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US & Natural Capital Accounting: Guidance for Policymakers

by | Dec 5, 2022 | Research

US & Natural Capital Accounting - Guidance for Policymakers

Responsible Alpha supports The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—on behalf of the co-chairs of the Interagency Policy Working Group on Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions (Working Group), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and Department of Commerce (DOC) in developing Government-wide natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics.

Click here to read Responsible Alpha's submission to the U.S. Government

National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental Economic Decisions

October 21, 2022

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Andrew Stawasz

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

New Executive Office Building

Washington, DC 20503

Email: NaturalCapitalAccounting@omb.eop.gov

Dear Andrew,

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—on behalf of the co-chairs of the

Interagency Policy Working Group on Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions (Working Group), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and Department of Commerce (DOC) have developed a proposed the establishment of Government-wide natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics. The Working Group has developed a draft Strategic Plan that recommends short- and long-term strategic goals, as well as objectives and proposed strategies to achieve a routinely produced set of Government-wide natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics that complement and operate in alignment with core national economic accounts and statistics.

We commend the OMB and other entities that have put forth the first draft of natural capital accounts for the United States. Failing to properly value a nations natural capital resource has led to overuse and misuse of these resources that have pushed the world beyond many of the planetary boundaries in nature that humankind needs balanced for an environment that will allow humanity to thrive. Although the need to value and preserve nature can be made for the sake of enjoying that nature in its own right, the preservation of natural capital is also of great economic importance, as about half of the globe’s GDP is dependent directly or indirectly on nature.

We welcome this opportunity to provide comment and look forward to working with the OMB in any future capacity to better align economic activity with the preservation and growth of natural capital.

Responsible Alpha is a ESG Integration consultancy with a mission is to advise investors, market participants, businesses, and communities on their transition paths to a low-carbon, sustainable, and equitable future. We enable ESG Integration for private and public sector institutions, developing transparent, consistent, and replicable tools. Responsible Alpha specializes in empathetic partnerships and positive, cross-sectoral analysis, striving for significant material outcomes.

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The Proposal

We agree with the OMB in declaring that natural capital or natural assets, the environmental or ecosystem services they generate, and expenditures to secure and protect nature are foundational elements of economic progress and growth, future opportunity, and sustainable development. Measuring natural assets and maintaining statistical series can inform planning tools for the American economy. Investors, business, NGOs, regulators and other groups have demonstrated a growing interest in developing natural capital accounting methodologies, and the private sector has shown a growing demand for natural capital data to reduce uncertainty and ensure competitiveness. Therefore, there is demand for U.S. Federal leadership to develop natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics to provide a centralized domestic framework and to promote international norms.

An interagency Working Group—co-chaired by OMB, OSTP, and DOC, with participation from the Council of Economic Advisors, Council on Environmental Quality, Domestic Climate Policy Office, National Economic Council, National Security Council, Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Labor, State, and Treasury, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration— developed a strategy for producing natural capital accounts that work within the U.S. standard national accounting system. These natural capital accounts would be able to measure the economic value that natural assets provide to society.

The Working Group has developed a Strategic Plan divided into five main sections:

  1. The Need for a System of Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions details how the development of natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics are expected to contribute to sustainable development of the U.S. macro-economy; encourage more informed Federal decision-making; increase the competitiveness of American firms; and support enhanced resilience of states, communities, territories, and tribes.

  1. Renewing U.S. Leadership and Building on Strength outlines the importance of U.S. leadership in environmental-economic statistics and describes the history of the development of environmental-economic statistics in the United States.

  1. Connecting Natural Capital and Environmental-Economic Statistics with National Economic Accounts provides systematic recommendations for the development of natural capital accounts and environmental-economic statistics, placing them in the context of the U.S. statistical system and in the context of the development of international standards.

  1. Developing a U.S. System of Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions: Targets, Timelines, and Tasks identifies headline summaries and products, the pathway to production-grade accounts and core statistical products, supporting activities necessary to develop and manage the system, the environmental sectors the working group recommends be developed into natural capital accounts, a proposed timeline for developing individual accounts ( e.g., an air account, a land account), and additional research and guidance needs. This section also identifies the data and expertise within the U.S. Government needed to produce sustained natural capital accounts and environmental-economic statistics.

  1. Administrative Coordination Across the Government details how interagency coordination for developing the initiative would be carried out by the Chief Statistician of the United States and processes to facilitate data sharing to ensure interoperability across the Federal Government. This section also summarizes the legal authority for developing natural capital accounts and standardized environmental-economic statistics.

Our Thoughts

OMB has asked respondents to consider the following questions when replying to this consultation. We will do so below and add additional thoughts where we thought necessary.

  1. Likely and potential applications for U.S. natural capital accounts and associated environmental economic statistics that would improve government or private-sector decision making that are not described in the draft Strategic Plan.

