by Chris Vest, CAE
Association leaders labeled ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives as one of their top priorities during research conducted for ASAE’s 2022 Association Insights Center (AIC). As part of that research, association executives also indicated they had a low degree of confidence when it comes to designing an ESG strategy and working towards its implementation. To learn more about AIC’s ESG content, consult the Association ESG Primer.
Worlds Largest Association
As the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists, AGU is a leader in ESG leadership, from reducing carbon footprints in meetings to moving its investment portfolio to be fossil fuel free to leading the creation of a global framework on climate interventions. Now, AGU brings this powerful track record to partner with ASAE, sharing best practices and helping to guide other associations’ ESG and sustainability commitments.
The ASAE-AGU partnership agreement centers on three initiatives:
- AGU CEO and Executive Director Randy W. Fiser and ASAE President and CEO Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE, will co-chair a Sustainable Association Collaborative to help association CEOs explore sustainability issues. The collaborative’s initial focus will be “office space through the lenses of ESG and sustainability.” The group will be limited to 7 organizations to maximize participation and value for participants.
- ASAE and AGU will develop a sustainability toolkit designed to help associations embarking on their sustainability journey. AGU will serve as subject matter experts for the toolkit and ASAE will help curate the types of resources that may be most useful to associations. The toolkit will launch at the 2023 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta Aug. 5-8.
- AGU will showcase their sustainability initiatives on the Expo floor at the 2023 ASAE Annual Meeting and lead a session around how associations can develop workable approaches to the E pillar of ESG.
To Effect Positive Change in the World
“ASAE is committed to advancing The Power of Associations to effect positive change in the world today,” Mason said. “By partnering with AGU, an established leader and model for sustainability initiatives, ASAE is working to assist association leaders in understanding and overcoming roadblocks to sustainability and plan for the future. Associations have told us that ESG and sustainability are critical priorities for their organizations and, through this partnership with AGU and the collective knowledge sharing that will result, we look forward to creating avenues for associations to advance their ESG and sustainability prospects.”
We Walk Our Talk
“We are so proud to be in partnership with ASAE. At AGU, we walk our talk. Our members are the Earth and space scientists around the world confronting and answering the challenge of climate change. And in our climate leadership, we take every opportunity not just to champion open science but also opening science to greater diversity, open access to publications and a brighter, more collaborative, more just future for all,” Fiser says.
For more information about the ASAE-AGU partnership or to express interest in the Sustainable Association Collaborative, please contact Amy Hissrich, MA, CAE, at ahissrich@asaecenter.org.
A Membership Organization
ASAE is a membership organization of more than 47,000 association executives and industry partners. Since it was established 100 years ago, its members have and continue to lead, manage, and work in or partner with organizations in more than a dozen association management disciplines, from executive management to finance to technology. With the support of the ASAE Research Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge, and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession and provides resources, education, ideas, and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. Visit ASAE at asaecenter.org.
A Global Community
AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.
