Changemakers: Carbon Lighthouse
发布时间 2023-01-24 04:21:32 来源
摘要
It’s not uncommon to see an office building’s lights still on at night, long past when the last worker has left. In these same, sometimes empty buildings, heating or cooling systems are often running as well , making the temperature more comfortable… for no one at all. These “always on” practices contribute to the roughly 40% of emissions Produced by commercial and industrial buildings.
“The less energy a building uses, the less power plants operate. Pretty simple” says Brenden Millstein, MBA ’10, who started Carbon Lighthouse with his best friend since kindergarten, Raphael Rosen. The duo studied physics, and were lab partners, at Harvard. They knew they wanted to one day launch a venture that would reduce the effects of climate change. The science-side of the venture didn’t propose too much of a challenge, it was the business side they were concerned with. “We figured, ‘OK, we can figure out the technical stuff. We better start with sales to make sure that part works,’” Millstein says.
Carbon Lighthouse provides software that makes decarbonizing buildings profitable for commercial real estate investors. In the 10 years since its inception, the venture has worked in nearly 1,400 buildings and with clients such as Goldman Sachs, Ohana, and The Carlyle Group.
“You don't need construction, just sensors and controls to make sure things are off when they should be off,” Millstein says. “Our mission is to stop climate change. It is to drive massive, massive, massive action across whole portfolios of buildings all over the world.”
The company has also eliminated the emissions of 34 power plants. “I am very pleased with the path I have chosen, despite the fact that it has been ridiculously hard. There's not a night I go to sleep and I wonder if I'm doing the right thing with my life.”
In this ongoing video series, we showcase Stanford GSB alumni who are striving to change lives, organizations, and the world.
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