When Ithaca, N.Y., decided last year to embark on the unprecedented project of decarbonizing all 6,000 buildings in town, it turned to BlocPower, a climate startup that retrofits buildings in low-income neighborhoods with solar panels, electric heat pumps, and other emission-reducing tech. “We can turn a building into a Tesla and make it all electric,” says CEO Donnel Baird, who counts Goldman Sachs and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund among his company’s backers. If it’s successful—the goal is a 40% emissions reduction—other cities will likely follow suit.
A weekly newsletter featuring conversations with the world’s top CEOs, managers, and founders. Join the Leadership Brief.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- What We Know So Far About the Deadly Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
- Beyoncé's Album of the Year Snub Fits Into the Grammys' Long History of Overlooking Black Women
- How the U.S. Shot Down the Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon
- Effective Altruism Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Women Say
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- 'Return to Office' Plans Spell Trouble for Working Moms
- 8 Ways to Read More Books—and Why You Should
- Why Aren't Movies Sexy Anymore?
- How Logan Paul's Crypto Empire Fell Apart
