Todd Paglia serves as the Executive Director of Stand.earth, an advocacy organization renowned for its strategic communication and research initiatives, challenging both corporations and governments to prioritize the well-being of communities, the environment, and climate. Notably, Stand.earth ranks fourth on Fast Company's 2023 list of innovative nonprofits.
Although Stand.earth has been active since the early 1990s, they came to our attention in a LinkedIn article titled "Climate Groups Call On Health Systems to Divest Fossil Fuel Holdings." This article referred to a report from the Climate Safe Pensions Network, a campaign orchestrated by Stand.earth.
As we've learned more about the organization, we've come to appreciate that Stand.earth embodies a contemporary form of activism, one that leverages data, social media, and virality to drive accountability and achieve tangible results. Enjoy the conversation with Todd as he sheds light on their impactful work.
In this episode, we cover:
- [02:03]: Introduction to Stand.earth's history and activism approach
- [03:45]: Stand.earth's campaign pushing healthcare systems to divest fossil fuels
- [05:14]: Health impacts of fossil fuels show why healthcare divestment is needed
- [09:12]: Todd's perspective on engaging with fossil fuel companies
- [15:24]: Stand's work exposing who is buying Amazon oil and the banks funding it
- [16:23]: Origins of Stand.earth in 1990s and "War in the Woods" campaign
- [20:09]: Success of viral Starbucks "Cup Monster" and Victoria Secret campaigns
- [27:46]: Causes for recent growth of Stand.earth' staff
- [30:12]: The power of employees in influencing their companies' decarbonization
- [34:11]: Very few big retail brands doing relatively well (IKEA, Maersk)
- [35:15]: Using satellites for instant forest logging transparency
- [37:10]: Empowering local advocates through the Safe Cities campaign
- [40:12]: The "Amazon Prime Polluter" campaign to push Amazon.com for electric last mile delivery electrification
- [43:38]: Todd's lifelong connection to nature as motivation for activism
- [44:49]: How to follow Stand.earth
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Episode recorded on Aug 31, 2023 (Published on Nov 6, 2023)
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
