Here at Leyline Renewable Capital, we work every day to support the transition to a clean energy future. And while we finance projects all across the spectrum - from solar and storage to wind and anaerobic digestion - we always adhere to the same set of core values. We work to focus our efforts where they can do the most good, operating our business to address systemic issues and create a cleaner, safer, more equitable world.
Working at the intersection of private equity capital and renewable energy puts us in the perfect position to be intentional in how we apply our influence. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria help us hold ourselves accountable, both in terms of internal function and external impact. We want to bring social and environmental justice to the forefront, so that we make long-term, sustainable change.
Striving for a More Diverse Workforce
On the internal level, our biggest priority in hiring is that team members value clean energy as the way of the future. From there, we strive for a diverse workforce, who know that equity is a cornerstone for success. The renewable energy field is largely homogeneous - roughly 60 percent of workers are white and male. But environmental problems and issues around clean, reliable energy access apply across all communities and populations. In fact, non-white, non-male populations are disproportionately impacted by the ramifications of dirty energy. It's important at Leyline that historically underrepresented voices have an active seat at the table and benefit from our solutions.
We have worked diligently over the past few years to target areas in education, finance, and employment where we can contribute to systemic change. In a previous newsletter, we highlighted our strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) through Leyline Addressing Racism (LAR) initiatives. Our team is working to enhance broad knowledge of career options in renewable energy for historically under-represented groups through presentations at high schools and colleges, and through our renewable energy ex/internship at Leyline (REEAL), in which a student shadows each team at Leyline during his/hertheir spring semester and then interns full time for the summer. We also took an active look at how traditional methods of recruitment and evaluation may exclude certain populations from finding good jobs and introduced standardization to reduce unconscious bias and prioritize equitable hiring practices. We continuously seek more inclusive tools to enhance our team through diverse connections.
Impacting Business Decisions
All of these values additionally carry over to our business decisions and technological choices. Leyline actively seeks opportunities for our capital and development expertise to be a true changemaker. Financial lending goes so much further than simple economics - it's a key tool that can make or break positive societal change. We are constantly working to identify opportunities to integrate our DEI priorities into our deal sourcing and every facet of our business. For example, we began prioritizing deals with either diverse teams or clear community impact at the project level, like developer partners that promote equitable renewable energy access. Our team can help provide the capital to get these teams or projects off the ground to streamline complex processes and overcome developmental hurdles that otherwise may limit a clean transition.
The technologies we deploy must also result in overall ESG improvements. We aren't just leveraging capital - our financing has the power to protect our planet and society. Long-term change will not be achieved through carbon offsets or capture. It's simply not enough. At Leyline, our projects must, above all else, reduce carbon emissions at the source. This is imperative to preserve a livable environment long into the future.
As a company, we have a social responsibility to help mitigate climate change; support diversity and the financial and physical well-being of our team; and exact fair, equitable decisions across all of our business practices. Leyline pledges to uphold these values in everything we do and to continue to learn and grow as we work to build a better society.
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