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Robert Downey Jr. discusses his eco-focused venture fund Footprint Coalition

To kick off our special climate week coverage, Yahoo Finance’s Akiko Fujita spoke with actor Robert Downey Jr. about his eco-focused venture fund and sustainable investing.

Video transcript

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, one investor who's looking to chip away at the climate crisis is Robert Downey Jr. The actor, better known for his roles on the big screen, launched The Footprint Coalition two years ago to bring innovators, scientists, and content creators all to the table. Now he's launched two venture funds to invest in startups building out a low-carbon future. I spoke with the actor about these initiatives and started the conversation by asking him what inspired him to tackle the issue of climate change.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: To be honest, what I saw more than anything else was a lack of cohesion and connection between all of the different women and men who were going to have to tackle this. And I think from my day job, I know that the best thing you can be on a film set is a connector, helping everyone who's mastering a department figure out how to communicate better.

And then also be able to think of, is there a better way to tell the story? So you know, the coalition, we invest a bunch. We grant. We mobilize people. And just kind of like today, things like this that turn into content, where the dialogue is becoming more and more natural for everybody as opposed to just one little blurb on a subheading of their day's news. I feel like this really should be in the forefront.

AKIKO FUJITA: Let's talk about the investing arm of the coalition. You've got two rolling funds, which brings accredited investors into the mix. One that's devoted to early stage seed round, the other one that's late stage. What's the take up in like so far for you? What kind of interest have you gotten?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Well, I mean, look, again, from my day job, that will get you a certain amount of doors to put your foot in. But I think what I quickly learned-- and no big surprise-- is you're only as good as your ability to vet and then intuit the people, the teams, the product, the sector, and the time and timing of what the opportunities are.

So you know, it's been a heck of a learning curve. But I jumped in with both feet. There are many better minds guiding me along. But I think, again, you know, there's so much that I think part of it is to not just get caught up in the shiny objects, but really look at which of these vehicles, if you kick the tires, really cut the mustard.

AKIKO FUJITA: So you've got six companies that you've backed so far. It's a pretty diverse bunch-- a media platform, a toilet paper company, a bank focused on sustainability among the six here. What's the underlying theme behind these investments? I mean, when you look at a company, is it about innovation or is it about trying to see which company can make the most immediate impact in reducing the carbon output?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Right. Well, I mean, that's a great question, because it really depends on what your POV is on how do we get the job done. So some of it needs to be-- let's just talk about energy storage. A lot of people are still stuck up in what I think is the attic of old thinking-- and I would include even some of the major EV companies-- of how you're going to power those vehicles.

So one thing is the business investment. So you want to go, can they scale? Do they have the right team? Is their business model really viable? And then the other is, are you just at the party or are you bringing something to the snack table that will improve the quality of everyone's experience of trying to deal with that issue?

So one of the things is diligence. And then the other is, what is our felt sense of, I don't want to just participate again. I want to try to be like a good golden retriever, where I bring something from one field and drop it at the feet of other people that I've made a connection with. I think that's really where the buzz is, again, is that ability to kind of straddle both the access that we have and then our interest in really trying to build a better mousetrap across the board.

AKIKO FUJITA: And as you look to the companies that are innervating out there, is there any particular sector that really excites you?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: They're all great. That's the other thing, is you say, why are they so diverse? And it's not my-- it's not my entrepreneurial ADD. It really is that you start looking at, they're all part of a picture where one defrays the issues that another creates.

And so I think kind of like we all try to make sense of our lives, particularly right now, like what is my life, and what am I doing? And without an expectation of exactly what the future is going to look like, how do I create this little unit of understandings that I feel like, oh, all right, this is starting to make sense?

But to answer the question, if I had to pick one just for today, I would say ag tech and new foods and cellular agriculture, because it is one of the biggest issues, as well as needing to lift mankind out of that poverty level, which creates much more of the environmental challenges than I'm sure companies that are looking to profit want to admit. You know, there is no excuse for us not being able to feed the hungry.

AKIKO FUJITA: How are you thinking about the storytelling component of all of this? I've seen a number of content that you have on your site already. Are you thinking about building out content to push these brands further? Or is there a bigger project that you see in the works, like a documentary for example? How big are you thinking on the content side?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Well, the funny thing is, in addition to the re:MARS keynote speech that I gave a couple of years back, my missus, in her infinite intuitive wisdom, got me interested in a series called "The Age of AI." And it really timed out nicely, where I didn't understand the end result of some of these technologies until I saw what it felt like for someone to be able to experience it, what it meant for someone who had ALS to be able to have their family hear them in their old voice.

So some of these things sound more humanitarian. But then when you bring it right down into the issues at hand and the crisis we're in, I think everybody has that little anxious buzz going. They know. But I think because it's topical, we tend to get desensitized, because we feel like we're being blasted by it, or we're being blamed for it, or it's a bummer, or it seems like the five biggest companies in the world are going to take care of it because they've got all the best people anyway.

So I think to not be disheartened by something, I need to be engaged with it, and I need to feel entertained. So part of what we're going to do moving forward more and more is have longer-format media bits. We're starting podcasts and going to do all that sort of stuff.

But also, I really want to see the people. I want to see things through their eyes. So once I know somebody, I understand a lot more about why I can appreciate their vision.

AKIKO FUJITA: You've talked a lot about the need to bring people who aren't part of the climate conversation into the fold. So not just the climate activists, but of course, those who have, for example, lost their jobs because of a coal plant closing. It feels like there's a real divide in this conversation right now, and I wonder why you think climate-- which is something that affects everybody-- has been so polarizing.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Things get politicized on purpose. There's nothing new under the sun, you know? But I really, really, really deeply suspect that when you appeal to my sensibility-- like for instance, if we talk about trucking, and that EVs probably can't get you there just based on rain so we're going to have to do some combination of them with, well, what are the likely alternatives?

Some of those, hydrogen-- those are things that naturally could occur more in the heartland in those areas that perhaps have suffered the most while some of these energy crossovers-- it's not in vogue to do with the way you used to do it, but these are still the people who did it best. If you just changed the it, I think that that makes economic sense, and it kind of lights up a constellation in them which feels like they're not being overlooked for the hard work and the great service that they provided previously.

AKIKO FUJITA: And finally, one thing I know you've talked a lot about is how your role, the character Tony Stark, inspired you to act in some way. And I know you get that question a lot, but what was it about that that made you think, I can think outside of the box? Maybe I need to act a bit more beyond the comfort zone.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Well, I mean, the great thing about Tony was over time, he focused less and less on his tech and more and more on his character. But he didn't lose any of that expertise. So I had a very odd and unusual education in the fantasy realm. But I was always referencing real-time problems.

So I guess more than anything is, you know, you can put your skin in it. You can put your money where your mouth is. But I applaud you. This is your-- this is your calling, and this is a large aspect of what you're leading the charge on and trying to do the storytelling and the reporting right now.

Some of it is just saying, I'm willing to commit the amount of time it's going to take to do my part to be part of doing this right. And that's the thing. That's the most precious commodity. How much of your time are you willing to sacrifice for this?

AKIKO FUJITA: And we are going to keep our climate coverage going. Later this afternoon, we're going to be speaking to two members of the Senate's bipartisan climate caucus. Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen will be joining us at 4:00 PM Eastern. And Zack, certainly a lot of attention on this issue, especially with the president hosting that Virtual Climate Leaders Summit later this week to coincide with Earth Day.