A Decade of Impact: Celebrating Ten Years of Transformative Partnerships

Published: January 10, 2024 by Yesh Pavlik Slenk

Climate Corps®

Without question, the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps fellowship program makes a substantial impact on sustainability efforts across the globe, working with some of the world’s most prominent businesses. The proof is shown in the numbers:

  • 1 in 3 — the number of Fortune 100 companies that have worked with Climate Corps
  • $1.6 billion — the amount of energy savings Climate Corps fellows have identified
  • 3,000+ — the number of climate leaders and practitioners that comprise the Climate Corps network

Another telling number is 50% — the number of host organizations that have utilized Climate Corps fellows over multiple summers.

Household names such as Citizens Bank (12 years), Colgate-Palmolive (12 years), New York City Housing Authority (11 years), and McDonald’s (11 years) have worked with the program for 10 years or more.

Joining the Climate Corps 10-Year Club in 2023 are Walmart and PepsiCo – two more powerhouse companies that make sustainability efforts a major part of their business.

Over the past decade, EDF Climate Corps fellows have advanced these companies’ sustainability efforts across every facet of their operations. Jingyao Gu of Indiana University provided Walmart with solutions for GHG emissions reductions as part of their Project Gigaton Initiative — a project aimed at removing 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from their supply chain by 2030. Two years later, EDF Climate Corps fellow Jessica Salgueiro helped contribute to Project Gigaton by analyzing each supplier’s current engagement with the initiative and developing customized participation recommendations.

Last year, as part of Colgate-Palmolive’s Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy to accelerate action on climate change and achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2040, the Logistics team at Colgate asked 2022 Climate Corps fellow Hanna Ye to help develop its first ever Sustainability Roadmap to guide the company on tactics and strategies to decarbonize Colgate-Palmolive’s transportation and distribution. Hanna’s work provided detailed actions for the department to start their journey to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, and for other departments to support this ambitious process.

“At Colgate-Palmolive, we are proud to have hosted talented, high-energy EDF Climate Corps fellows each year beginning in 2013. What a great resource! EDF and the fellows consistently provide new ideas, insights and their talents to help Colgate deliver across our Sustainability and Social Impact strategy and reach our targets”.

— Vance Merolla, SVP Global Sustainability, Colgate-Palmolive Company

Over the past 15 years, EDF Climate Corps earned a reputation as the premier sustainability fellowship program in the United States, China, and India. Looking back and celebrating with our latest 10-Year Club entrants is a reminder we have also built a legacy. To our newest inductees, welcome to the club!