Impact Investing and Climate Justice
PHIL GIUDICE has worked in the energy industry for five decades—as a geologist, consultant, entrepreneur and executive. He also has been a federal and state energy official—serving as Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy in the early days of the Biden-Harris administration and Mass. Energy Undersecretary and Commissioner in the Patrick Administration. Counter to the daily drumbeat of bad news about our climate crisis, Phil sees reasons for optimism. “We can make big things happen—and we have,” he explains. “In the U.S., we’ve gone from using coal to generate almost two thirds of our electricity a few decades ago to less than one fifth today, and the cost of solar has dropped by 90 percent to become the leastcost generating technology.” In addition to his work in the energy field, Phil has helped to launch and sustain several nonprofits, including the Center for Effective Philanthropy, City Year Boston and Boston Cares. He and his wife, Marcia Giudice, have had a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) at the Boston Foundation for 20 years. Recently, they participated in TBF’s first ever impact investing program open to DAFs. It offered investments in various portfolios, including Climate Justice. TBF has been engaged in impact investing since 2005, when it allocated $15 million from its endowment for Impact First Investments as a way of complementing its grantmaking. In 2018, it launched the Business Equity Fund to provide financing for qualified Black- and Latino-owned businesses. And in 2020, TBF introduced the Impact Pool, a market-rate investment pool that has since grown to $139 million.
“We can make big things happen—and we have.” — Phil Giudice
22