Collins Climate Consulting
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Leadership

Lori Collins, Owner and Principal

Lori Collins is the founder of Collins Climate Consulting, a strategic advisory that helps businesses and communities accelerate their transitions to a low-carbon economy. Building on her executive experience in energy, financial services and technology, Collins consults with organizations to drive their economic gains strategically connected to managing climate change. 


Collins consulted with the state of North Carolina on energy policy and climate resilience for a number of years, working on federally-funded climate resilience initiatives, serving on the steering committee for North Carolina’s Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan, developing business coalition roundtables, and assisting in the stakeholder engagement process and drafting of North Carolina’s first Clean Energy Plan.


Prior to forming her consultancy, Collins served as executive director of Joules Accelerator, a clean energy startup incubator funded by Duke Energy; president of Abundant Power, an energy financing venture; head of the core business at LendingTree; head of marketing for Bank of America's mutual fund business; VP at Fidelity Investments; and director of marketing at American Express. At LendingTree, she was on the original executive team that grew the company from $7M to $476M in revenue and saw the company through a successful acquisition by internet and media leader IAC.


She holds a Master of Science in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh; an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University; a BS in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill; and is LEED AP. Learn more on LinkedIn.

Awards and Recognition

Collins received the Energy Leadership Award and Women in Business Achievement Award from the Charlotte Business Journal.

Affiliations

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB). Appointed to three-year term.

Seeks to invest in companies positioned to drive massive impact in curbing global climate change. ESG Leader.

Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment (GARI) working group  to assess, mobilize and catalyze climate action and investment. Strategic advisor.

Trade association for North and South Carolina energy companies and organizations. Interim Executive Director.

Identifies, advises, and connects cleantech startups to commercialization opportunities. Cohort advisor.

Advances the wind industry across 11 states to achieve economic benefits to industry, utilities, ratepayers, and citizens of the Southeastern U.S. Board member.

Global collaboration to empower and amplify the voices of women in the climate tech industry. Member.

International Women's Forum has 7,500 women leaders worldwide, advancing women's leadership and equality. 

President, Carolinas Forum

Initiative at UNC Chapel Hill to accelerate  women leaders in business.

Initiative to encourage women leadership in business. Founding member.

Speaking

Making Resilience Count

Collins hosted this panel discussion on November 10, 2022 in her role as Strategic Advisor for GARI. Panelists explored new accounting methods for valuing resilience to help catalyze investments.

Driving Climate-Resilient Design in Waterfront Development

Collins hosted this panel discussion on October 20, 2022 in her role as Strategic Advisor for GARI. Finance and real estate experts discussed potential financial and societal benefits of waterfront resilience design standards. 

ESG: Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Investing

On June 3, 2022 Collins joined a follow up discussion with the corporate roundtable on Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Investing facilitated by the Kenan-Flagler Business School faculty and hosted by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC Chapel Hill. The session focused on "trade-offs.' Are there trade-offs or only upsides for risk management, profitability and stakeholder satisfaction?

The Role of Insurance in Delivering Resilience: Financing Adaptation and Underwriting Climate Risk

Collins hosted this global discussion on May 12, 2022 in her role as Strategic Advisor for GARI. Panelists included Aon, United Nations Capital Development Fund and the United Nations Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, moderator by Tata Consultancy Services. View recording here.

Addressing Barriers for Decarbonization in the Commercial Sector

Collins spoke at the NC State Energy Conference on April 26, 2022 on clean energy financing tools.

Gender Equity, Climate Risk, and Resilience: Getting to Net-Zero Faster

Collins joined fellow members of Women+ in Climate Tech on April 19, 2022 to preview a new report sponsored by Aon that looks at the intersection of climate risk and gender equity. View the report here. Watch the presentation here.

Green Hydrogen and the Electric Grid

 Collins moderated a panel of green hydrogen experts on March 30, 2022 at the UNC Clean Tech Summit.

Measurements and Metrics in Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Investing

On March 1, 2022 Collins participated in the corporate roundtable on Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Investing facilitated by the Kenan-Flagler Business School faculty and hosted by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC Chapel Hill. 

Sustainable Cities

Collins moderated a panel on February 26, 2022 at ClimateCAP in Chicago. What are the ways cities are designing around climate change? How does infrastructure development play a role, and what role does innovation play?

How Women Lead in Energy

Collins spoke alongside panelists from 100 Women at Kenan-Flagler Business School on October 19, 2021. 

How is ESG investing affecting your business?

 Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing  is having a growing impact on financial markets and businesses. Collins's presentations provide an overview of the trend and its impact on mainstream companies. Download the presentations below or contact Collins to learn more. 

ESG Presentation Downloads

NC Manufacturers Alliance ESG Presentation 2020 (pdf)

Download

ESG Investing Presentation 2018 (pdf)

Download

New Book Release - James Blake

James Blake

James M. Blake has worked for over a decade at the intersection of resilience, operational risk management and security risk management issues with some of the world’s largest multinational companies. His new book includes quotes from his interviews with Lori Collins.

Review

"Just as the pandemic defied our imagination, the impacts of climate change have been hard to fathom – until now. James Blake draws on his keen understanding of risk management to offer a compelling call to action to manage the operational risks of climate change, engage the community in solutions and steer business strategies to embrace the unimaginable. Blake shines a light on the possibilities for a more resilient world.” - Lori Collins

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Photo Credits

All photos on the home page were taken by Lori Collins and include her Mount Kilimanjaro summit and scenes from her time at the University of Edinburgh including the Scottish Highlands, the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo, and the Urban Sustainability Challenge in Copenhagen.

Copyright © 2017 Collins Climate Consulting - All Rights Reserved.