Where Climate Capital Finds Its Way

Gordian Knot Strategies helped us launch our impact investing program. They provide high-quality analysis and leadership that allowed us to develop a program that reflected our values and needs and that was informed by superior research and diligence from GKS

Gordian Knot Strategies exceeded expectations in all aspects of our engagement – experience, judgment, intelligence, diligence, and efficiency. GKS brought all these and more to provide deliverables we never could have developed on our own.

GKS helped us create a disciplined process, with rigorous analysis and structured decision making, that ultimately supported a new approach to strategy setting. We don’t just feel ready to launch this next phase of our work, we have a new strategic planning template for our entire organization.

Utilizing GKS kept our process moving, helped us focus on key items and freed us up to really evaluate opportunities.

Gordian Knot Strategies’ work on the financial model for our program allowed us for the first time to chart a viable course to implement and scale the program.  Before working with you, we had a good idea with no way to implement.  Now we have a much more concrete road map.

It’s been fantastic working with GKS. The IFNF grant program has benefitted from GKS’ big-picture strategic thinking, and ability to connect strategy to less exciting but equally as important tactical decisions. Of the many positives, I’ve most appreciated GKS’ willingness to re-think assumptions, respond to group feedback and/or research takeaways, and adapt accordingly. They recognize the importance of problem identification, take time to vet assumptions with a range of experts, and are constantly brainstorming new ideas and connecting dots across sectors. GKS brought subject matter expertise, open and questioning minds, and intellectual enthusiasm for big questions and solutions to their work with the IFNF team – it was fun!

Thank you GKS again for your informative and engaging presentation. We couldn’t have done it without all your help. We also wanted to relay that many Task Force members followed up with us to share that they really enjoyed your talk.

GKS synthesized the views of many stakeholders, results of discussions and market sentiment to provide a succinct roadmap tailored to our capabilities.

It has been an immense pleasure to work with the GKS team: they are incredibly knowledgeable, comprehensive and, importantly, have always been able to explain complex climate topics to our team in an approachable way. The strategy development work GKS has done for us will serve us well as we work toward meeting our climate targets.

Gordian Knot Strategies are my ‘go to’ experts for anything related to carbon offsets/ the voluntary carbon market and strategy development around that. They are extremely knowledgeable on both the policy- and technical side of things. They are very context sensitive and take the time to really listen to our needs and challenges. They deliver on time and on budget, communicate super clearly and are over all a great pleasure to work with!

The engagement with Gordian Knot Strategies was professional, well organized and incredibly valuable. The knowledge we gained during the engagement moved us leaps ahead of where we were prior to the engagement. We feel significantly more prepared to move our project forward and will be trying to find a way to remain engaged with GKS as we move forward.

GKS brought clarity to what was previously difficult for us to define on our own. The goals and vision that we created will serve this program well beyond the next fiscal year, it helped us lay the foundation for a truly innovative program.

The engagement with Gordian Knot Strategies was very helpful in focusing our execution on the tasks that are most important to launching our project.

Sean has been a go-to, trusted advisor to my team for many years on climate finance. His experience across multiple sectors helps us gain a better perspective on the progress we are trying to make. Sean’s guidance has helped my team improve our skills and understanding of blended finance, which allows us to better support our partners and get to our desired impact faster and more effectively.

What GKS did particularly well is to help us craft ideas ahead of when they’ll be needed. Understanding the needs of potential investors/clients before they do is valuable.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Sean and the whole GKS on this project. The GKS reports were of very high quality and fully comprehensive.

GKS listens well. They know the carbon and impact investment space and bring much added expertise for us. You challenge us to think outside the box and use a well thought out process to tackle ideas. You are very well networked and those connections help you to see spaces that we have not even considered.

In addition to the obvious expertise in building a financially sustainable impact program, the thing I enjoy most about working with the GKS team is the opportunity for constant learning and growth–all offered with the utmost respect and patience to every individual at every level of our organization.

GKS is thorough and exacting in their thinking and work. They make sure they understand our needs and goals, touch base while they are doing the work, and provide ample opportunity for feedback and course correction.

Helping RenewWest determine what to prioritize and focus on has allowed many other doors to open. Sean helps reduce the clutter and makes good connections.