Caitlin Sparks

Caitlin Sparks is a recognized pioneer and expert in carbon, climate finance, climate-tech, environmental markets, impact, and sustainability. She possesses over 19 years of experience in clean technology development, climate policy and sustainable finance across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her climate-positive technology expertise extends across the agriculture, waste, transport, energy and carbon capture sectors.

Sparks is CEO of Onyx Transition, an innovative climate investment platform designed for the speed, scale and impact that the crisis climate demands. Onyx Transition, backed by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, converts oil value into carbon value to help decommission highly-emissive oil assets before their planned end of life, and invests the proceeds in climate-positive transition opportunities. She sits on the board of the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI) and The Lab to Land Institute.

Sparks has founded four companies including: The Gold Standard, a leading carbon and sustainability certification standard; Matternet Inc., the first FAA-approved commercial drone airline, named a 2011 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum; and The Bioenergy Association of California (BAC), an industry association that promotes sustainable bioenergy policy.

She studied religion and philosophy at Wesleyan University and evolutionary neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She researched the evolution of human cognition at Harvard University and studied emergent technologies and innovation at Singularity University.