World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation [2] under the leadership of James Gustave Speth.[3] WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, forests, water, energy, cities, climate and ocean.
Formation | 1982 |
---|---|
Founder | James Gustave Speth |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. United States |
Andrew Steer | |
Chairman of the Board | James Harmon |
Revenue (2016) | US$ 90 million[1]:57 |
Expenses (2016) | US$ 90 million[1]:57 |
Website | WRI.org |
Organization
The World Resources Institute (WRI) maintains offices in the United States, China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia.[4] The organization's mission is to promote environmental sustainability, economic opportunity, and human health and well-being.[5] WRI partners with local and national governments, private companies, publicly held corporations, and other non-profits, and offers services including global climate change issues, sustainable markets, ecosystem protection, and environmental responsible governance services.[6][7][6] WRI has maintained a 4 out of 4 stars rating from Charity Navigator since 1 October 2008.[8]
In 2014, Stephen M. Ross, an American real estate developer, gave the organization US$30 million to establish the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.[9]
Initiatives
WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, forests, water, energy,[10] cities, climate and ocean.
WRI initiatives include:
- The Access Initiative, a civil society network dedicated to ensuring that citizens have the right and ability to influence decisions about the natural resources .[11]
- Aqueduct, an initiative to measure, map and understand water risks around the globe.[12]
- CAIT Climate Data Explorer, offering chart tools for historic GHG data, Paris contributions and more. As of May 2020 this is being integrated into the similar platform Climate Watch [13]
- Champions 12.3, a coalition of executives to accelerate progress toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 to tackle food loss and waste.[14]
- Global Forest Watch, an online forest monitoring and alert system.
- The Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides standards, guidance, tools, and trainings for business and government to quantify and manage GHG emissions.[15]
- LandMark, a platform providing maps and information on lands that are collectively held and used by Indigenous peoples and local communities[16]
- Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), a public-private collaboration platform and project accelerating focusing on building the circular economy. PACE was launched during the 2018 World Economic Forum Annual meeting; from 2019, WRI is supporting the scale-up of PACE and establish an Action Hub in The Hague.[17]
- Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, a partnership of NGOs, customers, suppliers and policymakers working to increase global use of clean and renewable energy.[18] It has 300 members including Google, GM, Facebook, Walmart, Disney and other large companies, and reached 6 GW capacity in 2018.[19]
- The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) helps companies transition to a low-carbon economic profile by setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in line with climate science.[20]
- WRI Ross Center helps cities grow more sustainably and seeks to improve quality of life in developing countries around the world.[21]
- World Resources Report, WRI's flagship report series. Each report deals with a different topic.[22]
References
- Rising to the Challenge; WRI Annual Report 2016–2017 (PDF). Washington DC: World Resources Institute (WRI). 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- Broder, John M. (March 14, 2012). "Climate Change Envoy to Lead Influential Institute". New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- "James Gustave Speth". World Resources Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- "Charity Navigator: World Resources Institute". Charity Navigator. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- "World Resources Institute Offices – Washington DC". Office Snapshots. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- Bloomberg (2017). "World Resources Institute". []. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- "Charitywatch: World Resources Institute". American Institute of Philanthropy. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- "Charity Navigator - Historical Ratings for World Resources Institute". Charity Navigator. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- Pogrebin, Robin. "Developer Gives $30 Million to Establish City Planning Center". New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- M.A. Siraj (September 15, 2017). "Powering cities with clean energy". Thehindu.com. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- "Home | The Access Initiative". accessinitiative.org.
- "Aqueduct". World Resources Institute. June 12, 2013.
- WRI, CAIT Climate Data Explorer, accessed 6 May 2020
- "Champions 12.3". Champions 12.3.
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol
- "LandMark Map". LandMark.
- "Resources". Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy.
- "REBA – Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance". rebuyers.org.
- Dzikiy, Phil (28 March 2019). "Google, GM, and more than 300 other companies launch Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance". Electrek. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- "Science Based Targets".
- "WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities I Helping cities make big ideas happen™". WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
- "World Resources Report". World Resources Institute. December 4, 2018.