Drawdown Fund: Scaling the Impact of Climate Technology

Drawdown Fund: Scaling the Impact of Climate Technology

Author: Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative August 14, 2024 Duration: 50:01
Erik Snyder, Founder and CEO of Drawdown Fund discusses financing climate tech startups through growth equity. He describes how he started the Drawdown Fund with Paul Hawken, editor of the New York Times best-selling book on climate solutions called Drawdown, and the strategic choices that set their fund operations apart from others. He also describes some of the fund’s portfolio companies: from sustainable packaging, community solar to decarbonizing mass-transit with AI.

Hosted by the Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative, Climate Rising moves beyond abstract warnings to examine the concrete realities facing companies today. Each episode features candid conversations with senior executives, policymakers, and HBS faculty, dissecting the operational and strategic choices that define a business's relationship to a warming planet. You’ll hear how leaders are navigating pressures from investors, customers, and regulators while making pivotal decisions on everything from supply chain logistics and new technology investments to long-term risk assessment and competitive positioning. This isn't a theoretical discussion; it's a ground-level look at the practical dilemmas and innovations shaping industries. The podcast delves into the nuanced trade-offs managers face, turning climate change from a looming threat into a series of actionable, if complex, business problems. For anyone curious about how the private sector is actually responding-the successes, the stalled efforts, and the evolving playbooks-this series offers an essential and sobering dialogue. Tune in for a direct line to the thinking that is quietly redrawing the corporate map.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Climate Rising
Podcast Episodes
David Potere at BCG X: Using AI & Satellites in Climate Solutions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:26
AI and geospatial technologies are transforming how industries understand and respond to climate challenges. David Potere, Managing Director and Partner at BCG X, joins Climate Rising to describe how sensing, decision-ma…
Agreena: Regenerative Agriculture, Data, and Carbon Markets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:28
Simon Haldrup, founder and CEO of Agreena, joins Climate Rising to discuss how regenerative agriculture can scale beyond early adopters by focusing on farmer economics, data-driven decision-making, and flexible practice…
How Amazon Approaches Carbon Markets and Climate Neutralization [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:06
Jamey Mulligan, Head of Carbon Neutralization Science and Strategy at Amazon, joins Climate Rising to share how Amazon is tackling its net-zero climate goals, particularly through its engagement in the voluntary carbon m…