The development of natural capital accounts and associated environmental-economic statistics would be a welcome development by most participants in the U.S. economy, as well as most actors in the global economy. Investors, businesses and policymakers are increasingly looking to properly value natural capital in order to best account for the natural resources and biodiversity present in their economies because they all have begun to realize that these assets have real value and need to be properly managed in order to preserve and enhance their worth to society. Investors desire material information on natural capital accounts to ensure they are making the most informed decisions possible in their investment choices.

Businesses desire a set of natural capital metrics and data so that they can be sure of the economic playing field in which the operate. The past decade of development of ESG and reporting standards have taught companies that an agreed upon set of standards for such issues, is much easier to manage than a cacophony of standards from divergent and sometimes competing sources.

Policymakers and regulators therefore need to set the rules of the road around natural capital so that all actors in the economy can participate in a system that protects, preserves and grows our natural resources. The establishment of such a system will help companies, investors, NGOs and other actors in civil society better manage our natural resources so that the United States can settle into a sustainable economic state that will allow for profit in the short term and prosperity for future generations.

  1. Comments related to established and widely recognized systems of environmental-economic statistics or natural capital accounts that could strengthen the U.S. system;

The information to and data to measure natural capital often exists, but it is often incomplete, of small sample size, not comparable across time, not comparable across industry, taken sporadically, not standardized, not audited, or in some instances, just not collected.

The OMB can do a great service by developing a standard for determining the materiality of this information, so that what matters gets managed, instead of business, investors and policymakers trying to manage every aspect of natural capital. This threshold of materiality should not simply be from an investor’s perspective, a company’s perspective, or the perspective of policymakers, but from the perspective of society.

We strongly encourage the OMB to include investors and business groups in the development of natural capital standards, these groups should have seats at the table, but no group should dominate the discussions. For example,

The OMB cites many already existing sources for data on several natural capital issues in their initial proposal. These sources for data on natural capital resources such as pollination, clean air, clean water, forest resources and dozens of others should be reviewed so that those issues with a material impact on society, business and investment can be managed, standardized and reported upon in the future.

We encourage the OMB to continue to work with leaders in all natural capital areas in order to establish such standards.

The development of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) offers a potential template for the OMB to follow. The SASB (now part of the ISSB) set out to determine which environmental, social or governance (ESG) metrics in each sector and industry that drove value. A similar process undertaken by the OMB, with the appropriate external partners, would allow for the creation of a natural capital accounting system that addressed all pertinent natural capital accounts.

  1. External factors that may affect the Federal Government’s ability to implement the Strategic Plan.

We anticipate that not all groups will be sanguine about the creation of a natural capital accounting framework for the United States. We have seen this story before around the creation and use of ESG and Climate Change related metrics. We therefore encourage the OMB to invite in all pertinent investor, business, and policy groups to this discussion. There is an increasing understanding from an investor’s perspective that including such material natural capital information in the investment process is part of an investor’s fiduciary duty. To not factor material information into the investment process is a legal risk to investors, so they will want to make sure any natural capital accounts are properly audited and vetted.

Businesses and business groups do not want undue regulation and understandably focus on the costs associated with measuring and managing natural capital data. We recommend the OMB bring these groups into the process early on, so that their input can help shape a reasonable set of standards.

No external group should have the ability to significantly delay or destroy these much-needed standards, but they should be brought around the table to help create a set of fulsome standards that benefit society.

Ancillary or indirect consequences of developing natural capital accounts or associated environmental-economic statistics.

What gets measured gets managed. The challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and natural capital loss and degradation that we face today can in part be attributed to the lack of standards to measure these forces at a large enough scale to impact public policy and therefore positively impact society. These externalities that have through most of our history been seen as “costless” need to be

better managed in order to address the natural capital changes that will continue to deleteriously impact the United States and the world in the coming decades.

The direct consequence of developing natural capital accounts will be to better manage our natural capital as a nation, and therefor decrease negative externalities that have assumed that natural resources are costless.

We are certain that there will be growing pains throughout this process of developing a set of natural capital accounts. Putting together such a set of natural capital accounts will of course produce some winners and losers based on the final establishment of a standard. We expect that there will be fierce lobbying and marketing efforts designed to dissuade the OMB from the completion of this project. We encourage the OMB to remain steadfast in the completion of this project, and to establish a structure that can survive the changing political winds and power structures in government that will inevitably happen while this project is underway.

Other Comments

Timeframe

The OMB states a full system of natural capital accounts should be operational by the year 2036. We question why the OMB anticipates that the creation of such a system will take so long, and gently push the OMB to set a more aggressive timetable.

