The Waverley Street Foundation seeks opportunities to create climate solutions through community engagement. By involving communities hit hard by climate change and the injustices that come with it, the Foundation seeks to show people around the world how cutting carbon emissions, implementing sustainable farming practices, and promoting clean energy can benefit people lives, rather than spreading the narrative, that people must sacrifice their wellbeing for the sake of the planet. For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/climate-action-through-community-driven-philanthropy-with-jared-blumenfeld/
The Waverley Street Foundation, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs in 2016, aims to attack climate related issues through funding community-led programs, leading to community action against climate change. The Waverley Street Foundation specifically funds programs related to renewable energy and regenerative agriculture, as these sectors have an immense impact on the environment and vulnerable communities. The Foundation’s approach to achieving climate-related goals is unique, as their solutions revolve around investing in prominent community institutions in order to benefit the entire community, showing people that we all benefit from a healthy planet.
Regenerative agriculture is the practice of using farming and agricultural techniques to help reverse climate change, including some techniques that date back to Native American cropping systems and the way in which they interact with the soil. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the goals of the practice include helping to “mitigate climate change, improve soil health, restore biodiversity, enhance ecosystems, and contribute to human health.” By focusing on the larger community impacts of sustainable farming practices, the Waverley Street Foundation promotes a close connection between people and their food systems. As an example, the Foundation established agreements with local school districts to support fresh and nutritious lunches, bringing local regenerative farmers into the supply chain, thereby improving farmers’ economics, and allowing them to decide to continue planting regenerative crops.
The Waverley Street Foundation is also currently working on converting health clinics from being run on diesel fuel to solar in India. This not only reduces pollution and carbon emissions, but can also help make healthcare more affordable for residents, while providing new local jobs installing, fixing, and financing the panels. In order to evade the most devastating climate change impacts, emissions need to be reduced by almost half by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050.
The ultimate goal of the Waverley Street Foundation is to approach climate change with a new outlook: “Cultivating Health, Justice and Joy,” emphasizing the role that climate change has in harming vulnerable communities’ everyday lives rather than solely focusing on technical solutions. Jared Blumenfeld, the president of the Waverley Street Foundation, argues that “unless we can make the case to them, that climate action is going to support and make their communities stronger, I don't think we win many of the other arguments.”
Jared Blumenfeld is the former Secretary of CalEPA and current President of Waverley Street Foundation, the climate philanthropy funded by Laurene Powell Jobs. Blumenfeld also served as Director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment. Currently, at Waverley, he is working on critical environmental issues, such as oil litigation, renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and food systems.
For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/climate-action-through-community-driven-philanthropy-with-jared-blumenfeld/
Ethan: I’m Ethan Elkind and you’re listening to Climate Break. Climate solutions in a hurry. Today’s proposal: focusing climate philanthropy on carbon-reducing projects that also save people money and improve public health around the globe. We spoke with Jared Blumenfeld, the President of the Waverley Street Foundation, an environmental funder, about this approach.
Blumenfeld: We want to show people around the world that cutting carbon pollution can actually help their lives rather than a too often told narrative, which is, “you just need to sacrifice, your life won't be as good, but the planet will.” That really doesn't resonate for someone who has absolutely nothing to give.
Ethan: As an example, Jared describes Waverley Street’s funding for a renewable energy project in India.
Blumenfeld: A great example is converting from diesel to solar health clinics in India. The government of India is paying for that diesel, which is expensive because they don't have their own oil supply. The pollution from that diesel is incredibly high for the patients and it's prone to not work.
Ethan: The solar panels not only reduce pollution and carbon emissions, they help make healthcare more affordable for residents, while providing new local jobs installing, fixing, and financing the panels.
Blumenfeld: It's a very different approach than saying, "let's set this ambitious target to get 100 percent renewable energy by X date,” which is incredibly important, we need to do. But how do we actually involve communities in that process?
Ethan: To learn more about the Waverley Street Foundation and how climate philanthropy can help solve health and economic challenges in communities around the globe, visit ClimateBreak.org.