“What I knew about Carbon Credits having watched them for many years is that they’re not always what they seem…So, Calyx Global was founded in 2021 to help companies navigate the space, to really understand….(i)t’s a promise that somebody has reduced methane in that landfill or planted some trees thousands of miles away. So that’s what Calyx Global is, we’re a Carbon Credit Ratings Agency. But really what we’re doing is, for every one of these assets, helping buyers understand what’s underneath that, what the quality of that asset is. Donna Lee on Electric Ladies Podcast

You’ve probably heard the words “carbon credits” banted about. But what are they exactly and how do they work?

Listen to Donna Lee, CEO & Cofounder of Calyx Global (and former climate policy negotiator at the UN and U.S. State Dept.) in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson.

You’ll hear about:

● What carbon credits are, how they’re measured and verified, because they are not all equal.

● Where policies and regulations provide stability (or uncertainty)

● Why companies buy and trade carbon credits – the business case.

● Plus, career advice, such as:

“One is, follow your passion always. If you are passionate about making a difference, find a job where you make a difference. Don’t settle for less and you will succeed more if you feel really strongly and you Love what you’re doing…The other thing, just being sort of a woman in late career and only maybe in some ways only finding my footing now as a co-founder is, don’t underestimate your abilities….What’s more important, competence or confidence? It is both in equal measure. Women always underestimate their abilities, right? Men always overestimate and women always underestimate. And so women double down on confidence…You can be authentic and confident and don’t undersell yourself… Lean in on the things that come naturally to you.” Donna Lee on Electric Ladies Podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter and Join the waitlist for our new Membership Group here and read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also like:

· Carbon Accounting 101: with Alyssa Zucker, Senior Industry Principal in Carbon at Workiva – aka The Carbon Lady

· Carbon Credits 101: with Lucy Hargreaves at Patch (now at Build Canada)

· How to Get To Carbon Zero, with Melissa Lott, Ph.D. at Columbia University Center for Global Energy Policy featured in the “Chasing Carbon Zero” documentary.

· A Biography of Carbon: with documentary filmmaker, writer and producer, Danielle Ortega of the Australian Film Commission on her extraordinary film “Carbon: An Unauthorized Biography

· Using Captured Carbon To Make Energy: with Bjork Kristjansdottir, of Carbon Recycling International

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Joan Michelson Electric Ladies Podcast - Innovation, Energy, Climate, Careers

Joan Michelson, MBA is a highly accomplished business leader and award-winning strategic social impact and ESG – environment, social, governance – leader, who drove breakthrough results at Chrysler (in EVs), American Express and Deloitte, small businesses, and government agencies. She is an instructor on ESG issues to professionals, leaders and board members across industries. Her specialties include leveraging ESG solutions and partnerships strategically for maximum benefit, helping organizations recruit innovative, diverse women, and helping these women thrive in their careers. She is based in the Washington D.C. area.

Joan is also an accomplished journalist who has worked with top media organizations and hosts and produces the acclaimed Electric Ladies podcast (formerly known as Green Connections Radio), about innovation and leadership in energy-, climate- and sustainability-related issues across industries, featuring women experts.

She writes regularly for Forbes on these issues and has also been in the Harvard Business Review, HuffPost, TheAtlantic.com, Greenbiz, The New Economy magazine (distributed at the World Economic Forum), New Thinking magazine, regional business journals; and various other media. She coproduced segments with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” ABC News, and “The Crusaders,” and television specials on NBC.

Joan has spent her career working in energy-sustainability-climate-ESG issues and in marketing communications, including as head of communications and co-leader of the sales and marketing team of Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), driving “best year ever” growth and significantly accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles. Prior to GEM, she led marketing communications efforts to high-net-worth and high-visibility clients in management consulting-financial services companies Deloitte and American Express. She's a native of NYC and has a BA from UCLA, an MBA from Baruch College at City University of NY, and post-graduate studies at Harvard Business School, The New School and The Aspen Institute, among others. She has a Sustainability and ESG certification from Competent Boards.