Investors, businesses and civil society will greatly benefit from the creation of such metrics, so we politely ask that the OMB attempt to set a more ambitious timetable. We encourage the OMB to work with ourselves and other interested groups to help contribute to the creation of these standards to that they can become user ready in a more expeditious manner.

Create a sandbox for innovation

One way to speed the implementation of a natural capital accounting system is to create a sandbox for interested parties to play in that can drive ideas and innovation. A model for this already exists in the Department of State Global Lab for Climate Finance Innovation. The climate finance lab highlights the most promising ideas from hundreds of submissions. Lab members vote on the top several ideas to move on to development thanks to the work of lab members and expert working groups. As a public private partnership, the Lab brings together broader government and private sector efforts to scale up climate finance.

A similar model could be used to help develop a natural capital accounting system in order to speed the

pace of innovation while encouraging participation from interested parties and other organizations

focused on natural capital. We encourage the OMB to create such a sandbox, inviting all interested

groups to participate in order to find the best way to create a natural capital accounting system.

Reevaluate GDP as the statistic of success

The current coterie of economic performance statistics, dominated by GDP do not offer a fulsome picture of the health of the American economy. GDP focuses solely on growth and does not consider negative aspects of that growth. For example, a man that smokes a pack of cigarettes each day for thirty years and then spends much of his savings on expensive lung cancer treatments will contribute to GDP through his cigarette purchases and his use of healthcare. But this statistical measure misses out on the cost to the economy of this man’s lost productivity and lost years of his life.

A more diverse dashboard of natural capital statistics is needed to better allocate capital to economic

activities that will preserve and enhance our natural capital over the long-term.

Leadership

The measurement and management of natural capital is already under development by international organizations like the TNFD as well as governments and other actors around the world. The United States can provide leadership in the area of natural capital measurement and management, and therefore boost the competitiveness of American firms in a world that will increasingly be taking natural capital into consideration in their investment, management and strategic decisions.

Conclusion

We agree with the OMB that the currently, national economic accounts are disconnected from environmental data and natural assets are omitted from the national balance sheet. Therefore, the existing national economic accounts data for the United States provides and incomplete view of the Nation’s economic opportunities and economic dependencies on natural assets. We are encouraged by the OMB’s efforts to create a set of national accounts for natural capital data and are eager to help in this process however we can.

Sincerely,

​

Gabriel Thoumi, CFA, FRM, Certified Ecologist

President and CEO

Responsible Alpha

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Matt Orsagh, CFA

Senior Advisor

Responsible Alpha

Dr. Anant Jani

Advisor

Anant is a Research Fellow who works on understanding how we can improve the value of healthcare services by optimizing resource utilization, improving population health and by addressing social determinants of health. Prior to his position at the University of Oxford, Anant worked in Europe and the Middle East to help healthcare systems within these countries to focus more on value-based healthcare. Anant has a PhD in immunology from Yale University.

Chiyedza Heri

Director

Chiyedza Heri is an inter-disciplinary professional with experience spanning biodiversity conservation, carbon markets, sustainability reporting, policy advisory and innovative financing mechanisms. Her work focuses on helping governments, financial institutions, businesses and development partners mobilise capital for climate-resilient, nature-positive and inclusive economic development across Africa.

Chiyedza is the Founder and CEO of Ubuntu Alliance, where she works with public and private sector partners to improve sustainability data, reporting and access to alternative finance for environmental and social outcomes.
Her experience includes policy and advocacy leadership with BirdLife Zimbabwe, where she supported nature and climate-policy alignment, ecosystem-restoration finance and stakeholder capacity building; and service as Vice Chair of the Zimbabwe Carbon Association, where she contributed to carbon-market coordination, regulatory benchmarking. She has also facilitated carbon-finance learning for conservation practitioners, policymakers and finance professionals through Africa Leadership University.

Chiyedza brings practical knowledge of TNFD, TCFD, carbon-crediting programmes, impact measurement, biodiversity-finance planning, ESG-related standards and the interlinkages among the Rio Conventions. She has contributed to Zimbabwe’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and has engaged in major regional and global policy forums, including UNFCCC COP28 and 30, UNCBD COP16, UNCCD COP16, Ramsar COP15, the Africa Climate Summit one and two and the 2024 UNEP FI Africa Regional Roundtable.

Zsófia Ságodi

Analyst

Zsófia Ságodi is an International Relations student at Leiden University with experience in business development, policy research, and data analysis. She is interested in international political economy, sustainability, and using research and data-driven insights to support strategic decision-making.

William Morrissey

Manager

William Morrissey is an environmental science and policy professional who thrives at the intersection of climate, finance, and policy. As an Associate at Responsible Alpha, William leads the US federal and state contracting effort, liaising with federal partners, identifying public partnerships, and opportunities for growth. He also assists on contracts, using his project management, natural resource management, and scientific research experience. 

