Earth Day holds special significance for us at Environmental Incentives. It not only inspires us to mobilize for action, but also aligns with our own planning year – offering the opportunity to pause and reflect on our efforts to enhance the environments that sustain healthy communities. When I think about the past year, I see a lot of exciting progress – from the United States, from our partners, and from EI. Earth Day 2022 comes at a moment of both great progress over the last year, and great urgency as well as opportunity as we look to the year ahead.
Last year at this time, the United States had recently rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, setting the stage for real, tangible action this decade, and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) committed to developing a new all-of-Agency strategy to address the climate crisis and mobilize innovative climate solutions. Today, we applaud the launch of USAID’s Climate Strategy and are excited to roll up our sleeves and help the Agency achieve the Strategy’s ambitious vision and goals.
Like USAID, EI is ready to do our part. Our founders created this company to help public and private sector decision-makers produce reportable, tangible outcomes. Fifteen years later, whether we are strengthening systems for international biodiversity programs to achieve measurable impacts, convening hundreds of local stakeholders to develop a climate-informed action plan to protect East Africa’s natural capital, or supporting multi-benefit incentive programs, EI’s committed, capable staff help clients create programs that work and solutions that scale.
USAID developed their strategy out of a highly consultative process with extensive stakeholder engagement. The resulting document recognizes the complexity of the challenge and the need for meaningful engagement of new actors to drive systemic change. Implementing this vision at a moment of urgency is a tall order. At EI we are excited to apply our experience helping the Agency operationalize new strategies – from the Program Cycle to the Biodiversity Policy – as it launches this transformative change in delivering development. Our teams build strategies with our clients so their programs can have real results. We help build capacity and design the tools and guidance so strategies come to life. Our work is never “one size fits all.” Instead, we are always listening and then tailoring our approach to achieve enduring change.
I’m proud to work at a company where every day is Earth Day. Like my colleagues, I’m committed to this work because I believe not only in the urgency of the climate crisis, but also in the power of adaptive, evidence-informed approaches. Over the past year, EI engaged in our own pause and reflect process and developed an internal climate strategy to live our values. Staff from across the company have stepped up through incubators and research to determine how to best target our experience and expertise to finding strategic climate solutions. After two years of uncertainty and working from home, I’m grateful to feel energized and to feel like I can make a difference through our work.
