Apparel Impact Institute Opens First Call for Applications for the Climate Solutions Portfolio - A New Tool to Deploy Grants from the $250M Fashion Climate Fund

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, nonprofit organization Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) opens its first call for applications for the Climate Solutions Portfolio, a soon-to-launch registry of proven carbon reduction solutions for the fashion industry. Aii will use the Climate Solutions Portfolio as a data-backed tool to deploy grants from the catalytic Fashion Climate Fund, designed to raise $250M to de-risk and accelerate proven decarbonization solutions, unlock up to $2B of capital, and help to halve carbon emissions by 2030. The Climate Solutions Portfolio will also serve as a public, transparent resource for brands, retailers, industry stakeholders, and external commercial financing partners looking to accelerate decarbonization efforts.

The first round of applications, open today and closing March 2023, is focused on solutions for materials, product innovations, energy efficiency improvements, and coal phase out via renewable thermal heat and renewable energy, with subsequent, biannual rounds to be focused on additional levers for carbon reduction*. To be eligible for the Climate Solutions Portfolio, organizations of any size and stage must submit high quality, verified data or estimates that demonstrate quantifiable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions around their solutions through Aii's rigorous, strategically developed intake application.

"Some of the biggest industry challenges for effective carbon reduction are identifying science-based solutions, ensuring they are credible and prioritizing them for widespread adoption," says Kurt Kipka, Aii Chief Impact Officer. "Our aim with the Climate Solutions Portfolio is to complement our current global efforts and find, fund, and report on climate impact solutions in a consistent, transparent way – for both our Fashion Climate Fund and the industry at large."

Starting in June 2023, a slate of projects from the Climate Solutions Portfolio will begin to receive grants, estimated to range from $50K - $250K per year, from Aii's Fashion Climate Fund based on effectiveness, reach, scale, and cost. This represents the first deployed capital from the Fund, which launched in June 2022 and currently marks Target, PVH Corp., Lululemon, H&M Group, H&M Foundation, and The Schmidt Family Foundation as lead funders.

The intake application for the Climate Solutions Portfolio was designed by Aii's new CSP Advisory Council of industry leaders: scientist and consultant Linda Greer; Phil Patterson, Managing Director at Colour Connections Textile Consultancy; Beth Jensen, Director+ Climate Impact at Textile Exchange; Crispin Wong, Senior Director of Product Sustainability and Environment from Lululemon; and Mallory McConnell, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at PVH Corp.

In addition to overseeing the buildout of and maintaining the Climate Solutions Portfolio as a resource for the fashion industry, the CSP Advisory Council will guide the deployment of capital into new solutions from the Fashion Climate Fund. It will tap additional subject matter experts as needed to fully and fairly evaluate applications.

"The Climate Solutions Portfolio, led by our CIO and Advisory Council, is furthering Aii's mission to identify, fund, scale, and measure the apparel and footwear industry's proven environmental impact solutions," says Lewis Perkins, Aii President. "We believe this tool will not only allow Aii to best evaluate solutions, it will also give the entire industry greater transparency into the climate related programs at work in the supply chain."

Aii invites all organizations, technologies, ventures, and solutions geared at advancing decarbonization solutions to apply for funding and to join the comprehensive registry that will be the Climate Solutions Portfolio. The Climate Solutions Portfolio will be live to the public in July 2023, at which time Aii will announce its first funded solutions through the Fashion Climate Fund.

*More information on carbon reduction levers are denoted in Aii and World Resources Institute's report, Roadmap to Net Zero: Delivering Science Based Targets in the Apparel Sector

Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) is a nonprofit collective founded in 2017 by NGO leaders: the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), alongside industry leaders Target Corporation, Gap Inc., PVH and HSBC. The organization emerged organically as a result of a real need that apparel brands and retailers self-identified.

Aii identifies, funds, and scales proven quality solutions to accelerate positive impact in the apparel and footwear industry. Aii programs focus on areas that result in positive environmental impact from the production of apparel and footwear products to improve the industry. To learn more about Aii and its new Fashion Climate Fund, visit apparelimpact.org and fashionclimatefund.org.

SOURCE Apparel Impact Institute