Lucas Joppa PhD’09, who didn’t get to attend his own graduation, said it was his “first time in robes” when he delivered the commencement address at the Nicholas School’s professional graduation ceremony on Friday, May 9.
Joppa, a Nicholas School Board of Visitors member, is currently senior managing director and chief sustainability officer at technology-focused private equity firm Haveli Investments, where he oversees the company’s sustainability and AI strategies.
He previously served as Microsoft’s first chief environmental scientist, and then chief environmental officer. There he oversaw the company’s commitments to be carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste. He has also been recognized as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers and speaks regularly on environmental science and AI.
During his address, Joppa told the graduates that he was not there to give them direction, since they already have the skills, drive, and focus they need.
“Instead, I want to reassure you that it’s OK that you might not have all the answers – nobody does,” he said. “And it’s OK that you might not be able solve all the world’s problems by yourself – nobody can.”
He told the graduates they were entering the workforce at a historic time, as people are starting to realize that we have been operating for centuries as though we have infinite resources.
“The loan is coming due,” Joppa said, “And fair or not, it’s up to you to figure out how to pay that back.”
The most important first step to solving these problems, he said, is to know your own mind. Growing up exploring the woods in Wisconsin, Joppa developed a deep sense of curiosity about how the world works, as well as concern about the impact people were having on it.
He later studied wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, which only confirmed his worries.
He came to Duke to try to work through these concerns. And the more he clarified the challenges, he said, the calmer he became.
“Our traditional forms of electricity generation were inefficient, dirty, and catastrophic for the climate,” he said, “But we were also rapidly developing something previously unheard of: new energy technologies that were not only superior in price and performance, but were also infinitely renewable and didn’t destroy our climate.”
These realizations allowed him to better structure his decision making, leading him to his current career in private equity. There he is working to invest in sustainability software and build the first carbon neutral portfolio in the industry.
“We wanted to show that you can profitably normalize net zero,” he said.
He encouraged the graduates to chart their own course by approaching problems with deep curiosity, developing their own theories, and surrounding themselves with people who don’t agree with them.
“If I was in a place with as many smart people as I am today, and we all agreed on everything, I’d be extremely worried,” he said. “We need to learn to be confident in our own ideas but accepting of the ideas of others.”
Joppa congratulated the graduates on making the right choice in coming to Duke and focusing on the major environmental and economic issues of today.
“The world needs you to do what you do now more than ever,” he said, “Whether it’s ready to admit it or not.”
