by Nancy Marshall | January 31, 2020

On Wednesday, January 15th, some of the biggest brands in the Northwest launched “The Wave.” This is a new coalition made up of a diverse set of partners who pledge to work together to tackle some of the biggest sustainability challenges in the Northwest region of the U.S.  Their goal is to accelerate environmental programs for clean energy and transportation, zero waste, sustainable food, and clean air and water.

ClimeCo is happy to be a stakeholder in this coalition and will serve as carbon offset provider & expert. “This is definitely something we wanted to be a part of,” says Dan Linsky, VP of Voluntary Markets at ClimeCo, “big companies are already doing a lot, but a mass movement like this gives people the how, what, and where when it comes to doing more.”  ClimeCo’s role is to help The Wave with their goals for cleaner air and water by identifying and developing projects in the Northwest region to support the coalition with both carbon offsets and renewable energy credits.  “The environmental activity in the Northwest is very progressive,” says Linsky, “and we are ready to play a big role in these activities to help this grassroots coalition be successful.”

So how did this all get started and why?  We talked to Justin Zeulner, President & CEO of Pioneers of Sustainability, and one of the founders of The Wave.  “We must take action that will mitigate our environmental impacts,” says Zeulner, “creating alignment, sharing values and goals so that we can all work together in unison is key to help us all do more than what we are currently doing.”  For Zeulner, part of The Wave’s role is to help their partners understand how their business impacts the environment, help them to identify what goals they should strive to reach and how they can actually reach them. 

The Wave coalition believes that two things need to happen to really make a change.  First, we all need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and second, we need to draw down legacy carbon out of the atmosphere.  Keeping it simple and focused with just these two steps and focusing on 5 areas (clean energy, clean and equitable transportation, healthy and sustainable food, zero waste, and clean air and water), The Wave believes change can happen.  “If we can get folks together, support them, help make change happen at a high level,” says Zeulner, “we will reach our vision of a cleaner world.  With real projects and real results, we will be a beacon for other regions to follow.” 

Click on The Wave to learn more and if you are located in the Northwest and are interested in taking the pledge, please click here.   

About the Author

Nancy Marshall is the Corporate Marketing Director at ClimeCo and soon ClimeCoGreen. She is happily married to her husband for 18 years; they have two daughters and two fur babies. She is from Maryland but is currently living in Houston, TX. She loves to go boating and fishing on Lake Livingston, cook and bake (especially at Christmas), and enjoys crafting.