Hi, I’m a climate activist, community organizer, and co-founder of Microsoft’s 10,000 member employee sustainability community. I left the company last year, but am on a mission to make sustainability part of everybody’s job. Partnering with ClimateVoice provides a unique opportunity to help employees understand how they can help their companies align their climate policy positions with their sustainability commitments.
Al Gore famously said that “the will to act is a renewable resource in itself.” I’m channeling that energy into my work as 2024 begins and I hope you will too. This is the year to get off the sidelines and help your company become a climate leader!
I’m writing this newsletter excited about the possibilities for employees to drive positive climate action in 2024. I know from experience that they are a potent and often untapped resource that can accelerate climate progress from companies. Connect the Dots provides the info you need to do it where you work: it’s all about exploring the relationship between companies, the exercise of their political influence, and the effect this has on passing urgently needed climate policy in the United States. So far, Connect the Dots has examined why policy is so important, the ways that companies engage (or, more often, sit on the sidelines), and the impact of trade associations in obstructing progress.
This month we’re looking at why employees should get involved in climate policy advocacy, the most effective actions they can take, and will take a deeper dive on the challenges ahead of us as “climate voices” in our workplaces.
Action Items
Sign this petition! We’re trying to get companies to leave the climate-obstructing U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and lead on climate policy. If you haven’t done so already, please take one minute to join over 3,000 of your peers by adding your name and sharing with your networks.
Level up on your knowledge about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by taking this Quiz and then download this ‘Escape Plan’ to roll up your sleeves and start taking action to raise this issue at work with your colleagues and company leaders.
Share my latest LinkedIn post to get the dialogue going at your company!
The Big Picture
Trade Association Misalignment
I’ll be honest – until recently I had no idea that trade associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been so successful in obstructing progress on climate policy at every level of government. I was equally surprised to learn that despite the obvious misalignment between their own sustainability commitments and the positions of the Chamber, pro-climate companies like Microsoft still belong to the group and have paid $1.47 million in membership dues since 2015. Like many of you, I learned from ClimateVoice that the Chamber has a long history of working to block legislation like 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation ever passed. While the Chamber ultimately failed to stop its passage, they did water down key provisions, and there are current attempts in Congress to repeal the IRA.
Seeing the disconnect between a pro-climate company like Microsoft and its public policy positions was an “aha” moment for me. Most companies recognize that their actions alone are too small to meaningfully address the climate crisis, and that policies including regulation and the standardization of reporting metrics are what’s truly needed to ensure we avert the worst case scenario of a climate disaster. So why do they continue to support trade associations like the Chamber that undercut the great work they’re doing internally? Does this cancel out their impact? It made me wonder: what can I do to help fix this problem? What can you do at your own company?
It’s simple: for companies that identify climate policy misalignment with their trade associations, the next step is to leave those trade associations. Is there a precedent for taking this action? Yes, Apple famously left the U.S. Chamber over misalignment on climate back in 2009. Also, in 2014, several large tech firms including Facebook, Yelp, Microsoft, and Google publicly left the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over their opposition to climate policy. And in the meantime, your company can counter the Chamber’s position by speaking out loudly and publicly for bold climate policy.
It’s time to address the trade association obstruction head-on. That’s why I’ve joined ClimateVoice to support the Escape the Chamber campaign, and I’m helping activate employees across Big Tech on this critical issue. We’re gaining momentum: thousands of employees and climate advocates have signed the campaign petition calling on companies to leave the Chamber and lead on climate policy. Hundreds at my former company – Microsoft – have signed the petition, reached out to executives to express their concerns, and participated in online and IRL events spotlighting the importance of leaving the Chamber and leading on climate policy to counter its ongoing obstruction.
After the global call to “transition” from fossil fuels at COP28, it feels like the right historic moment for Microsoft and other climate-forward companies to drop the baggage of the Chamber, which is heavily influenced by Big Oil. Employees like you can play an important role in making it happen.
For a Deeper Dive
Trade Association Track Record
Need more data about this topic? Looking closer at the trade association track record on climate change, there is a clear pattern of opposing pro-climate bills and supporting anti-climate measures like approving the controversial Willow pipeline. Check out the graphic detail:
And the obstruction continues now! Recently, the U.S. Chamber (and other trade associations) opposed the much-needed clean air and public health standard for particulate matter (soot) pollution. As you may have read in one of ClimateVoice’s recent action alerts, soot is produced by burning fossil fuels including from power plants, tailpipes and industry – and black carbon (of which soot is one form) is the second most significant contributor to climate change after CO2.
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set the standard to adequately protect public health. However, opposition from trade groups – led by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – obstructs the passage of the safest standard.
Now that the world has joined together at COP28 to call for a transition away from fossil fuels, companies must take action to end the Chamber’s obstruction. We can move forward together towards a just transition, but the U.S. Chamber must not be allowed to stand in the way.
Coming soon...
Check out an upcoming issue with news about policy-focused leadership from sustainability professionals.
Have a specific question about Responsible Corporate Advocacy that you’d like us to address? Shoot your questions to us with subject line "Connect the Dots."
Learn more about my work on my website and connect with me on LinkedIn.