SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Project Drawdown has announced the launch of Drawdown Labs – a consortium of private sector partners working to go beyond ‘net zero’ to scale climate solutions in the world, within and outside their own operations.
Leveraging world-class research and analysis from Project Drawdown and cross-industry capabilities of participating businesses, Drawdown Labs will experiment with collaborative ways to address climate change at unprecedented scale and offer the world a more expansive vision for corporate climate leadership.
Alongside a cross-sectoral group of companies, climate-focused businesses, funders and the global design firm IDEO, Drawdown Labs will serve as a testing ground for how the private sector can go beyond a “doing less harm” approach to one that also brings their resources, influence, employees and customers in to help solve the problem. By generating learnings and tapping leverage points for outsized impact, Drawdown Labs seeks to reach far beyond the operational footprints of individual companies and offer the world powerful new ways to address the climate crisis at the urgency and scale required.
“To help build the future we need,” said Jamie Alexander, Director of Drawdown Labs, “business can no longer stop at a ‘doing less harm’ approach of gradually reducing their emissions over time. They must also look beyond their operational footprint toward how they can leverage their full resources to help build a thriving planet for all. That means bringing their reach, influence and core business model to bear, and inviting the passion and skills of their workforce, from every part of the business, to contribute.”
Dr. Jonathan Foley, Project Drawdown: “I am proud that Project Drawdown is launching this initiative and asking businesses to step up to a much higher standard for climate leadership. To be a leader in the 21st century, it is no longer enough to do 'less harm' over time; we need businesses to look far beyond reducing their own operational footprint and commit to achieving bigger emissions reductions in the broader world. Leading businesses can help shape the larger world around them, working with communities, customers, employees, and the rest of society, bringing new tools to bear in addressing climate change.”
Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds: “While putting a price on carbon through coordinated public policy efforts is essential, we can no longer afford to wait for governments to act – let alone wait for the 'perfect' solution to climate change. Business has to be better, and we must act now. The private sector should hold itself accountable for the pollution it emits, and in so doing, will create an incentive structure that rewards low-carbon innovation to bring emissions down over time. I believe in a future where companies and even entire industries will remove more carbon from the atmosphere than they produce, but we can't get there without strong and immediate action from the private sector.”
Andrew Savage, Lime: “Addressing climate change is the issue of our time. It will take harnessing the collective muscle of government, the public, and of course business to tackle this crisis head-on. And when we do, we'll have a healthier and more prosperous future.”
Scott Tew, Trane Technologies: “Our planet is in need of strong leadership and bold action to mitigate climate change. At Trane Technologies, sustainability is core to who we are and is central to our strategy, how we operate, and how we serve our customers and community. Our 2030 Sustainability Commitments are leading us into the future as we aim to achieve carbon neutrality in our own operations, achieve a 10% absolute energy reduction, reduce our customers’ carbon emissions by one gigaton, and more. There is more work to do and it’s crucial that we continue innovating and leveraging the power of collaborative groups like Drawdown Labs to advance the pathways that will make a measurable impact.”
Joanne Cheung, IDEO: “Our planet's climate challenge demands organizations work together in new ways to discover, design, and launch solutions. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Project Drawdown to design Drawdown Labs, and work with the wonderful group of partner organizations to radically accelerate our collective commitments and progress addressing climate change.”
Danielle Jezienicki, Grove Collaborative: “Grove Collaborative is thrilled to partner with Drawdown Labs to scale our ambition to propel the CPG industry towards plastic-free solutions. Grove exists to make household essentials a force for positive impact, but this is not a journey we hope to take on our own. Partnering with like-minded organizations such as Project Drawdown showcases the potential for business to regenerate and protect planetary resources, rather than continue on a path of destruction and depletion."
Sean Kinghorn, Intuit: “Intuit is honored to be the founding member of Drawdown Labs. Companies must stop focusing on only reducing their own emissions, and look outside their four walls to have a positive impact in the broader world if we are ever going to slow down, and eventually, reverse climate change. Intuit is proud to have the opportunity to collaborate with other forward-thinking companies and accelerate climate solutions around the globe.”
Kate Brandt, Google: “Google is committed to taking ambitious climate action in our own operations, while also helping to move the world closer to a carbon-free future through our technology. We’re proud to support Drawdown Labs and to join this coalition of companies. Together, we can work toward a more sustainable future for everyone.”
Rebekah Moses, Impossible Foods: “Each consumer, every day, has the ability to help halt and even reverse climate change. Yet, very few people know about how incredibly powerful their food choices are for averting climate disaster and for saving rapidly collapsing wildlife populations. Impossible Foods is providing a plant-based toolkit for every-day individual action, and is partnering with Project Drawdown to lift awareness, to collaborate across industry, and to protect the best planet we have (and by extension, ourselves).”
About Project Drawdown
The World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions
The mission of Project Drawdown is to help the world reach “Drawdown”— the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change — as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.
Since the 2017 publication of the New York Times bestseller, Drawdown, the organization has emerged as a leading resource for information and insight about climate solutions. We continue to develop that resource by conducting rigorous review and assessment of climate solutions, creating compelling and human communication across mediums, and partnering with efforts to accelerate climate solutions globally.
