REDD Option Assessments: Helping UN Climate Negotiations
Focus Area:
Climate Action
We thrive in complex systems. We design processes to address interconnected issues and foster long-term durability.
We specialize in a wide range of focus areas, including Climate Action, Food Systems, Health & Wellbeing, Life on Land, Oceans & Freshwater, and Technology & Society. But more importantly, we know how to navigate the complex systems that connect these and other issues.
The challenges we face are constantly shifting, so we keep an eye to the future by leaning into emerging issues and opportunities. When it comes to dynamic systems, we remain flexible, adaptive, and ready to navigate complexity.
Learn more about our approach to systems change from our CEO, Todd Barker.
Since our early days, we've said, "If it's related to the environment, we work on it." However, when we say 'environment', we mean 'people' in addition to the planet. When we're working on issues like sustainable forest management, water reuse, or fisheries, we're thinking about the people, habitats, and natural systems that interact with the challenges at hand. We’re also strategizing how we can create a more livable future for all of us, which requires economic transformation.
Given the complexity of our partnerships, most of our projects operate at the nexus of multiple issues. While we have spent the last 25 years honing our expertise in the focus areas listed below, where we truly excel is in navigating complex systems.
Mitigating the effects of climate change requires effective communication and collaboration across all affected groups, from environmental advocates and Indigenous leaders to policymakers and corporate CEOs. We bring these groups together to forge strategic alliances, build capacity, and implement shared roadmaps for action.
Our diverse portfolio of climate-related work includes:
We work on an extensive array of food system issues, both aquatic and terrestrial, including:
We connect leaders from across sectors to forge new partnerships, helping them move beyond polarized debates into constructive discussion.
We have managed collaborative problem-solving efforts on a range of health-related subjects, including:
To address these kinds of complex challenges, we see opportunities to connect the health sector with partners in food, agriculture, and trade. For example, transnational food safety requires coordination across borders and among producers, processors, retailers, and regulators. Obesity prevention requires a similarly collaborative effort to make nutritious food available to the end consumer, involving a complex network of actors. Finding solutions to these kinds of cross-sector, interconnected problems is one of our specialties.
With long-standing relationships in diverse sectors (including timber, mining, energy development, and conservation) and communities (including tribes and indigenous people, recreation groups, and scientists), we bring the right people together to address the mounting challenges of preserving life on land.
We have expertise in the political and institutional landscapes surrounding issues such as:
Our projects also re-envision traditional approaches to land use and drive transformative forest policies in the U.S. and around the globe:
We convene leading thinkers and practitioners to broker information and share water management solutions. We develop actions, policies, and partnerships that contribute to the preservation of our oceans, fisheries, and coastal areas. We help research, synthesize, and implement the latest thinking on crucial water issues including:
For more than a decade, we’ve pioneered innovative solutions to complex marine challenges. Our facilitation and strategic support of the groundbreaking U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy created a strong foundation for domestic ocean policy collaboration. We have also worked with state and regional leaders, becoming experts in generating and sustaining the collaboration required to improve ocean and coastal management. Most recently, we have supported collaboration on ocean policy and action in Indonesia and Mexico.
We have substantive knowledge of advanced agricultural technologies (e.g. gene editing and biotechnology), nanotechnology, advanced renewable energy technologies, and information technologies. Within these topics, we focus on the implications of emerging areas of science and technology for society. We convene and facilitate collaborative discussions relating to productive and safe use, as well as appropriate regulation.
Brokering productive exchanges early in the rollout of a new technology is critical. In doing so, we work with a broad range of stakeholders:
Learn how we help our partners tackle critical environmental and social issues by exploring some of our recent work below. Don’t see a project example that resembles the unique challenge you’re facing? Get in touch with us, and we’ll explain how we can tailor our skills and services to suit your needs.
For over 25 years, we have been a trusted partner to diverse organizations, businesses, governments, and institutions. Learn how we tailor our services to meet their unique needs.