Isabelle Kocher Turning Green Power On
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sustainable HEROESgreen leaders in focus Isabelle Kocher Turning green power on Jean Rogers Setting the standard Nancy Pfund Venture capital with impact Darren Walker Empowering the one Rob Swan Change in action Contents 01 Turning green power on Isabelle Kocher 05 Setting the standard Jean Rogers 11 Venture capital with impact Nancy Pfund 15 Empowering the one Darren Walker 21 Change in action Rob Swan Editor: Ethan Schaerer, Greentech Capital Advisors Contributors: Angelica Nikolausson, David Medoff, RenewComm Editorial support: Robert Schultz, Ayanna Nibbs and Oren Redinger Images: All images have been used with permission of holders Concept and Design: Gareth Knott, www.lifetimedesigns.com Head of Strategy © Greentech Capital Advisors 2018 Embedding change … through action Following the positive reception of our inau- person to walk both of Earth’s poles and the gural edition, we are delighted to present the leader of the first expedition to the South Pole second issue of Greentech’s Sustainable He- to use only renewable energy. roes magazine. We aim to engage readers with a community of heroes whose personal actions We don’t inherit our world from our ances- have inspired others, and who are quite simply tors, but borrow it from our children. So a for- changing the world in which we live. ward-looking perspective ought to permeate our thinking and actions, guiding us as individ- In this issue, we pay homage to a corporate uals, corporations, organizations, and nations. leader, an Arctic explorer, a highly admired We must seek maximum positive impact – to policy builder, an innovative investor and an create a sustainable world and legacies worth- entrepreneurial foundation president - all of while for our children. whom share the goal of creating a sustainable world that is more resilient as well as financial- We encourage you on your own quest for ways ly stable. to innovate, embrace sustainability and do the right thing. Become a heroine or hero to oth- The edition includes a conversation with ers and help us together solve the problems Isabelle Kocher, who serves as CEO of ENGIE, threatening our very survival. the largest electric utility company in Europe that is driving the sustainable transition. To each of you heroes and heroines, there is a brighter, more sustainable future that we can We also interview Nancy Pfund, Founder and build together for future generations. Managing Partner of DBL Partners, a venture capital firm whose goal is to combine top-ti- It can be done! er financial returns with meaningful social and environmental returns. We speak to the founder of the Sus- tainability Accounting Standards Board, Jean Rogers, whose organization aims to make capital markets more efficient by bring- ing clarity and transparency to sustainability reporting. With Darren Walker, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and President of the Ford Foundation, we discuss his stewardship of a $13 billion endowment. Managing Partner Darren shares his refreshing perspective on On behalf of the entire Greentech family the challenges of being courageous in the face of systems that reward self-centered P.S. We welcome nominations for people you’d like short-termism. to see featured in future editions. Please send your nominations and other comments to eschaerer@ Lastly, we speak with Robert Swan, the first greentechcapital.com 01 Isabelle Kocher 02 Turning green power ON Since assuming her position as CEO, Isabelle Kocher has truly walked the talk and positioned ENGIE as a major player in driving the sustainable energy transition forward for decades to come. showing little interest in small-size projects investments in these technologies. such as micro-grids. However, these projects will be an important way of structuring the As CEO of ENGIE, what do you see as the big- You chair the Terrawatt Initiative to reach 2.5 terawatts of renew- electrification of isolated areas in Africa and gest challenges in driving sustainability initia- able power by 2025. What were the main drivers behind it? Asia. ENGIE launched the Terrawatt Initiative tives? project in 2015 at the COP 21 in Paris to over- Behind this initiative, there is a paradox: political mobilization come these barriers and structure the market. As the CEO of a company leading the energy around the energy transition is increasing, clean technologies are transition, I am often confronted with contra- becoming mature and capital is available. However, investments The Terrawatt Initiative will soon set up a plat- dictory injunctions from investors. On the one in renewables in emerging and developing countries are still too form to link all the key stakeholders within a hand, they demand that we adopt a strategy slow. framework agreed on by the member coun- which