Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541892252
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 7035164146
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,710,584
- Expenses
- $20,611,639
- Assets
- $29,688,298
- Liabilities
- $12,339,854
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NATHANIEL KEOHANE (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- NATHANIEL KEOHANE (PRESIDENT): $550,668 total reported compensation
- KAVEH GUILANPOUR (VP FOR INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES): $300,330 total reported compensation
- ELIZABETH NORTH (VP FOR STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT): $292,100 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The nonpartisan center for climate and energy solutions works to secure a safe and stable climate by accelerating the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a thriving, just, and resilient economy. For over 25 years, c2es has forged innovative solutions to address climate and energy challenges. C2es engages our business council and other business networks to strengthen corporate climate action and mobilize business support for climate policies.
What it reported doing in 2024
International and carbon markets: c2es supports the environmental effectiveness and successful implementation of the paris agreement, including convening regular meetings of senior climate negotiators to provide expert analysis and a trusted forum for discussion. At cop29 we supported the parties in adopting a new climate finance goal, including developed countries pledges to mobilize at least $300 billion per year by 2035 for climate action in developing countries and the launch of an effort to scale up public and private climate finance to $1.3 trillion. Guidance needed to operationalize carbon markets under article 6 of the paris agreement was also finalized. C2es also served as secretariat of the energy transition accelerator (eta), an effort to catalyze carbon finance to speed the just clean energy transition in emerging and developing economies.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 93
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 89.2%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $53.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Pass
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.2%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.44; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 89.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $551K · 26 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.