It's About Building a More Equitable Future
Our solar installation with partner Evergreen Energy on the rooftop of the Constance Baker Motley Apartments in New Haven, CT delivers $37K in lifetime energy savings to the Housing Authority of New Haven.
For over 125 years, the Sierra Club has been at the forefront of the U.S. environmental movement. In battles to preserve public lands, protect wildlife, and safeguard the health of our communities, they have continuously demanded change. With effective grassroots organizing as their engine, the Sierra Club remains a leading voice for progress and justice.
In 2019, Sunwealth proudly welcomed the Sierra Club Foundation into our growing community of investors. The Sierra Club Foundation is the fiscal sponsor of the Sierra Club’s charitable programs and is focused on promoting climate solutions and building an inclusive environmental movement. The Sunwealth investment is one of the first commitments made through the Foundation’s High Impact Investment Fund, which has a mission of scaling clean technologies and delivering benefits to communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
“The Foundation is focused on leveraging our influence and investment dollars to deploy clean energy to communities that otherwise might not have access. Sunwealth is building projects that have an impact on vulnerable communities today,” says Gail Greenwald, Chair, Sierra Club Foundation Board of Directors.
Making intentional investments that deliver results in the near-term is central to the Foundation’s evolving investment thesis. Over the past decade, the Sierra Club Foundation has transformed the way they make investments. In the face of climate change, they determined that business as usual was no longer acceptable, and that individuals and organizations have an obligation to step up and take urgent action.
Over the course of several years, the Foundation aligned its investment portfolio with its mission, divested from fossil fuels, and invested in companies promoting climate and clean energy solutions. Its High Impact Investment Fund, launched in 2018, goes a step further, focusing on opportunities that directly benefit communities on the front line of fossil fuel extraction and pollution.
“We realized we had to re-examine our investment assumptions and take an impact first approach,” says Henry Holmes, Senior Director, Programs and Compliance. It’s what led them to put their money to work in Sunwealth’s 2019 Solar Impact Fund. The Foundation’s investment will go directly into building solar projects that create meaningful economic and environmental benefits for local communities.
“We’re looking for investments that help provide people and their communities with the resources, systems, and technologies needed to implement and scale clean energy and energy efficiency solutions,” says Holmes. “Sunwealth fits into that – getting clean power, energy savings and green jobs into underserved neighborhoods and building a more equitable future.”
Max Wagner is an Investment Associate at Sunwealth and a senior at Northeastern University. He is a renewable energy advocate and believes that harnessing solar energy is key to combatting climate change and building an inclusive energy future.