With 5+ years of experience as a natural resource biologist, William has worked across sectors to solve complex environmental problems. At Versar Inc., he had the opportunity to contribute to many environmental projects, such as freshwater habitat surveys and IDDE inspections. He has managed environmental and wetland permitting for the Maryland State Highway Association and served as a field biologist for the MD Department of Natural Resources.  

Recently, he obtained his MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, where he studied climate science, environmental policy, and sustainable finance. In his undergraduate career, he studied Biology at the University of Delaware with a primary focus on ecology.  

Outside of the office, William spends a lot of his time with his family, traveling abroad or to the New Jersey shore, and cooking delicious vegetarian recipes. 

 

Dr. Emily Senay, M.D., MPH

Advisor

Dr. Emily Senay, MD, MPH, is the Interim Executive Manager at the Climate Health Society. Dr. Senay is also a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. She serves as a clinician with the Queens World Trade Center Health Program, providing care to first responders and volunteers who supported the 9/11 response. Dr. Senay’s scholarship centers on how healthcare organizations contribute to and respond to the climate crisis, with an emphasis on healthcare sustainability, transparent environmental accounting in the health sector, and climate communication for clinicians. Her clinical work highlights interventions with co-benefits for patients and the planet, including Lifestyle Medicine approaches that promote health while reducing environmental impact. Prior to her academic and clinical roles, Dr. Senay spent more than two decades as a medical broadcast correspondent for CBS News and PBS News, where she reported on health and science topics for national audiences.

Rajeev Soni

Director Product Development

Raj Soni advises enterprise leaders on capturing AI value. Over twenty years Raj has launched and scaled B2B SaaS and enterprise products globally and built teams across four continents. He works with leadership on the decisions that matter, which workflows to redesign, how to structure adoption, and how to measure and deliver against the AI value promise.

Mr. Soni has held director of product development and similar roles at Gartner, Glasswing, SEQR, and European Union Delegation to India and South Asia. He has worked at firms including Tata Consultancy. He also participated on product, delivery and engagement leadership roles with Bank of America, Boeing, JPMorgan Chase, National Bank of Greece and ABN AMRO on enterprise launches.
Career highlights include:

  • 20 years launching and scaling B2B SaaS and enterprise products across research, logistics, retail, financial services and higher education.
  • Fortune 500 and high-growth startup experience on product strategy and go-to-market.
  • Global teams of 60+ across four continents. 1M+ paying enterprise users shipped. One founder/exit.
  • Deep expertise in product market fit, retention and expansion revenue models.

Raj graduated with an MBA from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Dr. Tom Achoki, M.D., Ph.D.

Advisor

Dr. Tom Achoki, M.D., Ph.D. is a seasoned physician executive with over 15 years of global experience leading innovation in healthcare and social impact initiatives. His work spans strategic partnerships across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, driving transformative change in health systems and development programs worldwide. He is a co-founder of the Africa Institute for Health Policy, a leading research organization based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Tom is a medical doctor and has completed a PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and an MBA from the M.I.T Sloan School of Management, where he focused on finance and healthcare innovation. He did his post-graduate training at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington where he also held a faculty position. He brings deep expertise in corporate venture investing and operational model design to advance business goals while creating shared value and mitigating risk. He is a recognized thought leader in global health, digital transformation, research, and data analytics—leveraging evidence to inform strategic decisions and execution.

Dr. Achoki’s work is grounded in a commitment to equity, sustainability, and measurable impact—making him a trusted advisor in shaping the future of healthcare and social innovation.

Francisco Lizcano Bazaldúa

Director

Francisco Lizcano Bazaldúa is an impact investing professional with a background spanning venture acceleration, institutional finance, and sustainable technology-enabled supply chains across Latin America. He holds an MSc in Astrophysics from UNAM — where he developed advanced skills in statistical modelling, quantitative data analysis, and evidence-based reasoning — which he brings to investment analysis, ESG research, and sustainability advisory. Experienced structuring blended-finance mechanisms and advising early-stage impact enterprises on capital readiness and scalability, he has worked across the full capital stack from seed-stage ventures to institutional products. His supply chain traceability work at BanQu deepened his practical understanding of ESG compliance frameworks, sustainable sourcing standards, and the role of data integrity in credible sustainability reporting. Francisco is currently a Fellow of the New England Impact Investing Initiative (NEI3), deepening his expertise in sustainable finance and impact measurement across emerging markets.

Cara Li

Project Team

Cara Li

Ruonan (Cara) Li is passionate about sustainability and global development, with a interdisciplinary background in public administration, economics, and policy studies. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe in Bologna, she focuses on how data-driven insights and policy innovation can advance sustainable growth and international cooperation.

