Supercool

Utility costs are among the largest expense categories in multifamily real estate; they have been rising in the double digits year over year.The industry's attempt to answer has largely been technology. Smarter systems. AI-powered optimization. Devices that promise to cut costs by plugging into aging infrastructure.Kyle Hendricks, VP and Head of Sustainability at Equity Residential, one of America's largest apartment owners, took a different approach. He tied energy performance to the annual compensation of every employee in the company — from the executive suite to the person turning over a unit between tenants — and turned a small corporate team into an army of part-time energy managers across 300 communities.The first answer from leadership was a hard no. Then a maybe. Then show us the measurement. Where does this break down?In this episode, Kyle explains how he built the case, why operating discipline outperforms silver bullet technology in a portfolio of old buildings, and what climate tech startups need to understand about multifamily real estate before they walk in the door.Show NotesGuest: Kyle Hendricks, VP and Head of SustainabilityCompany: Equity ResidentialFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* Climate Adoption Playbook* Supercool on Instagram * Supercool on LinkedIn

Geothermal should be an easy sell. It is quiet, efficient, comfortable, and cheap to run once installed. The problem has been the upfront cost of putting it in the ground.Dandelion spent years proving residential geothermal could work house by house. Now CEO Dan Yates is taking it into new home construction, where whole developments can be built with geothermal from the start.Dandelion’s partnership with Lennar in Colorado puts geothermal into 1,500 homes. Not luxury homes — starter homes, entry-level homes, homes for everyday Americans. At that scale, the cost to a builder can compete with conventional HVAC. In some cases, it can beat it.New federal tax rules also opened the door to geothermal leasing, turning a large upfront expense into a small monthly payment for homebuyers.In this episode, Dan explains why new home tours now start in the basement and how Dandelion is bringing geothermal into the mainstream.Show NotesGuest: Dan Yates, CEOCompany: Dandelion EnergyFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* Climate Adoption Playbook* Supercool on Instagram * Supercool on LinkedIn

Americans think they recycle. Mostly, we don’t. More than half of all recyclable materials never reach a recycling bin. They go straight into the garbage, where the waste industry has historically had little economic incentive — and limited technology — to recover them.Matanya Horowitz founded AMP to build AI-powered robots that sort cans, bottles, and other valuable materials in recycling facilities, eventually deploying hundreds of robots across the country.Now AMP is building AI-powered mixed waste facilities — the modern version of what the industry calls dirty MRFs — that sort valuable materials directly out of the garbage stream. Trash moves down a conveyor belt, drops into what Matanya calls a “garbage waterfall,” and air jets fire in milliseconds to knock milk jugs, aluminum cans, and other materials onto separate conveyors.In this episode, Matanya explains why traditional recycling economics are broken, why the waste industry gave up on dirty MRFs decades ago, and how AMP’s full-scale facility in southeastern Virginia points to a different future: a recycling system that doesn’t require a recycling bin.Show NotesGuest: Matanya Horowitz, Founder & CTO Company: AMP For more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* Climate Adoption Playbook* Supercool on Instagram * Supercool on LinkedIn

Cow burps are one of climate’s strangest and most stubborn problems. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, and cattle are responsible for about 30 percent of global methane emissions. For years, the basic answer has been: eat less beef and drink less milk.Kathryn Polkoff, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Hoofprint Biome, thinks there is a better way. Hoofprint uses natural enzymes to reshape the cow’s rumen microbiome, cutting methane production while boosting dairy milk yield and beef cattle weight gain. No harsh chemical feed additives. Just a solution that helps farmers produce more with less methane.In Supercool’s first live recording, Josh talks with Kathryn at Raleigh-Durham Startup Week’s inaugural Climate Tech Day about cow burps, commercializing agricultural climate tech, and why Hoofprint could not exist without AI. It is a climate story about biology, business, and turning wasted energy into value.Show NotesGuest: Kathryn Polkoff, PhD, co-founder and CEOCompany: Hoofprint BiomeFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* Climate Adoption Playbook* Supercool on Instagram * Supercool on LinkedIn

Construction has a hidden waste problem, and it starts long before anything reaches the job site.For centuries, the master builder was the person who translated architectural vision into buildable reality. Today, modern construction is too complex for any one person to play that role. A commercial building can contain hundreds of thousands of components across electrical, mechanical, plumbing, structural, and fire protection systems. No one can see it all.That turns construction into a zero-sum game. Trades compete for the same walls, ceilings, shafts, and risers. Some win. Some lose. And when those conflicts get discovered during construction instead of design, the result is rework, delays, wasted material, and systems that cost more than they should to build and operate.In this episode, Josh talks with Frio Iorio, co-founder and CEO of Augmenta, about using AI to bring constructability to the start of design: turning architectural models, engineering requirements, and project constraints into 3D designs that show what can actually be built before construction begins.The result: less material waste, fewer expensive mistakes, and buildings designed to use less energy for decades.Show NotesGuest: Francesco Iorio Company: Augmenta Documentary (referenced): Manufactured LandscapesFor more low-carbon innovations now scaling—and the playbooks driving their market adoption—subscribe to the podcast plus our:* Weekly Newsletter* Climate Adoption Playbook* Supercool on Instagram * Supercool on LinkedIn