Building Partnerships for Climate Action in CSR

Here's a partnership that rights holders and brands can work together on, and it's good for the community... I'm excited to see more partnerships that go beyond signage and instead focus on real impact. The Seattle Sounders FC (my local MLS Team) and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) have launched a multi-year collaboration that fuses purpose, education, and community outreach while aligning with fan values and club culture. This partnership is the kind of strategic thinking that raises the bar in sponsorships. Seattle Sounders FC and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) have announced a new multi-year partnership focused on energy efficiency, sustainability, and impactful community outreach. Why is this important? - Purpose-Driven Partnership: PSE becomes Sounders FC's Official Energy Efficiency Partner, aligning brand purpose with community needs. I'm a big fan of these because rights holders can be the echo chamber for messaging. - Localized Community Impact: The partnership centers on reaching underserved households and educating them about PSE's energy-saving programs. - Player Ambassador Activation: Midfielder Pedro de la Vega will be the face of the campaign, helping to bridge the gap between fans and public resources. - Cultural Relevance: Tapping into the passion of soccer fans to inspire action around sustainability and energy awareness. Within Washington State, soccer has a very passionate fan base. - Strategic Alignment: Combines sport, environmental responsibility, and social good—all pillars of modern brand partnerships. How brands can activate partnerships like this: - Leverage player ambassadors for trust and reach. - Focus on CSR-related initiatives that resonate locally and regionally. Use team platforms and channels to scale educational messaging. - Partner with nonprofit arms (e.g., RAVE Foundation) for grassroots programming. When brands and rights holders lead with purpose and deliver measurable value, the result is more than just impressions—it's impact. This collaboration is a model for how teams and utilities (or other service providers) can empower communities while building affinity. For more, we're always here to help. #sportsbiz #partnership #heretohelp

This report from CDP and HSBC, "Strengthening the chain: Industry Insights to Accelerate Sustainable Supply Chain Transformation," highlights that supply chain emissions are 26x greater than direct operations, but only 15% of companies are targeting those upstream emissions. At Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), we’re tackling these challenges head-on with our partners such as Target, PVH Corp., H&M Group, lululemon, HSBC: 1️⃣ Building Visibility: Through our Climate Solutions Portfolio, we empower suppliers to identify and implement proven decarbonization solutions. This creates transparency and enables the scaling of impactful strategies across the entire supply chain. 2️⃣ Engaging Suppliers: We actively collaborate with key suppliers to scale impactful programs, prioritizing energy efficiency and renewable energy adoption. Looking ahead, we’re expanding our focus to tackle critical areas for thermal energy solutions, including electrification, battery storage, and other essential interventions needed to achieve net zero. 3️⃣ Financial Alignment: Aii’s Sustainable Finance work aims to lower financing barriers, offering access to capital for sustainability projects and incentivizing supplier action. Programs like the Future Supplier Initiative (FSI) are one example. #Sustainability #SupplyChain #NetZero #ApparelImpactInstitute #ClimateAction https://lnkd.in/gvvHDKxC

You’re just a service provider - you’re not making meaningful changes on the ground. This inner voice is NOT true. I’m constantly thinking about how to step up as a strategic partner for climate action, not just as a vendor. 🤝 I know that storytelling and design play a crucial role to amplify these efforts and attract multi-disciplinary partnerships. But, how can we play a bigger role in this transition? Here are 3 organizations that have combined a core service + capital + other resources to step up their role and impact: 🌿 Sustainable Ventures ↳ Work solely with the climate community  ↳ Offer: Advice, co-working spaces, networking events, capital, and connections so founders can focus on their core technology and growth. ↳ They go beyond investment and play a role in strategy, branding, and all facets of design as well. Portfolio: ✦ Lowr- sustainability platform for organizations to log and lower their users’ emissions ✦ Sunswap - solar-powered thermal refrigeration unit for lower carbon transport 🌿 Designer Fund ↳ Offers $500K and comprehensive design support to early-stage companies, initially focussing on health, prosperity, and sustainability-related ventures. ↳ Provide design advice, build design teams, and connect founders to experts and potential angel investors. This enables climate startups to get the branding, UX, and fundraising support they desperately need. ↳ Goal: Transfer the best of traditional tech SaaS and apply those lessons to our climate challenges, build new alternatives for products rooted in unsustainable supply chains, and work toward a circular economy. Portfolio: ✦  Zero Acre Farms - sustainable urban farming technology ✦  Lumen Energy - helping buildings transition to clean energy 🌿 VSC Ventures ↳ Using media strategy and storytelling as their superpower, VSC helps climate solutions resonate with the mainstream. ↳ Their Climb communications program helps climate tech startups access the best capital, the smartest talent, and the most strategic partners. ↳ At a time when there are more climate tech companies than ever before, robust storytelling is what truly helps founders stand out and influence policymakers, investors, and partners. Portfolio: ✦ Glacier - an AI-based recycling robotics startup that is significantly less expensive than the competition ✦ concrete.ai - an AI platform that prevents unnecessary waste and effort during concrete mixing and production 💚 Climate enablers are more important than ever and there are so many ways to accelerate the transition. Firms that can play a strategic role will provide the foundation for the interventions that mitigate climate change. Who are other service providers are you seeing move beyond their core service for larger impact? Tag other climate-enablers+ service partners doing amazing climate work in the comments! ⬇️