The Alliance for Global Sustainability

Client:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Audience:

Corporations, foundations, and individual donors

Goal:

Introduce potential donors to the newly formed Alliance for Global Sustainability, an international partnership of universities, governments, and business leaders dedicated to discovering more efficient, environmentally sensitive pathways to economic development and growth

Role:

Writing

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Today our world faces a challenge of unprecedented scope: to further the economic activities that enhance our lives while protecting the natural resources that are the source and sustenance of life itself.

This challenge - the challenge of sustainability - is demanding ever greater attention from governments and corporations worldwide. Environmental concerns shape regulatory policies and critically influence every aspect of the production process - from plant sitings and materials choices to waste handling and disposal. Discovering the most effective ways to reduce environmental costs without dampening productivity is indeed a worthy challenge. And it is one to which research universities can make a unique and profound contribution.

Universities such as ours can help frame the questions that promote constructive inquiry. We can support education and research that deepen understanding of the technological, cultural, economic, and political forces that impact our planet's health. We can provide an objective forum through which scientists, policymakers, corporate strategists and environmental advocates can elucidate the best paths to sustainable development. Most importantly, we can generate solutions.