To meet our ambitious climate goals, we must accelerate the shift to a low-carbon energy infrastructure.
Scaling clean and scaling smart for a U.S. Northeast powered by clean energy.
The U.S. Northeast is at an energy crossroads. Successful efforts to phase out the dirtiest fuels, promote energy efficiency, and regulate carbon have put this region at the forefront of a global response to climate change. However, to achieve the level of emissions reductions we know to be necessary—80% by 2050—will require a concerted push to deploy cleaner energy sources and achieve deeper efficiencies.
Toward that end, Barr seeks to support efforts that scale clean and scale smart. By that, we mean accelerating a massive scale-up of renewables and energy efficiency across the Northeast; promoting efforts to make the grid smarter to enable that scaling up; and supporting learning networks that help cities and states get smarter about the most effective strategies from around the world. To realize a region powered by clean energy will require radical reinvention of energy systems across the Northeast. This is both ambitious and necessary.
Clean Energy Strategies

To achieve the level of emissions reductions we know to be necessary will require a concerted push to deploy cleaner energy sources and achieve deeper efficiencies. Toward that end, Barr’s Clean Energy portfolio seeks to support efforts that:
Learn more about Clean Energy StrategiesScale clean. Scale smart.
Mariella Puerto on Why the Time is Right to Invest in Clean Energy
Grantmaking
Visit our grants database to see all recent Clean Energy grantmaking activity.
Green Ribbon Commission
How do we engage business and community leaders to sign on to aggressive climate goals and lead by example in their sectors? Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission is a group of the city’s top executives and community leaders. Convened in 2010, they have been working together on shared strategies for fighting climate change in coordination with city agencies and Boston’s Climate Action Plan.
Green Ribbon CommissionClean Energy Team
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Emily Sidla Program Associate, Climate
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Shanna Cleveland Program Officer, Clean Energy
Clean Energy News
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Blog Post
Mariella Puerto Named Barr Foundation Climate Program Director
A Barr veteran and field leader, Mariella will oversee continued growth of the Foundation’s Clean Energy, Mobility, and Resilience focus areas.
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Blog Post
Six Things Massachusetts Voters are Saying About Clean Energy
Recent poll shows strong support for decisive action on climate, including a full transition to clean and renewable energy.
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Blog Post
Adapting to a Pandemic: Barr’s Climate Program
An update on actions, learnings, and priorities from Barr’s Climate team amid the pandemic.
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