Before Trenton Allen became the CEO of Sustainable Capital Advisors he worked as a financial advisor for Citigroup. It was through his work here that Allen realized the importance of bringing capital investment to sustainable projects. Allen sat down with The Black Wall Street Times for a one-on-one interview to share details about his journey in the world of sustainability funding. 

In the early 2000s, Citigroup brought on the city of Springfield, Illinois as a client. The city was in the process of constructing a new coal-fired power plant to replace an outdated one. Allen witnessed pushback from environmental groups like the Sierra Club. Beyond Coal is a campaign from the Sierra Club that has successfully closed down several coal-powered facilities nationwide. 

After seeing such widespread opposition, Allen realized that coal as a source of energy was a dying breed. He took some time to ponder and decided to shift his career goals to levy economic opportunities to communities that have faced environmental injustices. 

Communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of polluting sites, such as landfills and industrial facilities. Due to poor policy and investment, Black and other minority communities face the brunt of environmental damage. 

“How do we utilize this moment to safeguard and protect this plant that we share,” Allen said as he reflected on his early days in investment. “But also as an economic opportunity particularly in communities where they have been part of economic and environmental injustice.”

Green Cash to Green Energy 

Allen has closely worked with a project called Groundswell. Based in Washington D.C., Groundswell has developed community solar projects. Solar energy is a growing field that harvests energy from the sun to power residential and commercial areas. DC has utilized green energy incentives to offer discounts for sustainable energy development. Allen’s firm was able to finance the upfront investment for Groundswell to begin installing solar in low-income neighborhoods. 

“What they were able to do was create a new financing model by which Groundswell was able to not just provide a discount to energy bills but also create a new strategy,” Allen explains. The strategy allowed a set payment for 75% of customers on the solar grid while 25% got the energy for free. Those incentives allowed low-income households, who historically have paid more in utility bills, to also have access to clean energy. 

Justice Climate Fund

As Allen’s work in sustainability investment grew, his organization was invited to participate in the Justice Climate Fund. Led by the Community Builders of Color Coalition, this national organization advocates for disadvantaged communities to receive fair benefits from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Some of the groups involved with the Justice Climate Fund include The National Urban and Hip Hop Caucus. 

“[We] really came together to become what was the driving force to ensure for a lot of policies to ensure that BIPOC communities and leaders were in a position to make decisions as it relates to these dollars,” Allen said. “These programs many times have an interest in working with Justice40 communities but there’s rare an opportunity where an organization can come together that represents financial organizations who have experience in this particular space.” 

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Allen advocates for the need for more federal dollars to leverage widespread change in impacted communities. “However, what we’ve seen is what these dollars can do is lay a foundation for how additional dollars can be utilized and directed.” He continues to express his hope about future expansions of funding, emphasizing that he and like-minded individuals are presently working to ensure that current dollars are used in the best possible way. 

Secretary of Energy Advisory Board

In 2021, Allen was selected to work on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. Made up of various experts from non-governmental organizations, the board offers insight to Secretary Jennifer Granholm to improve the department’s operations. 

One of the topics the board tackled was grid modernization. As the nation shifts to more renewable sources of energy, it requires a new way to transport that energy. When electrical lines transmit electricity, they lose some of that energy. To prevent wasted electricity,  the DOE is working to update the current grid infrastructure. 

Looking to the Future

The Biden Administration has been responsible for significant funding expansions in the field of climate resilience. From the Inflation Reduction Act to the Justice40 Initiative, we have witnessed many monumental investments into clean energy. Some programs could face impacts depending on the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election Cycle. 

Allen, having worked in capital advising for sustainable infrastructure throughout several presidential administrations, expresses no worries about the future.

“We from President Obama to President Trump and we still worked our tails off,” Allen says. “In some respects, we would do more work partly because there would not be as many federal resources.” No matter what changes the country may experience following this year’s election, Allen and his firm will continue to remain strong in their efforts to bring financial investment to sustainable infrastructure in communities that need it the most.