on its own, but they are all inter-related. It is time to envision a better future, and laying out that broader plan and ambition will make each individual issue, including climate change, feel infinitely more solvable.
This is a very different perspective from the one I started my journey with. And who knows, in a few months I might have a different one than I do now. But I am committed to learning in public, showing my work along the way, and continuing to bring you along for the bumpy ride.
I’m starting to switch gears now to figure out HOW we get there. We have an election coming up, and it is a very important one. The future President will need to have a plan to put forth, and we want it to be the right one. In addition to the presidential election, there are a number of other key congressional, state, and local races that matter. And this is all in addition to the innovation, philanthropy, advocacy, research, etc that continue to play an important role, and that we have been spending a lot of time thinking about on the journey, thus far.
The goal of MCJ is to figure out how we can all do more, both individually and collectively, and to arm our growing community with the “picks and shovels” to best address these challenges. The good news is we have LOTS of ideas. Way too many for our tiny team to pursue. And we keep uncovering more great ideas every week! The best way to think of MCJ membership is like a “climate impact lab”, in which we experiment with what tools and programming show efficacy and ability to scale, and then bring to life the ones that show the most promise.
Here are a few examples of what we have in mind:
Helping the community become more politically informed and aware
We’re collaborating with several members around a program to help the community understand what makes a candidate strong on climate, give members the chance to meet candidates from some key races, and provide options for how to take action.
Facilitating founder matching
We’re exploring some concepts to bring aspiring founders with similar interests together to form teams.
Providing visibility to climate tech startups
We’re planning a demo day, of sorts, to give climate tech startups an opportunity to showcase what they are working on to the broader ecosystem.
Providing members education from outside experts
We are exploring some potential programming to work with outside experts to educate the community on key areas of interest, such as carbon removal, regenerative ag, etc.
If you have similar ideas you would like to propose, or have something you’d like to facilitate for the MCJ community, let us know! We can also discuss in more depth at our upcoming MCJ Town Hall (details below).
For all of the bad things happening right now, the opportunity for reinvention is incredibly exciting to me. I pinch myself every day that I get to work on growing this community, and our collective impact, with all of you.
Jason
📼Episodes
Here’s this week’s episode, in case you missed it.
Episode 109 (Member Bonus): Tobi Lütke, CEO & Founder of Shopify
Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company with more than 6,000 employees. Its mission is to make commerce better for everyone, so businesses can focus on what they do best: building and selling their products.
I was excited about this episode for a few reasons. This is our first members only episode, and I couldn't think of a more exciting guest than Tobi to kick off the bonus content. In addition, Shopify is an important company that is not just a huge financial success, but also a company that's deeply committed to purpose. Tobi is a good example of somebody who understands that, as a leader, it's important to care about mission and impact as much as profit. Shopify recently rolled out a sustainability fund where it committed to spending at least $5 million USD annually to fight for our environment. While it’s just a start, I think Tobi is a good example of how you can come in as a learner, find a way to have an impact and then increase that impact over time.
💼Climate Jobs
Here are some jobs shared by members of the MCJ community that we think might be of interest to you.
Farm Finance Lead at Mad Agriculture in Boulder, CO (job listing)
Business Operations at GALY in Boston, MA (submit an inquiry)
Marketing Manager at LineVision in Somerville, MA (job listing)
Research Software Engineer / Full-Stack Developer at IIASA in Laxenburg, Austria (job listing). MCJer and guest on Ep.88, Daniel Huppmann invites DMs for those wanting to learn more about IIASA.
Interested in sharing a job or internship with the community? Use the button below to let us know, or just post it in #climatejobs in the MCJ slack room.
🛠Startup Resources
Below are helpful resources for entrepreneurs and their startups.
Y Combinator President, Sam Altman, and his brothers launch moonshot fund Apollo
The Altman brothers announced the launch of their new fund, Apollo, which will invest in early-stage “moonshots.” As the fund states on its website, climate change will be a particular area of interest. Applications are due by July 11th.
The Clean Fight is a NY-based accelerator helping growth-staged energy companies scale. It’s accepting applications until July 19th.
🤝Members Offering Support
New MCJer Olivier Asselin, a physical oceanographer and atmospheric scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, shared his interest in applying research to address environmental challenges. He’s interested in connecting with other members and exploring opportunities in which he can be of help! You can DM him in the MCJ Slack.
📢Climate News
Tech Crunch: “Pale Blue Dot is a new early-stage fund backing ‘climate-focused’ startups in Europe”
MCJers Hampus Jakobsson, Heidi Lindvall and Joel Larsson have announced the launch of Pale Blue Dot, a climate-only VC based in Malmö, Sweden. With an initial fund of €53 million, it is primarily focusing on European pre-seed and seed-stage companies tackling climate change.
