![]() ![]() Environmentalists say it’s a make-or-break opportunity to drive down emissions before the point at which scientists agree climate catastrophe will set in.įierce opposition from business groups such as the U.S. Those provisions were huge: $555 billion in funding, providing financial incentives to individuals and businesses to boost electric vehicles, wind and solar power, and other low-carbon fuels. The ad in The New York Times aimed to nudge Congress to reach into the wreckage of President Joe Biden’s collapsing Build Back Better legislation and salvage the climate parts of the bill. Among other projects, the group organized a sign-on letter to support climate legislation last fall – also missing the corporate logos of Drawdown’s biggest partners. It is part of the nonprofit organization Project Drawdown, and many of the corporate partners contribute money and collaborate on projects, such as creating resources for individuals, employees and small businesses to take climate action. She designed Drawdown Labs as something of an experiment to see how companies large and small could set a new bar for climate leadership. Last month, Reveal reported that Amazon – which has made a major public relations campaign out of its climate efforts – drastically undercounts its carbon footprint, watering down its climate pledges.Īlexander is the latest leader in the corporate sustainability world to become disillusioned by the lack of progress behind the promises. While more companies promise to zero out carbon emissions by some target far in the future, climate advocates worry those commitments are inadequate at best and take the steam out of transformational change at the government level by creating the illusion that it isn’t necessary. “It’s all a pretty damning critique of these companies’ climate commitments,” she said. And it offers a rare moment of transparency in an ecosystem of advocacy organizations that are often too scared to talk openly about corporate partners for fear of pushing them away. ![]() In fact, without any mention of specific legislation or policy in it, the ad seemed like a fairly minimal, noncontroversial step – a “no-brainer,” Alexander said.Īs brand-name companies try to outdo one another in proclaiming themselves Earth’s best friend forever, the ad’s backstory illuminates the clear limits of relying on corporations to take the lead in averting the ravages of global warming. It wasn’t as if an ad in The New York Times was the be-all and end-all of climate advocacy. ![]() It’s definitely something that I lose sleep over.” “The large corporations in our own coalition failed my own barometer for climate leadership. “It was very surprising,” Alexander told Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting in an interview. If companies that tout themselves as climate leaders won’t endorse a generic call to action, what are they willing to do? She’s now speaking out and reevaluating the premise her group set out to test: that some of the largest companies will go above and beyond to combat climate change. The refusals proved to be a turning point for Alexander. Faced with their reluctance, Alexander reached out to others, including Salesforce, eBay and Lyft, which did sign on even though they weren’t part of the coalition. But the group’s big-name partners – Google, Netflix, General Mills and LinkedIn – all were conspicuously absent. The ad ran in February with 25 corporate logos. So in January, after Alexander got word that Congress needed some cajoling to pick its climate agenda back up, she shot off an email to Google asking it to simply add its logo to a plea for Congress to do something – really, anything – on the climate crisis. Together, we can work toward a more sustainable future for everyone.” Google’s chief sustainability officer, Kate Brandt, said: “We’re proud to support Drawdown Labs and to join this coalition of companies. ![]() Indeed, when the group launched in 2020, a mix of small and large companies enthusiastically jumped in. The idea: Companies must go beyond reducing their own carbon footprint and go all-in on solutions to the climate crisis. It’s part of a larger movement to harness the power and influence of corporations that have positioned themselves as leaders on climate change. Jamie Alexander wanted Google to sign onto an ad in The New York Times earlier this year, calling on the federal government to “ACT NOW” on the climate crisis.Īfter all, Google was an original partner of Alexander’s group, Drawdown Labs. Sign up for our newsletter to get our investigations and reporters’ insights delivered straight to your inbox. ![]()
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