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Julianne Zimmerman

Advisor

Julianne Zimmerman is a social justice investor and systems-change leader with more than 30 years of experience putting technology and capital to work for the greater good. She currently serves on the Trust Stewardship Committee for Ona Perpetual Purpose Trust and previously served as Co-CEO of Adasina Social Capital. Julianne has held leadership and advisory roles across impact investing, energy, biofuel, water purification, aerospace, and technology.

She previously served as Managing Director at Reinventure Capital, investing in US-based companies led and controlled by BIPOC and/or female founders. She is actively involved in advancing racial, social, and gender equity and serves on the board of the Criterion Institute and as an Ambassador for Global InvestHer.

She also mentors entrepreneurs and emerging leaders through organizations including MIT VMS, WPI, and Majira Project. Julianne holds two SB degrees from MIT, an MS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, and an executive certificate in Sustainability Management from Presidio Graduate School. She is a 2020 Conscious Company World Changing Woman and a 2022 Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree.

Isabella Manzione-Dearborn

Analyst

Isabella Manzione-Dearborn is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies pursuing a Master of Arts in International Affairs. Isabella currently serves on the project team as an analyst and works extensively with the Business Development and Marketing Team.  

Throughout her education, Isabella cultivated a strong interest in climate and sustainability issues, integrating global sustainability themes into her coursework and study abroad experience. Her professional background includes internships with the Department of Defense and the International Rescue Committee, where she supported federal operations and refugee resettlement efforts. Isabella’s interdisciplinary perspective and commitment to the environment align with Responsible Alpha’s mission to advance climate-conscious financial strategies. 

With over two years of study-abroad experience, Isabella demonstrates strong global citizenship skills. In addition to her passion for travel, Isabella enjoys training for half marathons and collecting many plants. 

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Paul Jonas

Analyst

Paul is a trained natural resource scientist studying at the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

Emily Korlin

Manager

Emily's interests lay at the intersection between data, environment, and public health. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Society, and Environment from the University of Minnesota.

Jimena Faz Garza

Analyst, Special Projects

Jimena’s management role includes project tracking and management, team coordination, online marketing, and supporting RA’s participation in working groups and partnerships. She is also an analyst who conducts research and assists in writing reports and deliverables for client projects. 

Jimena has previously interned at A Wider Circle (a social support nonprofit in the DC/Maryland area), and at the Chronicle of Philanthropy (a publication covering philanthropy and nonprofits in the US and worldwide). She has also worked as a summer camp counselor and as a state lead in Virginia for a voter turnout campaign in 2020. 

Jimena attended the College of William & Mary and earned a Bachelors degree in Sociology with a concentration in Social Problems, Policy, and Justice. She enjoys studying intersections between social dynamics, environmental patterns, and economic trends, and using iterative research processes to create lasting solutions that bridge gaps between sectors. She is passionate about translating technical information into clear, compelling narratives. 

Jimena has lived in Mexico City, DC, and Virginia, and is now based in Nairobi, where she enjoys spending time with her family, exploring the city, trying new foods, meeting people from around the globe, and bonding with her cat. 

 

Dr. Mike Kroll

Advisor

Dr. Mike Kroll is a risk management and quantitative finance specialist, combining advanced technical capability with deep financial services expertise. Holding a doctorate in Physics from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, he delivers credit and operational risk frameworks, regulatory compliance programs, and ESG/climate risk solutions for banks, insurers, and institutional investors across Europe, North America, and emerging markets.

His work spans quantitative management advisory and climate risk modelling, underpinned by proficiency in programming languages and quantitative analytics.

Mike operates at the intersection of risk methodology and data-driven implementation as he translates technical requirements into operational delivery.

Mark Bershatsky, CFA

Advisor

Mark Bershatsky, CFA has been at the cutting edge of carbon reduction technologies since 2007. Currently, Mark is a senior credit and risk manager in the renewable energy sector.

Monique Aiken

Board Member

Monique Aiken is a strategist, systems thinker, author, founder and podcaster with nearly 25 years of experience in finance and impact.

 For the first 12 years of her career in traditional finance, Monique moved between New York, London and Houston, splitting time between Debt Markets at Bank of America and Citi and Commodity Derivatives at Deutsche Bank. Monique then focused her energies on advancing the impact economy, spending ~3 years each at the Clinton Global Initiative, Tideline, a boutique impact investing strategy advisor, and Mission Investors’ Exchange where she led programs for members looking to begin or deepen a practice of impact investing.
 
In 2020, she joined The Investment Integration Project (TIIP), as Managing Director. TIIP connects systems thinking with investing for institutional investors through custom consulting, applied research and recently launched SaaS platform, SAIL, the Systems Aware Investing Launchpad that allows investors to learn about “system-level investing” at their own pace.
 
