A major new initiative from Chatham House aims to increase the speed and scale of the transition to a sustainable resource future the world needs to achieve over the next decade.
The Sustainability Accelerator is an evolution and expansion of the Hoffmann Centre, established in 2017, and has been made possible by an exceptional gift of £10m by the MAVA Foundation.
The new Sustainability Accelerator recognizes the centrality of sustainability by putting it at the core of the institute’s work in its second century.
Chatham House will use its expertise and convening power to engage the international political actors, investors, entrepreneurs and other players in business, research, civil society and youth movements to investigate and share innovative and experimental ideas that enable radical shifts in the way we use the earth’s resources.
One of the major aims is to shorten the cycle between policy inception and implementation, with the Sustainability Accelerator acting as a springboard for ideas and solutions.
The Sustainability Accelerator is an evolution and expansion of the Hoffmann Centre for a Sustainable Resource Economy, established in 2017. A new exceptional gift of £10m by the MAVA Foundation will build on the Hoffmann Centre’s last five years of activity.
“We need urgent, creative solutions to ensure the world takes action over the next 10 years to prevent catastrophic climate change and environmental destruction. We really want to focus on scaling up and mainstreaming transformative action. By identifying the groups and individuals who are already at the vanguard of shaping the world and supporting them we can accelerate that move to a truly sustainable world.” said Dr Robin Nibblet.
André Hoffmann, President of MAVA Foundation said: “Chatham House can play a key role in convening the best minds on these issues. By fostering existing and new collaboration opportunities we have a real opportunity to deliver some bold solutions that can produce equitable and sustainable growth. I am excited to see the ideas and outcomes of the Sustainability Accelerator.”
The Sustainability Accelerator will mainstream sustainability across the institute’s activities. It will initially target land use and the built environment– both resource intense sectors in need of radical reform and innovation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet climate targets. The Sustainability Accelerator will also focus on finance and innovation as two major levers of change towards a sustainable transition. It will draw on the institute’s deep knowledge of political economy of developed and emerging markets to help overcome the barriers between ideas and action.
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The Sustainability Accelerator will contribute to Chatham House’s centenary goal of achieving sustainable and equitable growth.
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This gift is the latest within the institute’s Second Century Initiative, which has included the establishment of the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs; the creation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Wing; and the launch of the in-house Simulation Centre, media studio and Chatham House-SNF CoLab.
For more information about the Accelerator, upcoming work and for interview requests please contact our press office.