Boston-Based, Greentown Labs, announces expansion to Houston, TX
As recently tweeted by Julia Travaglini, Greentown Labs, based in Somerville, MA, is announcing its expansion to Houston, TX.
Prime Impact Fund Closes with $50 Million for Climate Tech
Mathew Nordan shared that Prime Impact Fund has recently closed its latest $50MM fund. You can read more about it here.
Barrons: “BlackRock Leads $50 Million Round in Hydropanel Startup Zero Mass”
Having pledged to invest in sustainability, BlackRock is announcing that it is leading a $50 million Series C in Zero Mass Water, which makes hydropanels that collect water from the atmosphere. You can read more about it here.
The Macro Grid Initiative announces a program to develop a national energy grid
Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) and The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) announced a program to unify the country’s regional power grids (h/t Russel Gold). The program is being backed by Bill Gates and Breakthrough Energy.
Lyft announces its rideshare vehicles will be all electric by 2030
Lyft declares it will address climate change by overhauling the fleet of vehicles on its rideshare platform over the next decade.
BIOMILQ, creators of sustainable breastmilk, raise $3.5MM
Matt Eggers, Breakthrough Energy Ventures investor and former podcast guest, announced his firm’s investment in BIOMILQ, a startup offering sustainably-produced breastmilk.
📰🎧Recommended Reading/Listening
Below are recently published articles and content that we find interesting and/or that were shared by fellow MCJers.
The New York Times: “Rising Seas Threaten an American Institution: The 30-Year Mortgage”
This article delves into how lenders, wary of issuing 30-year home mortgages due to the increasing exposure to climate change, are enacting measures to mitigate risk that are being passed on to both borrowers and tax-payers.
World Wildlife Fund: “Sustainable infrastructure needs to look beyond climate change”
This piece discusses the projected trillion-dollar shortfall in new infrastructure spending and the need to leverage natural systems to build a “natural infrastructure.” (h/t Mark Tercek)
The Wall Street Journal: “Banks Cut Shale Drillers’ Lifelines as Losses Mount” (PDF Link)
Facing a liquidity crunch in light of the pandemic-induced fossil fuel glut, the shale industry is finding lenders pulling back on issuing loans.
Bloomberg: “Unilever’s New Climate Plan Puts Carbon Labels on 70,000 Products”
MCJer Akshat Rathi recently reported on how consumer giant, Unilever, is committed to reducing much of its emissions to zero by 2039.
S&P Global: “Months after milestone BlackRock policy, ESG pressure on coal has intensified”
BlackRock has announced it will divest from certain thermal coal companies, making it more difficult for coal companies to access capital and other financial services.
MIT Technology Review: “How the US lost its way on innovation
Over decades the country has”MCJer Ilan Gur wrote this piece, detailing how the pandemic highlights the U.S.’ failure to fund science and research adequately.
🎟Climate Events
Past and upcoming events organized or surfaced by your fellow MCJers.
Upcoming
Women in Climate Meetup (Wednesday, June 24th, noon EST)
Members of the MCJ Women in Climate group, which can be found in the #women-in-climate channel), are hosting a virtual get-together. The group aims “to support women working in climate…[by sharing] female focused resources, offer support to one another, and get to know role models of badass women from technology, science, finance, and more.” The meetup will be held via Zoom using this link.
The Future with FullCycle - a conversation with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (Thursday, June 25th, 1 PM EST)
FullCycle, a climate-focused investment firm, is excited to host a conversation between Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Stephan Nicoleau on the intersection of Climate Justice & Racial Justice. The Future with FullCycle is a series of virtual community events engaging investors, activists, and institutions united to address solving the climate crisis. With the world sheltered in place, we are grateful to be in community together. You can register for the event here.
MCJ Member Town Hall (Friday, July 26th, 4 PM EST)
We’re hosting our monthly town hall for MCJ Members, the second one to date. The agenda is still being developed but we plan on sharing some exciting initiatives that MCJ is organizing, as well as grassroots ones led by fellow members. If you’re an MCJ Member, the invitation details will be posted in #general or you can RSVP here and we will send you an invite.
MCJ Idea Jam (Wednesday, July 1st, 8 PM EST)
MCJers Candice Ammori and Nicolo Giorgi are kicking off a new event series to surface great startup ideas, connect MCJ members interested in solving similar problems, and inspire industry veterans to advise and guide eager climate newcomers. The plan is to host the event the first Wednesday of every month. The MCJ Ideas Jam is a space where MCJ members can pitch their climate startup idea(s). A guest panel of experts will be first to give you feedback and helpful direction, and space will be opened for the general MCJ community to provide their feedback and collaborative ideas, both during the event and after. You can RSVP here.