Impact Cords: This Week's Moves (No. 9) March 8, 2025
As March unfolds, the sustainability landscape continues reshaping under competing forces. Political headwinds clash with market realities, creating both challenges and surprising opportunities. Here's what's hitting-a-cord this week:
Critical Minerals: The Resource Race Intensifies
A remarkable development in the critical minerals space surfaced this week, with Trump announcing plans to "dramatically" boost U.S. production of rare earths and critical minerals (Axios). The timing coincides with a revealing S&P Global report predicting that copper needed over the next 25 years will exceed all copper consumed in human history, requiring either 115% more mining capacity for business-as-usual or 194 new copper mines to support net-zero targets.
Despite tripled investments in discovery, only 16 new copper deposits have been found in the past decade, highlighting how resource constraints could bottleneck the energy transition. This resource challenge arrives as TSMC announced an additional $100 billion investment in U.S. chip production, building on its existing $65 billion Arizona commitment, demonstrating the strategic importance of semiconductor supply chains.
Infrastructure Investment Pivots Under Political Pressure
Infrastructure spending is pivoting dramatically in response to competing pressures. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s $1.2 billion commitment to three utility-scale solar and battery storage projects in Puerto Rico, including $584.5 million to Convergent Energy and Power, represents a final push from the outgoing administration (ImpactAlpha).
Meanwhile, the Europe-based €2.4 billion ($2.5 billion) investment in expanding data centers and AI infrastructure in France by companies including Oracle and OpenAI demonstrates how technology investments are reshaping energy priorities globally. Google Cloud is also now marketing two DeepMind.ai weather forecast models to energy companies, enabling them to better predict renewable energy production and demand fluctuations (Axios).
Finance Innovation Under Pressure: The Aspiration Cautionary Tale
The spectacular collapse of climate-finance startup Aspiration highlights both the opportunities and risks in sustainable finance. Once valued at over $2 billion with celebrity backers including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr., the company's co-founder Joseph Sanberg was arrested on fraud charges related to loans secured with Aspiration stock.
The case involves falsified financial records that allegedly inflated board member Ibrahim AlHusseini's assets from a mere $15,000 to over $200 million to secure a $145 million loan (Bloomberg). This cautionary tale serves as a reminder that integrity and transparency remain essential even in purpose-driven enterprises.
Meanwhile, as climate funding faces political uncertainty, innovative financing mechanisms are emerging. BlueOrchard Finance Ltd has raised a $100 million climate insurance fund with 40% from private investors benefiting from first-loss provisions, mobilizing private capital for climate resilience.
Fashion's Circular Revolution: Archive to Allbirds
The sustainable fashion landscape is evolving rapidly beyond secondary marketplaces. Archive's $30 million Series B (February 15th edition) and Vestiaire Collective's $150 million platform (February 22nd edition) are now joined by innovative approaches from established brands.
Allbirds has launched its "ReRun" resale platform, allowing customers to trade in used shoes for store credit while creating a secondary market for pre-owned footwear at more accessible price points. The company reported that within three months, ReRun items sold three times faster than new products, with 82% purchased by first-time Allbirds customers – demonstrating circularity's commercial potential.
The program adds to Allbirds' industry-leading sustainability initiatives, including regenerative wool sourcing, carbon footprint labeling, and open-source access to its carbon-negative SweetFoam material – approaches that have influenced larger competitors while building customer loyalty.
Turnitin Pivots to Harness AI in Education
In a fascinating twist on AI integration in education, plagiarism detection service Turnitin is launching "Clarity" – a controlled canvas where students can leverage AI tools for academic work while maintaining transparency for educators (Axios).
Set to launch in Q3 2025, Clarity creates a supervised environment for students to use approved AI tools, addressing educators' concerns about academic integrity in the ChatGPT era. The platform allows teachers to monitor AI use in student work, providing insights without overwhelming them with excessive data.
"It's a clean environment for them to start and not have all of these tools bombarding them," explains Turnitin's product chief Annie Chechitelli. "We want to really shift us forward into a world where we don't have to be in this place of losing that trust between the teacher and the student."
The platform arrives as educational institutions struggle with their AI approach – some banning technology outright while others attempt limited integration. Chechitelli notes that despite AI's proliferation, traditional plagiarism rates remain unchanged, highlighting how academic integrity challenges persist regardless of technological shifts.
This educational innovation represents a broader trend of sectors finding sustainable, transparent ways to incorporate AI rather than futilely resisting technological change – a promising model for responsible integration that maintains human oversight while leveraging technological advantages.
Public Health and Policy: Measles Outbreak Tests Response Systems
The measles outbreak in Texas has become a critical test case for public health systems under the new administration. With over 159 confirmed cases, 22 hospitalizations, and the first U.S. measles death since 2015, this crisis is compelling a response despite initial downplaying of the threat (Axios).
CDC officials have sent federal disease experts to Texas in an Epi-Aid response effort, providing on-site support for 1-3 weeks. This collaboration between the CDC and Texas Department of State Health Services demonstrates that functional public health partnerships persist despite broader policy shifts.
The outbreak highlights tensions between ideology and public health pragmatism. While RFK Jr.'s initial statement described measles outbreaks as "not unusual," the severity of the situation has led to a more nuanced approach, with Kennedy stating on Fox News Media that "vaccines protect individuals and communities" while maintaining that vaccination remains "a personal decision."
These developments unfold against the backdrop of Trump's executive order resuming Title 42 border policy for disease prevention, further reshaping public health dynamics along the southern border. The administration's application of emergency public health measures for immigration policy while simultaneously reducing vaccine emphasis represents a complex recalibration of public health priorities.
Looking Ahead
As we navigate this complex landscape, one thing remains clear: beneath the political turbulence and shifting regulatory environments, market fundamentals continue pushing capital toward more sustainable, resilient models. Whether driven by resource constraints, technological innovation, climate risks, or changing consumer preferences, the momentum toward impact-aligned capital allocation persists. The question is not whether sustainability considerations will influence markets, but how quickly and effectively we can scale solutions to match the magnitude of our global challenges.
About the Cordes Foundation
The Cordes Foundation was founded in 2006 by Ron Cordes and Marty Cordes. Following the sale of Ron’s investment management business, the couple blended Ron’s experience in financial services with Marty’s work on issues that affect women and girls to create a family foundation focused on social entrepreneurship, impact investing and the economic advancement of women. In 2014, when they were joined by their daughter, Steph Stephenson, and son-in-law, Eric Stephenson, CAIA, CFP®, the Foundation expanded its strategic focus to include ethical fashion brands, sustainable supply chains and engaging millennials in impact investing. Its mission is to connect social entrepreneurs with the resources they need, convene events to strengthen the ecosystems of impact investing and social entrepreneurship and catalyze 100% of its balance sheet for impact.