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Unleashing Bold Climate Leadership - Inspiring Corporate Action, Individual Advocacy, and Systemic Change: Thought Leadership by #SustXGlobal50 Awardee Julia Bell, Chief Investment Officer, CleanCapital, United States
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Summary
In this thought leadership article, "Embracing Boldness: A Call to Action for Climate Influencers," Julia Bell, Chief Investment Officer, CleanCapital, United States, and a recipient of The SustainabilityX® Magazine Global 50 Women In Sustainability Awards™ 2024 highlights the urgent need for decisive action to mitigate the climate crisis. With a focus on bold corporate leadership, individual influence, and impactful advocacy, the article explores practical steps to drive the clean energy transition. From corporate ESG commitments to personal sustainability audits and lobbying for community solar, this piece is a comprehensive guide to becoming a climate influencer at every level. The message is clear: boldness is essential to secure a sustainable future for generations to come.
Right now, at this moment, we are barreling toward a future where the climate crisis has changed the world in ways we can scarcely imagine. The science is clear: unless we cut carbon emissions by more than 40% by 2030—just five years from now! —the environment, society, and economy that we leave our children will be permanently changed by a warming climate. And we will have passed on to the next generation an infinitely more difficult adjustment path to mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis.
It would be easy to allow the enormity of this problem to overwhelm us, or to let fear or sadness congeal into apathy. This letter is a reminder and a call to action: each of us can break through and make an impact. Whether you’re a professional working in clean energy or sustainability, an individual who recognizes the daily reminders of a dangerously warming planet, a parent who just wants a safer world for their kid — or all the above, like me — you can be a Climate Influencer. Now is the time for bold action.
Be Bold: Corporate Leadership
Shortly after Donald Trump won his first term in the White House, he followed through on a campaign promise to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate. Corporate America pushed back with the “We Are Still In” campaign and RE100, the first signs that businesses and business leaders would be climate influencers. Through their public commitments, capital investments, and procurement decisions as well as their willingness to wield the influence that comes with bringing jobs and tax revenue to communities, we have seen U.S. corporations take unprecedented steps to climate leadership.
In September, Microsoft committed to reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania to power its data centres. This investment will fuel the local economy, bring 3,400 jobs to the area and over $3 billion in state and federal taxes. Google and Amazon quickly followed suit, stating their intention to invest in small modular nuclear reactors. Those highly influential companies are attempting to use their scale and buying power to reverse decades of public and private objection to and disinvestment in nuclear energy.
Solar and wind energy have benefitted enormously from corporate clean energy procurement commitments, with corporate demand driving 50% of the PPA market in 2022. Cost effective and sustainable energy is now at the forefront of business decisions, and corporates are leaning into the challenge of finding new ways to power their business while reducing emissions in order to keep up with evolving expectations from leaders, investors, and stakeholders. At my company, CleanCapital, we have evolved into a developer, builder, owner-operator, and investor in solar and energy storage assets across the U.S, specifically to meet the critical need to bring more clean megawatts to the grid.
Even staid financial institutions and investors are finding their footing in clean energy. Organizations like the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and initiatives like the CFO Coalition have created platforms for investors and businesses to prioritize investing in sustainability. Incorporating sustainability in the finance sector—in every sector—will help scale clean energy projects and de-risk investments.
I’m privileged to work in a company where sustainability is woven into our every action. So, what if your company hasn’t faced this challenge head-on? How can you use your influence in the business world? Here are some actionable steps you can take:
Start participating in an ESG measurement system. As a company, you can’t fix what you don’t know. Record your ESG performance data to help create benchmarks for future reporting, identify potential areas for improvements, and help you recognize successes. There are numerous organizations like GRESB, CDP, TCFD, or SBTi to help create frameworks and standardized reporting.
Engage your procurement department. Some of the largest environmental and social negative impacts happen during the mining of component resources and manufacturing of goods. By requiring your procurement department to ask for the ESG records of suppliers it will help you select sustainably conscious partners with clean records.
Research where your electricity is sourced. Regardless of the size of your business, there are renewable power producers interested in selling you clean power. Consider connecting with the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance (CEBA), or similar organizations, to use your buying power to access renewably sourced clean energy.
Consider a net-zero goal corporate commitment. Simply put, net-zero means transforming business operations to minimize carbon emission outputs to a level that can be absorbed naturally. This strategic approach will become required of businesses the closer we get to the 2-degree Celsius scenario. So why not start your efforts today?
Clean Energy is not Fight Club. Don’t be secretive about your sustainability interest and journey! In fact, as an industry leader, or even a newcomer, you have access to the corporate megaphone. Talk about it as frequently as you can, share your commitment to clean energy on professional platforms like LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
HAVE YOU READ?
Be Bold: Climate Influencers Influencing
It is not only corporations that can make a difference. As an individual, you have just as much influence with neighbours, friends, family, and your social and professional network. Some of the boldest voices in the climate movement are individuals whose passion for heading off climate change has made them into public influencers using their platforms to raise awareness and drive action. For example, Greta Thunberg held the first 'School Strike for Climate' outside of the Swedish parliament and posted it to social media platforms, where her bold action quickly earned support from millions. In the U.S., Jerome Foster II held 80 weeks of climate strikes in front of the White House before joining the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. And actress Jane Fonda, while already well known for her illustrious acting career, has used her existing platform to elevate climate change, going so far as to be arrested five times while protesting government inaction against climate change over the few years.
