PATAGONIA WILL LAUNCH PATAGONIA ACTION WORKS

PATAGONIA WILL LAUNCH PATAGONIA ACTION WORKS

Patagonia will soon launch in Italy Patagonia Action Works, a digital platform to connect communities to local environmental organizations that are fighting to save the planet.

The launch throughout all Europe follows the enormous success achieved in North America, where the platform saw half a million people take action to support environmental issues and allowed users to voluntarily offer time and skills, participate in events, sign petitions and donate in favor of environmental conservation.

Patagonia Action Works will be presented at BASE Milan tomorrow 3rd of October at 7.00 pm, during a stimulating evening full of food for thought, in the company of non-profit organizations and citizens struggling to save the planet. Speakers include Stephanie Brancaforte, Director of Change.org Italia, Sara Capuzzo, President of ènostra, scientist Luca Mercalli and Gianluca Pandolfo, Patagonia Sales Director EMEA. Entrance tickets for the public are available through the event facebook page, and the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the participating NGOs for charity.

The initiative was born at a time of unprecedented environmental threats, in which the demand from the public, politicians and Italian companies to take urgent action to tackle the growing climate crisis. Recent climate movements in Europe and Italy testify to the urgency to protect the planet, which is why Patagonia Action Works connects people with organizations with this goal, in order to promote collective action.

The community-based online platform marks a new chapter in Patagonia’s 45-year history of activism and includes the 1% For The Planet program, a global movement created by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and environmentalist Craig Mathews. The company’s support to environmental organizations has totaled over 100 million dollars and reached thousands of groups. Many non-profit organizations operate with limited resources and, through Patagonia Action Works, the company aims to make these groups more effective and powerful than ever.

Patagonia Action Works will highlight and support the work of NGOs that address the most urgent environmental challenges. Mihela Hladin Wolfe, Director of Patagonia Environmental Initiatives, EMEA, says:“We have lost confidence in world leaders and their willingness to act in time to resolve the climate crisis. People want to know what they can do to contribute and this platform allows them to act in the communities in which they live. Patagonia Action Works allows you to fight for the problems we care about the most”.

Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, declares: “I founded Follow This because I believe that shareholders can change the world by forcing Big Oil to stop investing in oil and gas and start investing in renewable energy. Thanks to the support of nearly 5,000 green shareholders and large investors, Shell was the first oil company to promise to change course. At this time, we are planning to leverage this success in the United States by presenting climate motions to the US oil majors, Chevron and ExxonMobil. To do this, we urgently need the support of qualified volunteers in the United States. Action Works offers us the opportunity to recruit professionals such as lawyers and financial experts, as well as networkers, investors and the media. The platform could be an invaluable tool to help us spread our campaign and more effectively reach sensitive citizens around the world”.

Patagonia has a long history of initiatives supporting environmental activism in Europe, including two recent campaigns: Save the Blue Heart of Europe and Artifishal, to protect pristine rivers and fish populations. The company leapt to the headlines in 2017 for filing a lawsuit against the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, for illegally reducing the size of two National Monuments.

Take a look at Patagonia Action Works trailer!