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From consumers to corporations, Aspiration is Transforming Everyday Activities into Environmental Goods

From consumers to corporations, Aspiration is Transforming Everyday Activities into Environmental Goods

Aspiration was founded in 2013 and has worked to make more people’s money work for them. Through the banks financial products and programs, they have helped them save, spend, and invest for positive impact. Andrei Cherny, the founder, sees Aspirations products savings and checking accounts, credit cards and sustainable impact services as a sustainable service model that amplifies its customers’ regular activities to combat the climate crisis. He is also looking for new initiatives that will deepen that impact.

We wanted to bring sustainability to people’s everyday spending and savings through features and services like ensuring deposits remain fossil fuel-free. This is different from what the big banks do to your money when they turn around to use deposits to fund their oil and gas projects. The company offers sustainability tools for consumers, as well as sustainability tools for organizations of all sizes. Aspiration recently signed a partnership with the Boston Red Sox to develop solutions that will make the entire franchise carbon neutral, including the players, the stadium and the fans who travel to the games.

Aspiration employs a dual-system approach to its environmental impact. The company assists customers in moving their money away from oil and coke investments and pays customers to plant trees. Recent news reports have disputed some of the company’s environmental and customer claims. Cherny These reports were addressedNoting that Aspiration does not play a role in the systemic changes required to address the climate crisis, its tree-planting efforts are part of broader sustainability strategies.

Cherny and the Aspiration Team are now looking forward to the company’s decision to go public through a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC). Aspiration is also taking this step to be a purpose-driven company by adopting the public benefits corporation legal structure. This reflects Aspiration’s commitment to a purpose-driven business model that helps people and the planet, while also creating profit.

While we are already a Certified B Corporation, it is important to add another layer of governance by writing our mission through a public-benefit corporation structure. However, we haven’t found a great tension between doing good and doing well. This is what we promise our customers when we open an account with them; it’s also what we believe that we can deliver to investors.

Cherny shared more information with me about future products, environmental-minded practices and why they are becoming more common in more companies. Aspiration also partners with other companies to help them go beyond greenwashing and make a positive impact.

Chris Marquis – Tell us about Aspiration’s origins and how it has grown over time.

Andrei Cherny:We’ve been working on global warming since then and have failed to get any action at the U.S. or international levels. Also, we tried to change public opinion about a threat that was very far off. Over the years, we have tried many different things while using financial services as a way to increase awareness about the problem in people’s everyday lives. We were there when the ESG revolution was gaining momentum in the investing world. It has grown significantly over the years.

Only a small percentage of Americans have an investment strategy that is meaningful to their financial lives. We wanted to bring sustainability into people’s daily spending and saving. This was done through features and services such as ensuring deposits are free from fossil fuels. This is in contrast to what big banks do with your money when you turn around and use that money to fund oil and other gas projects. We created AIM to allow people to assess their personal sustainability score. Aspiration Impact MeasurementIt allows people to see how their spending affects the planet and others. As we grow, the scope of our offerings has increased. So we now view financial products in the same manner that Amazon views themselves as an online bookstore.

This is where we started. However, we have grown our services to consumers by adding sustainability products and features to financial products. You can also get automated carbon offsetting for every kilometer you drive or plant a tree for every purchase. This company grew over the years to offer these same solutions to businesses again, perhaps in a similar manner that Amazon developed their web services internally and then made them available to businesses. We’ve seen a fast-growing demand from businesses to take action on climate to meet their customers’ expectations and their employees’ expectations, and we were able to fulfill that.

Marquis: What custom carbon solutions can Aspiration offer major companies? How can these types of solutions be scaled to help create meaningful social- and environmental action?

Cherny:We were able to provide a one-stop shop for companies who want to not only establish a credible net zero or more powerfully a climate-positive commitment, but also embed that commitment in their day-today customer experience and employee experience. Our services range from helping companies measure their carbon footprint through to helping them mitigate it through third-party verified carbon credits. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve allowed these businesses to tell their stories to consumers and employees. They’re looking at them and asking what they’re doing regarding the climate crisis.