Anyone can become a climate influencer; you do not need a public persona or millions of online followers. All it takes is a passion for change, a willingness to engage, and a goal to inspire others. Start small, look at your own habits, and see where you can adjust and live a more sustainable lifestyle:
Personal Sustainability Audit. Where is your power coming from at home? Can you add solar panels to your roof or participate in community solar? Ask your utility how much of their power is coming from clean energy sources, they want to hear from you! If you are an avid gardener, consider adding native plants to your lawn or garden to increase biodiversity and support pollinators. Evaluate your recycling habits and landfill contribution to reduce waste. There are a variety of ways to be sustainable that will fit with your lifestyle.
Consider your personal supply chain. Do your research about who and where you are buying products from. Do they have corporate sustainability goals or business practices? For example, several companies that offer consignment clothing have put sustainability into practice, like ThredUp which has recirculated 2.2 million secondhand items, or Goodwill diverting over 4.3 billion pounds from landfills.
Be the go-to expert in your friend group. You are likely one of the most knowledgeable people about the climate crisis and sustainability in your personal circle. Share the wealth! Engage in conversations, post on social media, and share articles about the climate crisis and steps the individuals can take to play an active role.
Be Bold: Advocating
In addition to the actions that corporations and individuals can take, government must take a leadership role in mitigating climate change. We have already seen meaningful governmental actions. 31 states have renewable portfolio standards (RPS), or renewable electricity standards (RES), in place to drive clean energy to communities, and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act has helped drive the solar industry to add 75 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity to the grid, with a record of 11.8 GWdc installed capacity in Q1 2024; clean energy projects have created more than 250,000 jobs, companies have announced more than $380 billion in new clean energy investments, and solar manufacturing capacity has quadrupled.
But considering the urgency of the climate crisis, this is not enough. Passing more and stronger clean energy policies, rules, and regulations is critical for the large-scale, global transformation needed to fight climate change. From community solar legislation to combatting solar opposition to broad decarbonization initiatives, advocacy at every level will help create a consistent legal and regulatory environment for clean energy. Government change won’t happen without the advocacy of constituents—we are the most persuasive group to influence the work of our legislators.
One of the best ways for anyone to join the clean energy transition is by supporting community solar. Community solar allows homeowners, renters, and even businesses to access clean energy and receive savings on their energy bills. Having a community solar program in place helps developers invest in your community by building new solar projects – it makes sense for the local economy and the climate.
Getting access to community solar can only happen when your state enacts legislation to allow it. So what can you do to advocate for this access?
Research your state. If you live in a state that has passed community solar legislation (Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York or Virginia) consider signing up for community solar for your home. A few states have enacted small pilot community solar programs (including New Mexico and Virigina), so even if you are not eligible today, share your interest in participating with your local legislators to encourage an expansion of the pilot program.
Lobby your representatives. Of the states that do not have enacted community solar programs, a number have expressed interest or proposed legislation to create them, including California, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. If you are a resident of these states, call or write to your state representatives and let them know that you want community solar in your state—they are already talking about it, let them know you care.
Raise awareness. A number of state legislators have proposed community solar legislation in 2024, but over half still have not. We need to do better in 2025. Call or write to your state representatives and let them know that you care about your community and the planet and that your state needs to join the legion of those providing community solar access.
The path forward is clear: we must take bold action at work and in our communities. Whether by influencing through vocal advocacy, pushing for policy change, or embracing new technologies and markets, the time is now. The stakes are too high to delay. This is your call to action to lead with conviction, champion the change needed, and ensure a sustainable, thriving planet for generations to come. Now is the time to act boldly and accelerate the clean energy transition.
About The SustainabilityX® Magazine
The SustainabilityX® Magazine is an award-winning, digital, female-founded, and female-led non-profit initiative bringing the environment and economy together for a sustainable future through dialogue. Founded on May 8, 2016 and inspired by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 in Sustainability Leadership awardee, Supriya Verma, the digital media initiative focuses on approaching the world’s most pressing challenges with a holistic, integrated, systems-based perspective as opposed to the traditional and ineffective siloed approach with a single lens on interdisciplinary topics like climate and energy. This initiative ultimately seeks to explore how to effectively bring the environment and economy together through intellectual, insightful dialogue and thought-provoking discussion amongst individuals across sectors taking an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to untangling the intricate web of sustainability.
The SustainabilityX® Magazine is based upon the four pillars of sustainability: Environmental Stewardship which emphasizes improved environmental health, Economic Prosperity which emphasizes economic growth without the element of capitalism, Social Inclusion which emphasizes EDI for BIPOC and LGBTQ communities and marginalized, vulnerable populations, and Just Governance which emphasizes the equal rule of law via responsible political leadership to create fair systems for all. Identifying the diverse factors involved in sustainability, how they interact and how the disciplines are interconnected will help accelerate local, national, and international sustainability goals – in simpler words, aligning with The SustainabilityX® Magazine’s mission of bringing the environment and economy together for a sustainable future through dialogue for a sustainable future. Whether you have a background in science, engineering, business, law, politics, media and entertainment, or beyond, your voice matters.
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