Washington, D.C. – October 23, 2023: To help companies address the climate emergency and lead the efforts towards a zero-carbon future, APCO Worldwide launched its Climate and Biodiversity practice, Founder and Executive Chairman Margery Kraus announced today.
At a time when the world’s natural resources are rapidly depleting, and biodiversity is being severely affected by business, APCO Climate and Biodiversity is committed to partnering with companies who aim to decarbonize and reduce their negative impact on biodiversity. This practice brings together APCO’s assets and teams from around the world that have been working on these issues and adds significant new talent.
“As a trusted advisor to clients, we have the unique opportunity to help guide some of the world’s biggest companies in developing bold solutions to the biggest challenge of our time and bringing those solutions to life,” Kraus said. “Our investment in a climate practice is more than just a financial bet, it reflects our sense of obligation to try and improve our environment for a shared future. We believe that through our efforts we can help clients bring new, innovative ideas to life, help companies transition to less environmentally harmful operations, move capital towards solutions that advance positive climate outcomes and generally pave the way forward through education, partnerships, programmatic ideas and support.”
The Climate and Biodiversity practice is led by Global Chair Trevor Neilson, who brings decades of experience as a founder and CEO of companies addressing climate technology, sustainability, philanthropy and more. As the co-founder, chairman and CEO of WasteFuel, co-founder and CEO of i(x) Net Zero, a leading sustainable investing platform which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (IX.), co-founder of Creatures United, an organization focused on biodiversity protection and the species extinction crisis, and Advisory Board Chair for Submarine, an ocean data company using satellite data, AI and earth system modeling to support, measure and verify ocean-based carbon removal, Neilson brings a track record of developing, launching and guiding businesses and initiatives that marry environmental responsibility with economic opportunity.
“I believe that the climate crisis is an existential threat to all life on Earth,” Neilson said. “We need to address this crisis by decarbonizing with thoughtful, precise strategies. We believe in building bridges—solving this complex scientific problem will require all our efforts and companies have a historic opportunity to lead the way without sacrificing their bottom line.”
In support of this new strategy offering, Dr. Liliana Diaz will lead the Climate and Biodiversity practice in North America. Diaz is an international energy economics and policy expert with a track record delivering strategic advisory services and actionable solutions for companies, investors and governments as they address climate change and navigate the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Diaz is the latest addition to an expert team, including political and climate strategist Lynn Davidson, who joined APCO earlier this year. Prior to joining APCO, Davidson served for almost two years as direct adviser to COP26 President Alok Sharma and the senior UK COP26 Presidency team.
APCO Climate and Biodiversity will be supported by a distinguished group of subject matter experts in APCO’s Climate and Biodiversity Scientific Advisory Board, including world-renowned ecologist and conservationist Dr. Gerardo Ceballos. On November 6, Dr. Ceballos will be featured in discussion with Margery Kraus and Trevor Neilson about the critical role of businesses in saving biodiversity and reversing species extinction; registration for this urgent conversation is available here.
The Climate and Biodiversity practice will also be supported by APCO International Advisory Council members Devry Boughner Vorwerk, former chief corporate affairs officer at Grubhub and former chief communications officer at Cargill; Divya Demato, CEO and co-founder of GoodOps; Terry Garcia, former executive vice president and chief science and exploration officer for the National Geographic Society and former deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Aida Greenbury, sustainability and risk management strategist and co-founder of Belantara Foundation; Neil Hawkins, former chief sustainability officer and corporate vice president of Dow Chemical; and Francis Bouchard, managing director of climate at Marsh McLennan, among others.
APCO’s Climate and Biodiversity practice builds on its long history of working with clients across government, business and civil society to solve some of the world’s most pressing global challenges. In 2021, APCO launched APCO Impact, a dedicated practice group to support and accelerate its work on sustainability and social impact.
For almost 40 years, APCO has been a trusted advisor and partner to private, public and non-profit clients, helping them be catalysts for progress by navigating the challenges of today, acting with agility, anticipating social risk and building organizational reputations, relationships and solutions to succeed. Established by Margery Kraus as a single-person operation in 1984, APCO has grown to a global advisory and advocacy communications consultancy with offices in more than 30 markets and experience working in more than 80 markets globally, providing in-depth advice, perceptive guidance and creative approaches for its clients.