Marquis, It sounds like you’re networking and creating more collaboration impact rather than just focusing on your products or services. Would you be able to share more information about how partnerships and other collaborations enable Aspiration to grow and create its services.

Cherny:We were amazed at the rapid growth of companies who are not only incorporating sustainability into their business but also helping to advance the ball through their products or services. In some ways, I believe this is the next stage. We saw a first phase of companies changing their practices in order to improve ESG (environmental. social. and governance) metrics. We also saw a second stage where sustainability is an outcome of what they do, whether it be clean energy, plant-based foods, or electric vehicles. Aspiration believes that sustainability is our product. It’s what we offer to customers. Beyond that, we want to offer our customers, individuals and businesses alike, the most comprehensive set of tools we can. We can scale and grow faster by partnering with other data providers, banks, satellite systems tracking trees or other great companies.

Your question about the growth of the space: I think what we were seeing there speaks to how much about a third of companies are now focusing on the environment. In two or three years’ time, you will see the vast majority of them have done so, as well as many other public and private companies. This is because there is a rising expectation. This is similar to what we saw when the Internet was first launched. You could see dot-coms here, but eventually every business decided that they needed a website. The same dynamic is being seen in sustainability. If Aspiration is able not only to lead in that space, but also to drive an ecosystem, responding to this opportunity and challenge, then it may be able drive that transformation much quicker.

Marquis: What will Aspirations governance/legal structure serve as a guide when the company goes public?

Cherny:We have announced that we plan to go public later in the year and that we will be changing our charter to become a public benefit corporation. We have been a Certified B Corporation since many years. However, writing our mission into our charter using a public benefit corporation structure adds an additional layer of governance. Despite this, we have not noticed a great tension between doing well or doing good. This is what we promise our customers when we open an account with them; it’s also what we believe that we can deliver to investors.

We are in a dramatic time of change and that presents enormous economic opportunities. We have made no secret of the fact that we are for-profit and that we want to be a valuable for-profit organization. This will be part of our solution to the climate crisis. To be successful and make money, we need companies. Not only do we need to cut down trees and destroy the planet, but to plant trees and save the planet. This is what will drive the next wave in innovation.

Marquis: How can Aspiration ensure that its products meet its claims? B Corp Certification is a rigorous process that measures and tracks companies to ensure they are performing as they claim. However, as you add products, how can you ensure your product is meeting all environmental and social obligations, particularly in light critiques?

Cherny:It all comes back to what we offer to our customers, whether they are individuals or businesses. That is, knowing that when you open a Aspiration account, or partner with Us around our sustainability services, you’re getting the real deal. It is the heart of our business. This means that we must be thoughtful about our internal practices to ensure that we live up to the promises we make to customers and build the products we offer. Many companies are hesitant to engage in this space due to concerns about greenwashing. We have created an internal Aspiration standard for our carbon credit program. This is because we want to ensure that the Aspiration name on a business or on your credit card is synonymous with high-quality products and measurable positive change.

Marquis: To address the climate crisis effectively, nature-based approaches such as Aspirations tree-planting programs must reach a certain scale. How can programs like this be combined with other efforts in order to create broader, more timely climate action

Cherny:We believe that there is no single solution to the climate crisis. This means that it is not the responsibility for individuals, businesses, or governments. It cannot be solved by mitigation or reduction; it cannot be solved with technology or nature-based options. If we want to prevent the worst of the crisis, it needs to include all of these elements. Part of this puzzle has been our work in tree planting. That has had an impact, but we are not stopping there.

We also engage in other nature-based options such as wind and soil. As time passes, we will be able offer other types of options, provided they meet the same high quality standards. Tree planting is currently the most cost-effective way to get involved. This doesn’t mean we can stop planting trees and continue to do the same things as civilizations. This does not mean that you should stop waiting for the future to come. We must also accelerate the adoption of other solutions.

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