Future Focus at the 2021 Virtual Benefit Breakfast

Last week, more than 475 people from Minnesota and across the country attended Fresh Energy’s Sixth Annual Benefit Breakfast. They took part in an inspiring conversation with our featured speaker, climate tech entrepreneur, Donnel Baird, and special guest, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (MN).

Held virtually for a second time, this year’s event emphasized the need for bold and ambitious federal, state, and local clean energy and climate leadership that tackles carbon pollution while creating family-sustaining jobs. You can view the entire program here.

Fresh Energy’s executive director, Michael Noble and Janiece Watts, Director of Culture and Partnerships, were back together onstage as co-hosts, facilitating an engaging program with a clear message: the time for action is now, and we need everyone working together to build a new climate economy.

Here are a few of our favorite highlights from the program: 

• Senator Smith emphasized the urgency around delivering climate action at the scale of the crisis by delivering policy as strong as the Clean Electricity Performance Program she authored, arguing that, at this moment, “[climate action] is not something that we have to persuade people is a good idea, they’re saying, ‘let’s get going on this; let’s get this done.’”
• We debuted a new staff video, covering a few of the ways our team is shaping and driving bold clean energy policy in Minnesota, the Midwest, and beyond. We guarantee you’ll want to watch it until the end!
• Our board member and Event Chair, Eric Pasi, shared a personal climate story about his relatives on the island nation of Tonga whose way of life is threatened by climate change, “a threat that is not of their making but is now their burden.”  
• Donnel Baird, founder and CEO of BlocPower, discussed the progress his business is making by using innovative software and heat pump technology to “turn buildings into Teslas.” He explained how retrofitting buildings to move them 100% off fossil fuels confronts multiple crises facing society by creating new family-supporting jobs, improving indoor air quality (and outdoor air quality in densely populated urban centers), and reducing carbon emissions.
• We polled our guests to learn what actions they are taking to tackle climate change in their personal lives. 220 guests shared what they’re doing (or plan to do) in the results below:

How have you taken action for clean energy and climate (or what do you plan to do in the near future)?	Number of respondents	Percentage of respondents
I drive an electric vehicle or electric bike	98	45%
I heat and cool my home with a heat pump	30	14%
I use an electric range or induction cooktop	83	38%
I have a solar array to power my home or belong to a community solar garden	54	25%
I use electric yard tools	127	58%
I opt into a green tariff to get my home energy from renewable sources (e.g. Windsource)	122	55%

Check out our new “Take Action for Climate and Clean Energy” booklet for ideas about how you can decarbonize your life. View and download your booklet here.

Special thanks to our event sponsors and table captains, Event Chair Eric Pasi, and everyone who logged in and made this event a success! Together, we raised $391,875 (and counting!) to support an equitable clean energy future.   

Missed the event, want to relive your favorite parts, or share the program with a friend? View the full event here or at the bottom of this page. And you can support Fresh Energy’s work to speed the transition to an equitable carbon neutral economy by making a donation today. 

Thank you to our event sponsors!

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