Monique is also co-founder of Make Justice Normal, a growing collective seeking to open space for people working to move capital towards justice, for which she is host of their podcast, "Into the Record", and co-cofounder of the ReStarter Fund, an economic and climate justice initiative aiming to be a small business lifeline in these times of polycrisis.
 
A Contributing Editor at ImpactAlpha, Monique also serves on the boards of Responsible Alpha and the Institute for Nonprofit Practice. Other advisory board and committee service includes: the Steering Committee for the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN), the NYC Racial Equity Endowment Fund, the Investment Committee for the NYU Impact Investment Fund, the Advisory Board for the Global Bio Fund, focused on gendersmart biotech and wellness, the WELL Certified Sustainable Finance Task Force and the Community Advisory Board for New York Radio (WNYC).
 
Monique is a proud Toigo, SEO, and INROADS alum and holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a B.Sc. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, where she studied Spanish and Portuguese. Her first children's book, a love letter to her son (and all children), was published in January 2024.

Justin Kew, CFA

Board Member

Justin who is a CFA holder and leads the ESG research function in an alternative investment firm. He has extensive experience in the financial services ranging from investment banking to asset management and venture capital funds management. Justin has worked on building up business units, ran global business change programs, and built ESG businesses up for multiple asset management. Justin has almost a decade of experience in sustainable investing.

Peter Fusaro

Advisor

Peter is a New York Times best selling author, global thought leader focused on climate change investment and the Energy Transition for many decades. Since Earth Day 1970, he has been focused on energy & environmental issues that enhance economic development & human health through innovative clean energy technology. He is passionate about ESG & impact investing, particularly in carbon emissions reductions. He has been involved in several cleantech startups as an Advisor, Judge in the Cleantech Open for the Northeast, & Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Columbia Tech Ventures. 

 Peter is Founder of the 25th Annual Wall Street Green Summit held on March 10 and 11, 2026 in New York & focused on the nexus of finance and technology. The Summit is one of the longest running & most comprehensive events in the Sustainable Finance in the world hosting over 9,000 participants.
 
Peter wrote the New York Times best seller, “What Went Wrong at Enron” as well as 16 other books on energy & the environment with noted global publishers such as Wiley, McGraw-Hill, & Oxford University Press. His 900 page book “Energy and Environmental Project Finance Law & Taxation” published by Oxford is used as a primer at graduate school courses throughout the world. 
 
Peter was a professor at Columbia University creating & teaching a course on Renewable Energy Project Finance to second year graduate students where he taught financial modelling. Peter has lectured at leading universities including MIT, Columbia, Yale, Carnegie-Mellon, Wharton, Northwestern, Univ. of Michigan, Oxford, Univ. of Chicago, Tufts & London Business School. His belief is that economic transformation to sustainability cannot occur without the massive engagement of young professionals & he has mentored over 300 college undergraduate & graduate students on career development & opened doors for their professional careers.
 
Peter has 50 years of experience in clean energy & environmental innovation, both in the private and public sectors & believes we are in the beginning stages of a Global Energy Transformation into sustainability. He is a recognized expert in ClimateTech, ESG, & Carbon Markets, & recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award in Who’s Who in America. He has a proven track record of sourcing capital from strategic investors, venture funds for revenue-generating companies that want to scale & commercialize their climate change technology. On the advisory boards of ClimaTwins, Global Green Street and Power to Hydrogen.

Gwen Bridge

Board Member

Gwen Bridge is an Indigenous consultant specializing in Indigenous-led conservation, natural resource management, and policy development. A member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, she brings a deep cultural perspective to her work, emphasizing the advancement of Indigenous knowledge within a transforming Western legislative context.

Gwen excels in facilitating collaboration between Indigenous communities, governments, and organizations to create sustainable land management solutions. With a Master of Science from the University of Alberta, her expertise extends to collaborative policy-making, Indigenous strategy, organizational reform, and community engagement. She is dedicated to empowering Indigenous communities to take leadership roles in conservation and to shape policies that reflect their cultural values and sustainable practices.
 

Gwen has worked with Tribal Nations in the US and First Nations in Canada and with national and international environmental NGOs to advance Indigenous led natural resource management projects and policy development. Gwen is the co-founder of the Indigenous Engagement Institute, an initiative to share knowledge and skills with those seeking to improve indigenous relations.

Musa Collidge-Asad

Board Member

Musa has been engaged with a broad range of sustainable finance and development, climate resilience, and related thematic areas for the bulk of his career.  His sustained commitment traverses his lengthy tenure with the World Bank Group overseeing a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of diverse sustainable development projects to U.S.-based entrepreneurial and green bank endeavors across diverse asset classes at the intersection of climate finance, renewable energy, real property, and impact capital. 

