HomeMy WebLinkAbout100425 - Director’s Notes_ From Loren Blackford_ September 2025ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
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Dear John,
Fresh off an exciting Climate Week in NYC, we are fired up about the possibilities for our movement to meet our many challenges head on and make substantial progress towards our goals
on clean energy, sustainable finance, lands protections, outdoor exploration, and more!
Sun Day <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341f22338af6f3d21dd43b086ab440b4056772f8c3054b63a9dbec09f1a4e20ae82e5fc3edad313f8db1ae58f96d4e23baef> also happened this
month–a national celebration of how communities across the country are leaning into solar power and pioneering important solutions to make our clean energy future a reality. A big shoutout
to our Chapters that hosted and organized Sun Day events and the Beyond Coal Campaign for its support for the effort.
And, of course, we are also now navigating the government shutdown and paying very close attention to how it might impact our mission and work. For example, while national parks and
public lands remain open for visitors, the shutdown will leave them staffed by skeleton crews and limited services. We've seen before how care for our public lands gets abandoned during
government shutdowns, with overflowing garbage cans, dirty bathrooms, vandalism, and more. We’re making sure the administration is held accountable by collecting stories and images
from our public lands. Please use this form to share your experience <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341f32c1a9413558d1f0d7a3c5185c1795c20fc0ba4b24911f28333c902a6fe7fcd237716a1f
bba4b882f1bfba8f0ac1b39c> if you happen to visit any national public lands during the shutdown.
Now let’s jump right into the rest of our updates.
Loren Blackford
Sierra Club Executive Director
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SPOTLIGHT: Climate Week
Last week, both Sierra Club and Sierra Club Foundation (SCF) hosted and participated in a number of high-impact events at Climate Week in NYC. Over the course of events featuring leaders
across our chapters, energy and outdoors campaigns, legal team, the foundation, and more, we engaged with partners, foundations, philanthropists, thought leaders, and activists committed
to meeting this moment and fighting for a just, clean energy future for all. It was incredibly inspiring getting to connect with our environmental community over the week, and demonstrated
that our work on the ground in states around the country is more valuable than ever.
I wanted to share a few examples of how we showed up in force at this year’s Climate Week. Both of the Foundation's events, co-hosted with Ethic and ClientEarth, brought together a full
house of changemakers interested in exploring the nuts and bolts of total portfolio activation and system-level investing. Highlights included a deep dive into fiduciary duty and breakout
groups that dug into Ben Cushing's latest paper, "The Long Term Will Be Decided Now <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341ff9b4633f22601668169749af2fbf65b1e50fecbe258b54534c89941e5
4e11b9dc479eb6fbec4a0436b076f7d87090638> ." Sierra Club’s Sierra Salon brought together philanthropists, business and government leaders, along with NGOs for vital conversations about
policies and initiatives encouraging coalition building and collaboration to combat the climate and extinction crises. Following the release of the fifth annual Dirty Truth Report <https://click.ema
ils.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341f2dd37d8826e0fd74d2d3fc0d9951c8581282269adf2f4754c02c2919e2c5f0efe5735262dfd95e29751bd473e7bd434e> over Climate Week week, report authors gathered
to share highlights and answer questions. And our Every Kid Outdoors program brought a group of local children out for an educational ramble through Central Park.
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Executive Director Loren Blackford, Sierra Club President Patrick Murphy, and other Sierra Club leaders lead an Every Kid Outdoors outing in New York’s Central Park. (Photo credit: Kaela
Jeffers)
Other Highlights
* Sierra Club’s Sustainable Finance Campaign published new guidance <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341f0fe904ba0adcb545809261b4912d90fa040a1b554e963b534018d7de13289529e4002c00d9
bb1bf67e8d849445b737df> for financial institutions on what constitutes credible climate solutions investing. The “Principles for Climate Solutions Investments <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?q
s=305cb1238f30341f7259ed11c696245ca65c309d3afaf9b6e5a45d69eb9fd83547695d6d2e0b36b39d8e106cbacadcb30623ca52666bc2d7> ” offer a clear framework for investors to distinguish between real
climate solutions and greenwashing. They encourage financial institutions to support not only investments that lead to real-world decarbonization, but investments that also support
workers, protect nature, and strengthen the climate resilience of our communities.
* The 2025 Dirty Truth report is here! This year’s edition of our Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign’s flagship annual report has been getting a ton of dedicated news stories in national, state,
and local media. You can find our more about the report and download it here >> <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341fe256e7ad404e72abc1efc9001e8f1537ccc3d7cf6d820aaa4b39205bc057b
2a014a8b19d678ae40683d4de2e10bd1785>
Chapter Highlights
* A new video from our Idaho Chapter tells the story of a community mural project celebrating clean energy work happening locally. The video showcases how Idaho Sierra Club's Climate
Justice League is helping uplift youth voices and highlights the power of community-driven solutions. You can watch (and share!) the video on Sierra Club’s YouTube Channel >> <https://click.emails.s
ierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341f5b3288b2f787990ef6cda7354730920d305e04271e618821596c9ee24e8e8a5821e4cb686b65db171f3a0c7105983d81>
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Our Idaho Chapter's leadership in promoting community solar was featured this month in a New York Times article on solar power initiatives.
* And our North Carolina Chapter had an impressive press blitz, pushing a heavy stream of advocacy messaging across state and local media opposing the proposed rollback of national forest
protections under the “Roadless Rule,” including op-eds in the Wilmington Star-News <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341f266b8e4045245fa54c211d62bbd80990031438d2b4298cef46ff22b56
4a5aaa446d1d40aa02e1ef7980eb92c878fdc68> and the Greensboro News & Record <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341fe705187bb926601eabedd88d2955306b1c4b4e758797a2d745936d0168ce57d1980
b78fee6fb76558466dab09a0c439a> .
Thank you for everything! Have questions or feedback? Please reach out to me any time at loren.blackford@sierraclub.org <mailto:loren.blackford@sierraclub.org?subject=> or Shabina Bahl,
our Chief Advancement Officer, at shabina.bahl@sierraclub.org <https://click.emails.sierraclub.org/?qs=305cb1238f30341ffe876f87bd5e2401daa897d21fd005792b329c88556c766fddb4aa35fa6d8530a7af6583c6a0a51
d047dd9986cf89010> .
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