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New York entrepreneur seeks to bring energy efficiency to more communities

(Reuters, 9 Jul 2021) Donnel Baird wants to bring green ways of building to communities of color in the United States.

Entrepreneur Donnel Baird wants to bring green ways of building to communities of color in the United States, who are often the last to benefit from sustainability initiatives.

After seeing Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" in college, Baird decided on his mission - to tackle both climate change and wealth disparities. His company BlocPower helps small apartment buildings and other urban structures become more energy efficient. He wants all communities to benefit from the transition to cleaner energy, he said.

"Who gets those jobs? Who gets the wealth that gets created from that transition?" Baird said. "As people of color, are we going to be at the forefront of that or are we going to be like left behind? ... I think we should lead it."

BlocPower, founded in 2014, aims to go public in seven years, with the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gases and turning "buildings into Teslas," Baird said.

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Reuters, 8 Jul 2021: New York entrepreneur seeks to bring energy efficiency to more communities