Donations will go to 12 global nonprofits — including American Forests, the Ocean Foundation, and World Resources Institute — to enhance natural carbon sinks, protect biodiversity, and foster green job creation
At Net Zero Summit in Washington, D.C., Salesforce announced the first round of donations from its Ecosystem Restoration & Climate Justice Fund. Announced in late 2021, the global climate fund will invest a total of $100 million over 10 years toward key climate initiatives.
“We believe that philanthropy can be a powerful tool in fighting climate change,” said Naomi Morenzoni, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Salesforce. “Climate change impacts everyone, and it disproportionately affects the world’s most vulnerable communities. Through our philanthropic donations, we aim to support organizations that work with local communities to find meaningful, nature-based climate solutions.”
Climate change impacts everyone, and it disproportionately affects the world’s most vulnerable communities.
Naomi Morenzoni, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Salesforce
Salesforce philanthropy efforts accelerate sustainability goals
Global philanthropic funding related to climate change is minimal compared with the scale of the challenge. As companies continue to transform their business to reach net zero and help build a more sustainable future, they have an opportunity to leverage philanthropy as a key tool — driving climate action and investing risk-tolerant capital that supports, tests, and scales climate solutions. Once proven, these projects can attract funding from other sources to bring them to scale.
Climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the impact on the most vulnerable people among us are inextricably interconnected — but their solutions can be too. By focusing on three key areas, Salesforce’s philanthropy work can strategically align with the company’s goal to build a more sustainable future for all and drive impact at scale:
- Climate: Scientists are telling us it’s “now or never” — greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 if we want to prevent a climate catastrophe, according to the IPCC report released last week. Salesforce’s philanthropy supports initiatives that increase nature’s capacity to remove and store carbon, to reach net zero, and avoid a 1.5°C tipping point.
- Biodiversity: The world is in the middle of a biodiversity crisis. According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ recent report, an estimated million species are threatened with extinction. Protecting and restoring living species that support resilient ecosystems and communities is a critical pillar of the work Salesforce funds.
- Livelihoods: Climate change impacts every individual, and it disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable, amplifying global inequality. Salesforce focuses on supporting adaptation measures, like greening urban areas with trees and leveraging coastal ecosystems as “living” infrastructure to protect communities from storms and sea level rise. These solutions make communities more resilient to climate change, while also driving local job creation in marginalized communities.
Salesforce donations reach organizations and climate-based projects across the globe
The first grantees of Salesforce’s global climate fund include 12 organizations with innovative approaches to addressing climate change through nature-based solutions:
- American Forests: American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States. The donation will support the advancement of healthy urban tree canopies through the development of data-driven tools, planting trees in under resourced and some communities of color, and investing in career pathways in urban forestry, expanding the organization’s Tree Equity movement and climate-informed forest restoration to protect communities from the impacts of deforestation and mitigate the chance of catastrophic wildfires.
- Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. This donation will support partnerships and programs that restore forests, engage communities, and foster tree-planting in Canada, the U.K., the United States and Indigenous communities in tropical forest settings globally.
- Conservation International (CI): Conservation International is a nonprofit environmental organization that partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. This donation will support Conservation International’s initiatives to deliver high impact climate mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity and livelihood benefits in Guyana and other global locations.
- Fundación Natura: Fundación Natura works to restore and conserve the ecosystems of Colombia, safeguarding endangered, endemic, and emblematic species, while supporting the livelihoods of local communities and the ecosystems on which they depend. This donation will support the continuity of the conservation and restoration efforts under the Amazon 2.0 project, with a focus on addressing deforestation and improving climate and water regulation in the Colombian Amazon rainforest, while strengthening relations between local farmers and local indigenous communities.
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF): NFWF is the nation’s largest private conservation grant-maker, protecting and restoring wildlife, plants, and habitats in all 50 states and U.S. territories. This donation will support the creation and enhancement of urban habitats, the reduction of urban heat island effects, increasing community capacity to execute conservation strategies, restoring waterways and coastal habitats and developing local green job opportunities.
- One Tree Planted: One Tree Planted is an environmental nonprofit dedicated to reforestation efforts around the world through tree planting. This donation will support reforestation, biodiversity conservation, and job creation through community-engaged planting projects across Australia, Brazil, and India.
- Restor: Restor is a science and community driven platform whose mission is to support and accelerate the restoration of Earth’s ecosystems. This donation will support Restor’s continued growth, including advancing and integrating scalable biodiversity monitoring on the platform to serve responsible restoration projects around the globe.
- Save The Bay: Save The Bay is the largest regional nonprofit working to protect and restore San Francisco Bay for people and wildlife. The donation will support Save The Bay’s wetland restoration initiatives, which include establishing tidal marsh transition zones, and supporting native plant nurseries throughout the Bay Area.
- The Nature Conservancy: The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. This donation will support land restoration, conservation and job creation through community-engaged projects in Papua New Guinea and other global locations.
- The Ocean Foundation: The Ocean Foundation supports organizations dedicated to reversing the destruction of ocean environments globally. This donation will support the Blue Resilience Initiative, focused on increasing the blue carbon capacity and resilience of coastal ecosystems in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
- Wetlands International: Wetlands International inspires and mobilizes society to safeguard and restore wetlands for people and nature. This donation will support the “To Plant or Not to Plant” program, focused on enhancing the ecological integrity of over one million hectares of land and seascapes through mangrove restoration in Guinea-Bissau, Tanzania, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
- World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI is a global nonprofit organization that implements practical solutions to improve people’s lives and protect nature. This donation will support the organization’s Land Accelerator program in Brazil and India, which provides training, technical assistance, and mentorship to entrepreneurs focused on restoring degraded forests and farmland.
Salesforce has been on a sustainability journey for more than a decade. Today, the company has net zero emissions across its entire value chain and has achieved 100% renewable energy for its global operations. It has also established sustainability as a core company value, and is executing on a comprehensive Climate Action Plan to drive toward a 1.5°C future.
Learn more about Salesforce’s commitment to sustainability.
