Climate Change and Clean Energy: Thoughts From Darden’s Jefferson Innovation Summit

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business Jefferson Innovation Summit held in Washington, D.C., brought together experts and leaders across the private and public sectors in an effort to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship to tackle climate change.

Sun Tribe Solar co-founder Devin Welch was among the delegates at the summit, presented by the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Welch recently penned a post for Darden’s Business Innovation and Climate Change Initiative blog sharing his thoughts on how clean energy innovation can be a part of the climate solution.

While climate change is daunting, the Summit was reason for hope. Having representatives from diverse industries unanimously acknowledge that the challenge is real and that it is worth working together to solve it set the tone for open discussions on what we can all do to accomplish the huge, time-sensitive transformation needed. The recommendations shared at the Summit will be included in an upcoming policy playbook being created by UVA Darden.  The playbook will identify the actions needed to encourage innovation across a variety of industries. From financing to education to federal policy the recommendations are broad and audacious – exactly as our solutions to this challenge must be. The playbook is a valuable method of sharing ideas across a broad spectrum of stakeholders, but, as the team at Darden knows, it is not the final step. We must all work together to see this playbook executed — continue to engage, continue to innovate, continue to motivate, and continue to educate. I believe we will be able to meet the challenge in time, and formats like the Summit are precisely the way we will.

Read the full post on the Business Innovation and Climate Change blog.