Foundations sign up to new Funder Commitment on Climate Change
Melanie May | 7 November 2019 | News
Nineteen charitable foundations, including Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, & Arcadia have now signed up to a new Funder Commitment on Climate Change, pledging to undertake 6 key steps in response to the crisis.
An initial 15 funders signed up at the launch during the Association of Charitable Foundations Annual Conference, which took place on 6 November and focused on the climate. All charitable foundations are invited to join and there will be a further briefing on 18 November.
https://twitter.com/CharRavenscroft/status/1192064247011926016
On the Funder Commitment on Climate Change website, the funders say they recognise the growing climate emergency as a serious risk to the pursuit of their charitable aims, and that all foundations can play a part in addressing the causes of climate change and supporting adaptation to its effects.
Each foundation has committed to:
1# Educate and learn: to make opportunities for trustees, staff and stakeholders to learn more about the key causes and solutions of climate change.
2# Commit resources: to commit resources to accelerate work that addresses the causes and impacts of climate change, and if their governing document or other factors make it difficult to directly fund such work, to find other ways to contribute, or consider how such barriers might be overcome.
3# Integrate: Within all of their existing programmes, priorities and processes, to seek opportunities to contribute to a fair and lasting transition to a post carbon society, and to support adaptation to climate change impacts.
4# Steward investments for a post-carbon future: to recognise climate change as a high-level risk to their investments, and therefore to their mission, and to proactively address the risks and opportunities of a transition to a post carbon economy in their investment strategy and its implementation, recognising that their decisions can contribute to this transition being achieved.
5# Decarbonise operations: to take ambitious action to minimise the carbon footprint of their own operations.
6# Report on progress: to report annually on their progress against the five goals listed above, and to continue to develop their practice, learn from others, and share learning.
Signatories so far:
- Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
- Solberga Foundation
- Gower St
- Frederick Mulder Foundation
- Paul Hamlyn Foundation
- Zennström Philanthropies
- JA Clark Trust
- Friends Provident Foundation
- Local Trust
- Lankelly Chase Foundation
- Barrow Cadbury Trust
- Arcadia A charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin
- Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
- Thirty Percy
- The Blagrave Trust
- Heathrow Community Trust
- Power to Change
- David Brownlow Charitable Foundation
- Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.