Get Ready to See CO2 Footprints Everywhere, Billionaire Steyer Says

Amanda Kolson Hurley
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Consumers could see carbon footprints on common products they buy as the world’s green transition forces companies to increase transparency on emissions, said billionaire investor Tom Steyer.

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“That’s what it’s going to take,” said Steyer, co-executive chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, at the Bloomberg Green summit in New York on Wednesday. “You have to know, ‘What is the carbon footprint of this shirt?’”

Steyer cited the effort by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to require climate disclosures by companies and the European Union’s border adjustment rules as evidence of a global push for quantification of climate impact.

• Read more: Carbon Accountant Will Be the Real Climate Job of the Future

Katie Hall, co-executive chair of Galvanize with Steyer, noted the push is occurring not just on the policy front but “system wide.” “Customers are demanding change, employees are demanding change,” she said.

Steyer and Hall launched Galvanize in 2021 with the aim of investing billions of dollars in companies working to curb carbon emissions around the world. The firm recently announced plans to buy and decarbonize real estate assets in markets across the US. Galvanize only makes investments where it expects good returns as well as significant climate impact, Steyer and Hall said.

“Investors are drawn to areas of massive disruption. It’s out of that huge chaos and change where there’s big winners,” Hall said.

Asked about the Republican-driven backlash to ESG investing in the US, Steyer called it “a partisan issue — but it’s not a partisan issue with the voters,” since many Republican voters want a robust climate response from the government, he said. “What we’re seeing is a pushback from businesses who are worried that different industries are going to come in and out-compete them. That’s called capitalism.”

• Read more: Will Transition Plans Bring Transparency to Net-Zero Goals?

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