Major brands lobby US government on climate solutions in NYT print ad
US not-for-profit Project Drawdown has joined forces with 24 major brands, including Salesforce, Lyft, Patagonia and Etsy, to organize a full-page ad in the New York Times lobbying the US government to act now on climate change.
The 24 brands named in the ad represent billions of dollars in revenue
Project Drawdown is named for the climate solutions plan known as ‘drawdown,’ or the point at which greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere begin to decline on a year-to-year basis. In a post on Twitter, director of the Drawdown Labs Jamie Alexander said: “Humanity has the solutions to the climate crisis. Bold federal policy will help accelerate these solutions now. Leading businesses want Congress to act now.”
CLIMATE NEWS: Today we @ProjectDrawdown placed a full-page ad in @nytimes to relay three critical climate messages:
Humanity has the solutions to the climate crisis
Bold federal policy will help accelerate these solutions now
❗️Leading businesses want Congress to ACT NOW pic.twitter.com/A8OhymeDzJ
— Jamie Alexander (@jabeckx) February 1, 2022
The 24 brands named in the ad, which also including Ben & Jerry’s, AllBirds and Impossible, represent billions of dollars of revenue and thousands of employees. Businesses involved state that they overwhelmingly support climate investments and are calling on Congress to act now through policy and legislation.
Today, @BlocPower joined 24 companies in this powerful @nytimes ad. We are calling on Congress to act on climate policy—now. From decarbonizing cities to training for green jobs in frontline communities we have solutions to this crisis. It is time we act. TY @ProjectDrawdown! pic.twitter.com/VAWREZTrnM — Brooke Havlik (@BrookeHavlik) February 1, 2022
The ad itself took up a full page in the New York Times – a spot that can only be secured through considerable corporate power and ad spend. The New York Times recently told The Drum that securing ad spend such as this is vital to securing a future for its journalism, after revealing it has no plans to cease working with fossil fuel or high carbon sponsors.
At the time, Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, the international president of The New York Times Company, told The Drum: “The blunt reality is that advertising supports our journalism.
“We don’t see our position as being an activist organization, we see it as our role to inform our readers and to call out businesses and governments and hold them accountable – that’s our responsibility and we take it pretty seriously.”