Additionally, the following highlights some of his unique contributions and capabilities based on relevant leadership roles in diverse organizational contexts:

  • Inclusive Prosperity Capital -- as CIO and a core member of IPC’s leadership team, roles included oversight of all capital formation, investment strategy and transactions, risk-portfolio management, team expansion and a $10M OpEx budget, for a ~$350M blended finance investment platform.

  • Montgomery County Green Bank and MD Clean Energy Center -- MCGB roles include BoD, Investment Committee, and Fin-Ops Committee; MCEC roles include Advisory Council (Governor's Office Appointment) and Energy Innovation Accelerator Exec-in-Residence.

  • Quantified Ventures -- led teams in an entrepreneurial culture to deliver environmental impact bond and fund solutions resolving climate resilience, water quality, and sustainable land use.

  • World Bank Group -- led numerous multidisciplinary teams for a multi-billion dollar portfolio of diverse sustainable development and Global Environment Facility programs delivering long-term impactful results.

  • High-Level Professional Network -- cultivated an extensive network of government, business, banking, NGO and academic leaders in the U.S. and globally who are deeply engaged with an array of renewable energy, climate finance, economic development, and impact investments.

  • Relevant Academic Background -- includes a J.D. (environmental law), an M.B.A. in Finance, and Harvard Executive Management Program.

Neil Hyman, Esq.

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Neil Hyman is the General Council at Responsible Alpha and the founder of the Law Office of Neil S. Hyman, LLC, where he practices employment law, commercial litigation and civil litigation. Neil represents workers and employers alike, in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He has argued on behalf of his clients before the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Maryland Commission on Human Rights and the Montgomery County Office of Human Relations. He provides legal counsel to clients who wish to reduce their liability as employers. In service of this goal, he can draft protective contracts, employee handbooks, noncompete agreements and other documents that help shield employers from potentially damaging litigation.

Steve Zwick

Director

Steve Zwick produces the popular Bionic Planet podcasts and serves as director of media relations for standard-setting body Verra. Before this, he served as chief business correspondent for TIME Magazine from 1998 to 2006.

He built Ecosystem Marketplace into the world’s leading provider of freely available news and analysis on payments for ecosystem services covering all aspects of environmental finance – including carbon markets, but also mitigation banking, green bonds, and performance-based payments. He launched Bionic Planet in 2016 explicitly to break down information asymmetries among those on the front lines of the climate challenge.

Previously, he was the radio host and producer at Deustche Welle Radio reaching over 20 million listeners, a contributing writer to Time Magazine, and a futures trader and broker in Chicago.

Ashley Fritz, CFA

Advisor

Ashley Fritz has over 15 years of experience in the asset management industry, focusing on sustainability, global markets and data analytics. 

Most recently, she was a Senior Investment Analyst on the Emerging Markets Debt investment team at Loomis, Sayles & Company where she helped develop, implement and execute the team’s sustainability framework covering the investable universe.  Her work included aggregating relevant third party data to evaluate current and prospective holdings for portfolio inclusion as well as meeting with portfolio company management to learn more about sustainability efforts. She constructed several portfolios aligned to the International Energy Agency (IEA) climate scenarios using both current and projected industry relative carbon emissions.

Prior to this, she was a Vice President and Senior Portfolio Analytics Specialist at FactSet Research Systems, where she served as a subject matter expert in portfolio level products across the system. Her responsibilities during this time included assisting large asset managers, endowments and foundations create and analyze custom sustainability reports on the platform.

She is passionate about sustainable investing and has written several frequently cited blog posts detailing her work.

Ashley earned a BS from Bentley University. She is a CFA® Charterholder and holds a certificate in Sustainable Investing from the CFA Institute. She is active in her community and serves on the Board of Directors for her town’s Green Committee.

Chris Donn, MBA

Advisor

Chris thrives at the intersection of sustainability, communications, and business development—helping companies and investors grow, fund, and demonstrate their impact. With 20+ years’ experience across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, he excels at translating complex climate, sustainability, and ESG requirements into clear, compelling strategies that secure financing from investors and contracts with Fortune 500 companies. His track record includes $50 million in contracts and funding across corporates, governments, and investors.

Chris' core strengths:

    • Strategic communications & investor relations (impact storytelling, stakeholder engagement).
    • Fundraising & business development (winning contracts and funding at scale).
    • Sustainability, climate, and ESG reporting & regulatory alignment (CSRD, ISSB, GRI, TCFD).

Chris has an MBA (ESCP Business School) and Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Business (Columbia × MIT).

Peter Graham

Director

Peter Graham is a Director at Responsible Alpha, where he focuses on climate transition, nature-based solutions, sustainable finance, and ESG risk and opportunity. He supports clients and partners in developing strategies that enhance valuation, reduce risk, expand market opportunities, and contribute to a resilient, nature-positive circular economy.