is in keeping with the Paris Accord and tries to satisfy public needs for renewable en- is mindful of the environment. On the other We are still a long way from what is needed to reach a two-de- ergies. This platform, which targets 20GW of hand, the very same investors have their eyes gree Celsius scenario. To keep up with the objectives of the fight installed solar capacity, will, in particular, ag- set on our quarterly results. against global warming will require 15 to 20 times more invest- gregate demand and help countries establish ments in renewable energies in these regions of the world. a common legal purchasing framework and So my biggest challenge is to strike the right mutual guarantees (the Common Risk Mitiga- balance, where we are able to create value in That is why it is urgent to speed things up and to remove all the tion Mechanism). It will also improve the flow the short term and still pave the way for the barriers to mass usage of clean technologies. of information between market actors, and future and develop new, emerging business structure attractive guaranteed investment models. Which barriers are you referring to? Isabelle Kocher products for private institutional investors. And we are succeeding! Two years ago, we de- First, there is the regulatory framework. It is a fact that inves- This platform can become the benchmark, the cided on a strategic pivot. This entailed sell- tors are reluctant to invest in areas where regulation is uncertain Amazon of all the infrastructure and assets of ing 20% of our activities and focusing on those and where guarantees are inadequate. Second, investors are still the green economy, and thereby allow mass at the core of the energy transition: low-CO2 03 Isabelle Kocher 04 power generation, global networks, and cus- victions, but it is also the right choice from an We have a presence in 70 countries, with a What will we see next from you? tomer solutions. We accepted that our compa- economic point of view: we have become much portfolio of clients that is the biggest in the ny would shrink, and investors first expressed more attractive, and regained market share. world. If a big group like ENGIE is able to com- From Terrawatt, you can expect this new digi- their surprise. Two years later, our organic bine the ability to innovate and to act with the tal platform which will connect investors with growth has reached 5% per year and we have In the “new energy” environment, with the rise support of a huge platform – that is to say, the sponsors of renewable projects in emerg- become much more profitable. of distributed generation and new technolo- create an environment where you can innovate ing and developing countries. gies such as blockchain, energy storage, and and bring that size, the sky is the limit. How important is it for corporations to have demand response solutions, what does the fu- At ENGIE, we are currently working on our stra- a sustainability strategy? What role should in- ture utility model look like? Besides, now that we have a very clear pur- tegic vision for the future, which we refer to as vestors play? pose, we have become much more attractive “ENGIE 2030.” We’re consulting experts both I usually talk about a 3D world to describe to new talents and startups. Everywhere in the inside and outside of the company. We will We have to overcome the dichotomy between the future of energy. The 3Ds are: decarbon- world, our teams receive many spontaneous share the results at the end of the year. companies, which are seen as only preoccu- ization, decentralization, and digitalization. proposals from startups. pied with profitability and economic growth, In this world, low-carbon energy sources will and NGOs and states, whose role is to make become the norm. Instead of relying on big up for the deficiencies of corporations. power plants for the supply of energy, we will see more and more consumers produce their People aspire to a different model. For com- own energy – by installing rooftop solar PV, for panies, it means that they have to implement instance. Besides, decentralized systems, such much more ambitious corporate social re- as mini-grids or solar home systems, will play sponsibility policies and integrate CSR in their an essential role in the electrification of rural business offers. and remote areas in Asia and in Africa. People want companies to truly “walk the talk.” It is now a world of algorithms, software, Big Tolerance for inconsistencies between words Data, and the Internet of Things. In a world and actions – and greenwashing – has become dominated by intermittent renewables, where extremely low among investors, employees, it is increasingly difficult to balance supply and clients. Companies have no choice other and demand at every millisecond, you have to than to create a business model that is both rely on data management and AI.