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Sustainable Development Program Guidelines Reflect a Consistent and Flexible Approach
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Sustainable Development program guidelines have remained consistent since 2010, creating a steady long-term orientation while permitting tactical shifts as context changes and opportunities arise. After a comprehensive review of grantmaking from 2017 through 2024, program staff determined that the current goal and strategies should remain unchanged.
To measure the impact of grantmaking on the climate crisis, the program team took a holistic approach that considered both direct and systemic changes. The review found that the existing framework—focused on advancing solutions to climate change through four core strategies—has served both the Fund and the broader climate field.
The program’s strategies have contributed to significant progress on renewable energy development, carbon reduction, equitable climate policy, and climate finance.
(Source: Architecture 2030)
Buildings account for over a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and grantees are advancing policies to transform buildings through electrification, on-site renewables, and low-carbon materials. Between 2005 and 2023, U.S. building sector emissions fell 32 percent, even as 70 billion square feet of new construction was added.
(Source: CALSTART)
Transportation is the largest source of U.S. climate pollution. Grantee advocacy for bold transportation policy has driven outcomes like rapidly rising adoption of zero-emission trucks.
(Source: Stand.earth)
Since the RBF announced its decision to divest in 2014, total assets under management committed to divestment from fossil fuels have grown from $54 billion to $41.2 trillion in 2024. That includes 200 pension funds and 267 educational institutions with total assets of $8.4 trillion. Since Pope Francis issued his 2015 Laudato Si encyclical, 384 Catholic organizations have also committed to divest.
(Source: Fifth National Climate Assessment)
U.S. states, cities, and regions have driven climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. With research and networking support from RBF grantees, state and local climate leaders in the United States demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of robust climate policies and clean energy initiatives.
(Source: IRENA)
RBF grantees attend multilateral climate negotiations each year to push for more ambitious international climate commitments. Agreements like the Global Methane Pledge, the Kigali Amendment, the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa, and others have marked significant international progress on climate change since 2021.
The decision to adhere to the program’s long-time goal and strategies comes at a critical time. With federal climate policy facing uncertainty, climate investments growing globally, and renewable energy capacity set to nearly triple by 2030, the existing guidelines provide the stability and flexibility needed to navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.