3 Insights from Our Conversation with Mass. Climate Leaders

Massachusetts has set an ambitious goal of reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which will require training 34,000 additional climate workers. Social Finance has partnered with Governor Maura Healey’s administration to launch the Climate Careers Fund, which aims to raise at least $5 million in philanthropic capital to support specific pathways targeting low-income residents for training in climate careers.

Recently, The Boston Foundation hosted a discussion, in collaboration with Social Finance, about the ways that innovation can help Massachusetts fill the jobs gap and achieve Net Zero. The discussion featured Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer, along with Social Finance CEO & Co-Founder Tracy Palandjian; Dwight Poler, Founder & CEO of AccelR8 Ventures and Board Chair of The Boston Foundation; and Orlando Watkins, Vice President and CPO of The Boston Foundation.

Here are three key insights from the discussion:

1. It’s essential to integrate climate change across state agencies.

In discussing the Commonwealth’s approach to climate change, Chief Hoffer emphasized the importance of integrating climate change into the DNA of all governmental agencies, not just environmental ones. She highlighted the role of “secretariat climate officers” in every Massachusetts state agency who work to drive the climate agenda and ensure cross-agency collaboration. Since the mandate to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is not a goal but a legislative requirement, it is particularly important that Massachusetts institutions work together on innovative approaches to address climate change. “I think of it as a ‘graceful desiloing,'” said Chief Hoffer. “Climate change requires a lot of generalists and a lot of collaboration between people with different types of expertise.”

2. Outcomes-focused approaches are highly effective.

Tracy Palandjian discussed Social Finance’s outcomes-focused approach, emphasizing the allocation of resources to institutions with a track record of delivering results. From a learner’s perspective, this means reducing the risk placed on the learner and building models that provide flexible funding that only needs to be repaid when the learner finds a good job.

“We need to have a combination of philanthropy, policy, advocacy, and investing. They’re all critical if you have the networks to do it,” said Dwight Poler. He also highlighted the potential of donor-advised funds and the benefits of recoverable grants in ensuring clear, measurable outcomes and maximum impact.

3. Massachusetts can serve as a model for other states.

Palandjian highlighted the potential of the “Massachusetts experiment” to serve as a blueprint for the rest of the nation, saying that the potential to create jobs could make it a bipartisan issue. “We can shift the political narrative,” she said. “The clean energy sector is going to create lots of jobs… So this is the area where we can really animate it for the country.”

For more information on the Massachusetts Climate Careers Fund, please contact Hydie Hudson.