Climate Talent Leaders: The Importance of DEI in Climate Hiring

Climate Talent Leaders

Edition 3: February 6, 2025

Hi there,

Welcome back to Climate Talent Leaders! This week, we’re exploring the DEI rollbacks and what this means for climate leaders. We are also looking at the new tariffs and their potential impact on climate startups and job creation.

Enjoy, and as always, let us know what hiring challenges you’re facing so we can make them the focus of a future newsletter!

DEI in Climate Hiring: A Non-Negotiable

Recent rollbacks on DEI initiatives have raised concerns about the future of equitable hiring. At Climate People, we’ve seen firsthand the positive impact of DEI—parental benefits, wellness leave, expanded healthcare, ERGs, professional development, and equitable hiring. These aren’t just checkboxes; they’re fundamental to building stronger, more inclusive workplaces. Yet, many companies are scaling back DEI efforts due to political pressure, economic concerns, and skepticism about their ROI.

So, what does this mean for climate hiring?

Climate is an intersectional issue. The communities most affected by climate change—low-income communities, BIPOC populations, Indigenous groups, and people in the Global South—are often left out of leadership and decision-making spaces. Without their voices, we risk creating incomplete, ineffective solutions.

Here’s what’s happening:

• Major companies like Meta, Walmart, and Target have scaled back DEI programs.

• Economic pressures mean DEI teams are often the first to be cut.

• Political backlash has fueled skepticism, despite clear data that diverse teams perform better.

But here’s what we can do:

• Think long-term: DEI isn’t a short-term cost—it’s a long-term investment in stronger, more innovative companies.

• Commit to real action: Performative DEI won’t cut it. Hiring, leadership, and decision-making must be truly inclusive.

• Embed DEI into company culture: When it’s a core value, it’s not up for debate.

At Climate People, we’re staying resilient. We’re standing firm in our DEI commitments, and we encourage others to keep the bigger picture in mind.

Upcoming Climate People Events

Our upcoming events to help you perfect your hiring strategy!

🌎 WHAT: Climate Talent LinkedIn Live Session
🗓️ WHEN: February 12, 2025 @ 3 PM EST
📍WHERE: https://www.linkedin.com/events/climatetalentleaders-growthstag7293019566312476672/theater/

🌎 WHAT: Uncovering Climate Funding Panel
🗓️ WHEN: March 13, 2025 @ 12 PM EST
📍WHERE: https://lu.ma/vqyx1pjq

Climate People News

What we’re reading, watching, tuning into, and talking about.

→ Yesterday, we went live with Sonali Anderson to discuss shifting priorities in DEI and why we must remain resilient as climate leaders. Watch the recording here.

→ Missed last week’s edition? It was full of events, resources, funding reports, etc. Find it here.

→ Are you a job seeker looking for more candidate-focused content? You can find that in our bi-weekly “Driven By Impact” newsletter. Subscribe to that here.

Monthly Must Haves

Our partner’s must-have resources and events! This isn’t sponsored — we just really like these resources!

→ Venture for Climate Tech’s applications are now open for cohort 5 - applications are due March 7. Learn more here!

→ Last week was a wild week for energy and AI. Here are some resources to keep you updated on all the noise.

→ We’ve all seen the headlines surrounding tariffs in the U.S. Here is our take on how they could potentially impact climate companies and jobs.

One-Minute Climate Snippet: Building Electrification

Building electrification is a crucial climate strategy, not just for reducing emissions but for improving grid resilience, lowering household energy costs, and cutting indoor air pollution. With residential buildings accounting for nearly 30% of U.S. emissions, the transition away from gas is gaining momentum—driven by cost-effective heat pumps, policy incentives, and growing consumer awareness. Organizations like RMI, Rewiring America, and the Building Decarbonization Coalition are advancing research and advocacy, while innovators like Sealed and Elephant Energy provide practical solutions for homeowners. To accelerate progress, we need broader policy support, utility reform, and scalable financing models that make electrification accessible to all.

Top Candidates of the Week

We are building a robust anonymous talent portal, allowing you to browse candidates by sector, experience level, role type, and more. Stay tuned — it's launching in the coming weeks! In the meantime, here are some of our top candidates from this week. Simply reply to this email if you're interested in connecting with any of them!

👤🌱 Senior Product Manager | Climate Tech | BESS & IoT Solutions
Results-driven Senior Product Manager with a strong engineering background and a passion for climate innovation. Proven expertise in B2B SaaS and IoT product development, leading initiatives that enhance battery energy storage system (BESS) performance. Spearheaded a cloud-based EMS platform and IoT edge controller, optimizing uptime and enabling secure hardware manufacturing. Adept at portfolio strategy, financial modeling, and stakeholder alignment, with a track record of increasing corporate valuation and revenue growth. Holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

👤🌱 Strategy & Commercialization Leader | Climate Tech & Energy Transition
Strategic leader specializing in climate technology, energy transition, and industrial transformation. Proven expertise in battery commercialization, manufacturing strategy, and M&A—unlocking billions in funding and driving significant operational improvements. Experienced in scaling emerging technologies, market expansion, and supply chain optimization across energy storage, EVs, and grid infrastructure. Previously led commercialization and growth initiatives in hardware and AI-driven innovation. MBA from Wharton, BA from Amherst. Passionate about accelerating the clean energy transition.

👤🌱 Business Development & Operations Leader | Energy & Climate Tech
➵ Dynamic business leader with a proven track record of scaling climate tech startups, securing multimillion-dollar deals, and driving strategic growth. Employee #3 at a pioneering carbon analytics company, instrumental in securing $4.5M in seed funding and growing revenue to $1M+. Expertise in sales, partnerships, policy engagement, and fundraising, with a strong background in utility pilots, RFP responses, and go-to-market strategy. Former Bain consultant with experience in financial services, private equity, and market modeling. Passionate about accelerating the clean energy transition through innovative business and policy solutions.

👤🌱 Executive Leader in Climate Innovation & Sustainable Urban Transformation | Commercialization, GTM, & Strategy
➵ Visionary leader with expertise in climate innovation, urban transformation, and sustainable mobility. Brings a proven track record of leading large teams and partnerships to drive industrial decarbonization, secure over $500M in climate-critical investments, and scale solutions that sequester 1 GT of CO₂e. Skilled in fundraising, strategy development, and cross-sector collaboration, with deep experience in heavy industry, transport, and urban policy. Combines technical expertise with people-first leadership to deliver lasting systems-level impact in climate and sustainability.

👤🌱 Chief Innovator in Cleantech & Climate Technology Solutions | Hardware Product Leadership
➵ Innovative cleantech leader with 15+ years of experience designing and scaling climate technology solutions. Expert in launching ventures, driving multi-million-dollar investments, and developing software and hardware integrated climate innovations. Proven success in strategic leadership, including crafting a $4B climate investment strategy, pioneering breakthrough technologies, and creating products impacting 11M+ users daily. Holds multiple patents, authored a widely cited Nature paper, and contributed to Nobel Prize-winning water treatment innovations. Combines technical acumen with entrepreneurial vision to advance global sustainability.

That's all for this edition! Thanks for your support in getting more people working on climate solutions. See you next week. 👋