Peter has more than 20 years of experience across government, international NGOs, consulting, and multilateral climate diplomacy, including roles with Climate Advisers, WWF, Natural Resources Canada, and Verdant Futures LLC. His work has focused on forest and land-sector climate policy, carbon markets, climate finance, corporate sustainability, nature-related financial risk, REDD+, and international negotiations, including chairing UNFCCC negotiations that produced the Warsaw Framework for REDD+.

Peter holds a Master of Forestry (Economics) degree from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Science in Forestry (Forest Resource Management) from the University of New Brunswick. He has authored and contributed to peer-reviewed publications on forest carbon, climate policy, REDD+, nature-based solutions, and the role of forests and land use in climate mitigation.

Liesel D'Souza, SCR

Project Team

Liesel D’Souza is a seasoned Risk Management and Sustainable Finance Strategist with over 20years of experience spanning global financial institutions and regional markets. She has held leadership roles at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, including Regional Director for ESG & Climate Risk, and previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank in New York and London.

Liesel graduated from New York University with a degree in Finance and International Business and is certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals in Sustainability and Climate Risk. She is passionate about enabling organizations to navigate the evolving sustainability landscape, and excels in driving Sustainability Policy, ESG Governance and leading cross-functional teams to deliver complex Decarbonization Strategies, Climate Scenario Analysis, and Regulatory engagement aligned with TCFD, ISSB, and Net-Zero frameworks.

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Liesel D'Souza, SCR

Managing Director

Liesel D’Souza is a Managing Director at Responsible Alpha, where she leads Energy Transition and Natural Capital advisory work focused on climate riskand supply chain resilience. She guides corporates, investors, and financial institutions on integrating climate and social risk into decision‑making, shaping resilience strategies, and mobilizing capital toward high‑impact outcomes. Her work spans risk diagnostics, portfolio‑level analytics, and executive‑level narrative development for clients across global markets. She previously served as Head of Climate and ESG Risk at Standard Chartered Bank, where she built and implemented operationalized frameworks across multiple jurisdictions and asset classes.

Her broader career includes deep Asia‑Pacific experience in banking, policy, and sustainability, with specialization in climate‑related financial risk, transition finance, and impact‑aligned capital allocation. She has advised multinational corporates, asset managers, and development institutions on risk transmission, regulatory alignment, and long‑term value creation. Liesel holds degrees in Finance and International Business from New York University, along with certifications in Sustainability and Climate Risk management.

Her academic background reflects a focus on financial systems, development, and environmental governance. Outside of work, she is engaged in community‑focused environmental initiatives and enjoys travel, contemporary art, and exploring nature across the Asia‑Pacific region.

Gabriel Thoumi, CFA, FRM, Certified Ecologist, LEED AP

President and CEO

Gabriel Thoumi, President and Founder of Responsible Alpha, is an award-winning sustainable finance research manager with over 20 years’ experience leading scientifically rigorous, replicable, and scalable approaches for capital deployment and impact. He has worked with financial institutions, banks, asset managers, corporations, civil society, and governments in more than 30 countries focusing on financing and modeling the necessary energy transition and nature transition pathways for a sustainable future.
In his career, he has spoken at or moderated more than 300 events including TV appearances from the NYSE; has published more than 120 sustainable investment research reports, chapters, peer review articles, and finance textbooks edited; and sat on numerous global boards and advisory committees including the S&P Global Sustainable Finance Scientific Council.
Mr. Thoumi has also participated on and led teams winning numerous awards, such as:
  • Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center – cohort of top 25 global natural capital leaders (2014, individual award)
  • Lipper Award: Best in Class Natural Resources Fund Globally for the Calvert Global Water Fund (2014, team award)
  • Environmental Finance: ESG innovation of the year (research) (2020, team award as co-author)
  • Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance, Agricultural Supply Chain Adaptation Facility (2015, group award representing Calvert Investments co-won with the Inter-American Development Bank)
  • Gotham Network: Gotham Green Award (2021, individual award)
Since 2010, Mr. Thoumi has lectured on sustainable finance and impact investing, energy transition, and natural capital at various universities including Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University SAIS, and the University of Applied Sciences, Upper Austria. He has also frequently guest lectured at leading universities globally including Oxford University, Yale University, Columbia University, and others.
For 8 years, Thoumi was a political appointee supporting Washington DC regional energy transition, nature conservation, air quality, climate modeling, and urban planning.
As a trained scientist, he has experience at sea conducting oceanographic research and on land assessing forest and biodiversity health.
Mr. Thoumi has an MBA, MSc in Sustainable Systems, and a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from the University of Michigan where he was both a Consortium and Erb Institute fellow. He has a MIM in International Finance from the University of St. Thomas where he was a NSHMBA fellow. He also has a B.A. in Art History and Archaeology and a B.A. in Studio Arts from the University of Maryland where he was Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.