ClimateVoice

📰 This time of shifting political headwinds and escalating energy demands are shining a spotlight on Big Tech companies’ backpedaling on climate commitments. As Big Tech bows to President Trump, employees should ask themselves if they are willing to fall in line to support the billionaire autocracy fossil fuel grab or instead use their influence to engage coworkers and press their leaders for action. 🗞️ Latest opinion piece from Deborah McNamara and Bill Weihl in Fast Company. ⤵️

Last night, I had a blast celebrating Earth Day with about 50 sustainability and climate professionals in San Francisco at Hower Impact's Impact Hour SF Climate Week 2025! The topic of the night was: how does sustainable business continue moving forward during these reactionary times? Some of the ideas: refocus on the basics of how sustainability advances business, bring our messaging back down to Earth to connect with people where they are, and continue to hold elected leaders accountable. Thanks to our partners Emma Armstrong of Anthesis Group, Deborah McNamara of ClimateVoice, Sarah Gudernatch-Smith of NPV Associates, Adriel Lubarsky of Beehive Climate, and Amber Stryker of Bespoke ESG for making this event possible.

This Earth Day, I'm not writing about carbon emissions or wildlife population decline. Instead, I'm addressing something even more fundamental to sustainable business: the rule of law in America. Without the rule of law, all sustainability initiatives become meaningless. Businesses don't need a materiality assessment to understand this existential threat to our shared prosperity and innovation. My latest newsletter piece argues why corporate sustainability professionals must join millions of others in defending democracy, and why business—as a critical pillar of civil society—must use its influence against authoritarianism. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/d2cWSk8U

A huge thanks to Mike Hower for this week's ClimateVoices interview - and for collaborating on an upcoming #SFClimateWeek Impact Hour event Tuesday night. Looking forward to seeing many of you there! "The important thing to remember is that most companies aren't rolling back climate commitments, even if many are staying silent or "greenhushing." ... We need to allow ourselves to accept the challenges that now present themselves, to not give in to despair, and focus on how we can face this with courage and conviction." Indeed. Here's to the courage and conviction required in the days and months ahead.

In this issue of #ClimateVoices, I’m pleased to be talking with Mike Hower, a sustainability communication and reporting expert with over 15 years of experience bridging journalism and communication strategy for leading global companies. As the founder of Hower Impact, an independent sustainability communication consultancy, he specializes in transforming complex sustainability initiatives into resonant narratives that capture attention and drive meaningful engagement. With a unique perspective formed from working on both sides of the communication podium, Mike has collaborated with global brands including Mars, Berry Global, Inc., The North Face, Snap Inc., and HP, among others. ClimateVoice is excited to be collaborating with Mike on an Impact Hour event tomorrow during SF Climate Week. We're looking forward to hosting sustainability, climate, and communication leaders for a fun and inspiring evening of connecting and engaging on pressing sustainable business topics. Foremost among these: how do we speak up for sustainability when political pressures are making so many want to greenhush?

📣 📚 Interested in winning a copy of the hottest new climate read? Keep reading. Follow ClimateVoice on Bluesky during SF Climate Week between Monday, April 21, 2025 at 12:01am Central Time (CDT) Zone in the United States and ending at 11:59 P.M. Central Time (CDT) on Sunday, April 27, 2025 to be entered to win *1 of 5 copies* of 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺: 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭 by Auden Schendler. 🔗 🦋 Follow us on Bluesky: https://lnkd.in/gVgDGqmf

The business community has accepted they need to act on climate change, but why do many climate leaders overlook their biggest lever to make an impact? ARC co-founder Amy Gobel recorded this webinar for Net Impact at University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business to explore: (1) the business case for climate action, (2) the role of companies in influencing climate policy, (3) how the framework for Corporate Political Responsibility (CPR) from the University of Michigan - Erb Institute can help companies engage responsibly, and (4) how students are critical in advancing CPR within the business community. Pulling in our favorite resources at the intersection of business, climate, and policy, including ClimateVoice, The Center for Political Accountability, OpenSecrets, InfluenceMap, and Climate Interactive. https://lnkd.in/e9r79dAk

📣 𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀! The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) are jointly organizing a sign-on letter for organizations and businesses calling on Congress to protect energy tax incentives. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTJCtHug As Congress considers changes to the tax code as part of budget reconciliation, it is essential to protect long term business certainty for energy tax credits that have enjoyed decades of bipartisan support, spurred job creation, bolstered energy security, and boosted domestic manufacturing. Please consider asking your company to sign on to urge Congress to protect these key tax incentives and ensure business certainty and affordable energy into the future! Sign on below no later than Thursday, April 17th @ 5p ET ⤵️ 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eTJCtHug

Spots are filling fast. Register to join us ASAP! 👇

Sustainability professionals are at a crossroads: either raise the bar or be co-opted to sanitize increasingly destructive corporate and political activities. ✍️ David Waldron (Synapse Strategies), Bill Weihl (ClimateVoice)