Drawdown Georgia Business Compact: A Partnership Advancing Collective Action for Climate Mitigation
Higher Education and SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals
ISBN: 978-1-80455-707-5, eISBN: 978-1-80455-704-4
Publication date: 22 June 2023
Abstract
Now more than ever, climate action requires both private and public investment in building a sustainable future for all. COP26 affirmed the importance of collective action at all scales coupled with supporting public policy to limit global warming to a 1.5-degree trajectory. This chapter outlines the process and building blocks that culminated in the launch of the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, whose mission is to leverage the collective impact of Georgia’s business community to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the state by 2050. In bringing together companies across diverse industries, the Business Compact creates a community of practice where cross-sector collaboration accelerates Georgia’s path to actualizing COP26’s decarbonization vision while also considering ‘beyond carbon’ issues such as the economy, equity, public health, and the environment. This is a regional and voluntary approach to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 (Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development), which recognizes multi-stakeholder partnerships as important vehicles to achieve SDGs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Funding for the Drawdown Georgia research and launching the Business Compact was provided by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, whose staff and communications team have been instrumental to the development and success of Drawdown Georgia.
We thank the academic and community partners who have contributed to our collaborative research, our work on equity, and the creation of the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact. Our university collaborators have included: colleagues at Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Emory University, Georgia State University, Spelman College, and Agnes Scott College. Partners from community organizations include: Southface Institute, Greenlink Analytics, Partnership for Southern Equity, RCE Greater Atlanta, and Taproot. Members of the Drawdown Georgia Leadership Council have been sources of inspiration: their advice about priorities and opportunities has been insightful and much appreciated.
Citation
Brown, M.A., Crowe, J., Lanier, J., Oxman, M., Richards, R. and Toktay, L.B. (2023), "Drawdown Georgia Business Compact: A Partnership Advancing Collective Action for Climate Mitigation", Cabrera, Á. and Cutright, D. (Ed.) Higher Education and SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals (Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 133-161. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-704-420231008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023 Marilyn A. Brown, Jasmine Crowe, John Lanier, Michael Oxman, Roy Richards and L. Beril Toktay