Navigating Net Zero: Holly Lahd on Renewable Electricity Procurement & Scope 3 Accounting

In this episode of Navigating Net Zero, host Alexia Kelly is joined by Holly Lahd to discuss the intersection of carbon accounting and energy strategy. Holly shares her experiences working on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's Scope 3 standard, her transition to corporate decarbonization efforts, and insights on regulated and wholesale energy markets. The discussion covers the evolution of electricity markets, the complexities of corporate climate strategies, and the challenges of Scope 3 emissions. Holly emphasizes the importance of large-scale renewable energy projects and the crucial role of corporate purchasing in driving decarbonization. 

The episode examines the interaction between financial structuring, market dynamics, and the need for both attributional and consequential accounting practices in corporate climate action. Tune in to explore how companies can navigate the transitional period of ambiguous guidelines and make impactful decisions.

Creators and Guests

Alexia Kelly
Host
Alexia Kelly
Alexia Kelly has worked for more than 18 years at the intersection of policy and finance to address the climate crisis. Alexia is the Managing Director of the Carbon Policy and Markets Initiative (CPMI) at High Tide Foundation. The CPMI accelerates ambitious climate action and capital mobilization through robust rules and guidance for voluntary corporate action and disclosures, and building the next generation of high-integrity carbon and environmental services markets. She currently serves on the Board of the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (IC VCM) and the Board of the Advanced and Indirect Mitigation Initiative, as well as on the Expert Advisory Group of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI). Prior to joining High Tide Foundation, she served as Director of Net Zero + Nature at Netflix, where she led the company’s inaugural greenhouse gas inventory, renewable energy strategy, Science Based Target and global carbon credit portfolio. Previously, she worked at the U.S. Department of State, where she served as lead negotiator to the UNFCCC on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. She has also held senior roles at the World Resources Institute, The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, The Climate Trust, and in private equity.
Holly Lahd
Guest
Holly Lahd
Holly Lahd has spent her career at the intersection of carbon accounting and energy strategy. From 2009 to 2011 Holly was part of the GHG Protocol Scope 3 and Product Life Cycle Standards project team. Her eight years of experience working at fortune 100 companies gave her first-hand knowledge of the internal processes companies work through to set climate targets and execute decarbonization investments. Holly has negotiated energy supply and renewable energy power purchase agreements in regulated and wholesale energy markets, provided expert witness testimony in electric utility dockets, and analyzed utility rates and energy market data to enable distributed solar, energy storage, and demand response projects. She has a MS in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.
Matt Jordan
Producer
Matt Jordan
Matt Jordan is a Director within the High Tide Foundation’s Carbon Policy and Markets Initiative (CPMI). Matt has been working in climate action for more than 15 years, and has a long track record of envisioning, developing and scaling innovative programs and financing tools that deliver lasting global impact. Matt built CLASP’s Clean Energy Access program from a single small project to an integrated portfolio of technical, research, and market stimulation programs with a coherent, issue-defining theory of change and a global team of more than 20. He co-founded Propel Clean Energy Partners, a consulting firm with clients such as the World Resources Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the Asian Development Bank. Following their acquisition of Propel’s work and team, Matt served as a Director in RMI’s Global South portfolio and led their global clean energy workforce development initiative. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Colgate University, a Master’s in Public Policy Analysis from the University of California, and a Professional Certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy from Yale University.
Navigating Net Zero: Holly Lahd on Renewable Electricity Procurement & Scope 3 Accounting
Broadcast by