Impact Stories

"As leaders who make a difference, the private sector can have huge influence over the future of our planet. We are changing the conversation by showing a path forward which delivers both great financial and environmental returns."

“I believe stakeholder engagement is necessary to address climate change. At work, I evaluate diverse perspectives to craft legally sound, fact-based policy that supports the public interest.”

"Altogether, Double Time has financed 36 solar energy projects, which collectively produce roughly 10% of North Carolina’s solar power and power around 30,000 homes in the state."

"Farm incomes are under enormous pressure, making it critical that farmers find ways to save money. To survive this long, they’ve had to change constantly."

"My experiences in the military showed me that densely populated countries with few natural resources can protect their environment and their people while still having a thriving industrial economy."

"Our goal is for Boston to be carbon-free by 2050. So what are the policies that we need to start putting in place now to make that happen?"

“I’m developing new financing solutions that make it more affordable for people to use renewable energy (as we did at SunEdison) and working with entrepreneurs across the clean energy industry to scale their businesses.”

"I spend my days working with a small, entrepreneurial team helping to build companies that are working to solve some of the most pressing challenges we face in terms of energy and the environment."

“I’m committed to solving climate change by setting high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in farmland management and investing in regenerative agriculture.”

"We’re finally seeing a real interest in environmental issues by family offices, private equity funds, and institutional investors."

"My experiences have taught me that there are no shortcuts or easy paths to solving the energy and climate problem. My view is that the game changing energy technologies and services of tomorrow will be brought to market by a combination of pure start-ups and large multinational energy corporations."

"The great thing is that in addition to making systems more sustainable, agriculture also offers the opportunity to be beneficial and regenerative, since grass-fed beef actually sequesters carbon. There’s the potential for a net-net positive benefit."

“I'm addressing climate change by helping transform energy from a dirty, brittle, commoditized industry to one that is clean, resilient, and consumer-centric through the application of data science and behavioral economics, optimizing the system assets and operations across the electric meter.”

"I ultimately want to build, grow or invest in companies that are consistent with a more sustainable world."

"Engagement and passion matter, and that's why people come to HBS."

“The most effective way to address the climate crisis is with national legislation that would impose a significant fee on carbon where it enters the market. Only by pricing in external costs can we eliminate existing subsidies to fossil fuel use and shift to a clean energy economy.”

"The reigning buzzword used to be socially responsible investing or social responsibility in all corporate affairs. That now lives under the rubric ESG-- Environment, Society, and Governance."

“I’m slowing climate change by harnessing the power of financial institutions to make a positive impact through directing investment and lending to companies who are part of the solution.”

"I’m passionate about the environment and interested in finding ways to contribute to solutions to our environmental challenges, particularly climate change."

“Being part of the collective effort to reduce and mitigate the adverse consequences of climate change motivates me to keep working harder every day.”

"I decided that it was time for me to focus more on those more broad-based societal issues. And I concluded that climate change is, in fact, the single biggest challenge that we face as humanity."

"I attended HBS to pursue food systems transformations that address our biggest human health challenges."

"I created Aracruz to be an environmentally sound industrial company. When the concept of sustainable development became well known, I became involved in renewable forestry worldwide and I continue to address environmental problems in my current work."

"pathZERO Energy is on a mission to help commercial & industrial customers get to zero net energy. Energy is a really complex world, and my cofounders and I saw the opportunity to pull all of the pieces of distributed and clean energy together for customers into an individualized, integrated solution that makes sense for them."

"Solar isn’t just cleaner, smarter energy, or good American infrastructure, it’s also a component of our national security and, ultimately, our energy independence."

"As business leaders, we can directly impact the progress of initiatives and solutions to address environmental needs."

"Climate change is the most serious problem facing humanity in the 21st century. If we want a future for our kids and grandkids, it’s imperative that our generation does something effective to address it."

"The old electricity model operates on a hub-and-spoke system. We’re changing that. Working in the new system of distributed energy resources is really exciting to me."

"I’d like to serve as a steward for the fundamental idea that environmental challenges can be environmental opportunities. Industries like waste management can be seen as mundane, but are often at the forefront of the innovation required to reimagine how we use and renew the resources around us."

"What’s interesting about the role in the energy field is how market forces such as government policies, customer preferences, pure economics, and a whole slew of technology developments are shaping the industry."

“A combination of political courage, technological innovation, and cross-sector collaboration is necessary to address climate change. If we can put an astronaut on the Moon and explore other worlds, we surely can protect the one planet we call home.”

"We are training very capable people to do things they never knew existed and to achieve mastery of it."

"The progress we’ve seen in Texas itself is a combination of good resources, good infrastructure, and friendly permitting policies. And it’s supported by national tax policy that incentivizes wind."

"Compared with man-made solutions, natural infrastructure often works better, costs less, and appreciates in value over time. And it provides a host of important co-benefits, like wildlife habitat, clean water, and recreational opportunities."

"The power of the HBS brand and network is quite evident, but for me, the value of the instruction was also extremely high. It forms the basis for the frameworks I apply to my day-to-day activities, from finance to leadership to operations."

"We're a little bit like the Uber of farming, in that farmers have the knowledge base and the skills and all of the equipment necessary to do this but they are unable to buy additional land."

"Electric vehicles are going to change how the grid will operate. In addition to the physical infrastructure, there’ll need to be a shift in the IT layer that ensures those assets can be coordinated and optimized. Singularity is using an algorithmic approach to achieve carbon reduction and sustainability, cost savings, and reliability through a more decentralized architecture."

"There has been a surge of consumer awareness and education regarding the food we put into our bodies. We are at the cusp of a revolution, and I want to be a cog in the wheel of change."

“Climate change is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenges facing my generation. Shared, electric, autonomous vehicles will enable urban areas to become more sustainable and more livable by providing a better alternative for first and last mile transportation.”

Alumni

Impact Stories