As Joey the office dog raced into the brush after a squirrel, the rest of the Climate XChange/Climate Action Business Association team continued down the wooded path, discussing our vision of a healthy, renewable energy future. It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, our two organizations merged. To celebrate the occasion, we embarked on a staff hike at the Middlesex Fells and reflected on everything we’ve accomplished over the past year, and where we want to go from here.

Climate XChange and CABA came together in October 2016 largely over our common goal of enacting a price on carbon pollution in Massachusetts and beyond. We hoped that by uniting the powerful voice of the business community that CABA brings to the table, and the expert economic research capabilities of Climate XChange, we would be unstoppable. And after a year together, it certainly feels that way.

Since Climate XChange first joined CABA in the historic Old West Church in Downtown Boston, we’ve taken on new team members, launched exciting projects, and moved forward as a team. Here are some of the highlights of our year together:

“Creating

After completing in-depth economic analyses, our economist on staff, Marc Breslow, played a large role in drafting the carbon pricing bills that are currently in the legislature. This laid the groundwork for all of our campaign building to come. Soon after, we helped get 79 legislators to co-sponsor the bills, garnering the support of more than one-third of the legislature.

“Mobilizing

In March, CABA organized dozens of business leaders to meet with their legislators at the State House and push for a price on carbon. Two months later, we built on this momentum with the Campaign for a Clean Energy Future, hosting a second lobby day. By the end of the day, 200 people took part in 50 different legislative meetings, creating buzz throughout the entire State House.

Just ten days after that, we worked with our coalition partners to bring over 400 people to the hearing on carbon pricing, and organized more than 40 experts to testify on behalf of the bills. The lineup of scientists, health professionals, business leaders, union organizers, and even high school students made a definitive impression on the committee.

With our added capacity as a joint organization, Climate XChange was able to launch our State Carbon Pricing Network. We now help states across the country with policy analysis, campaign planning, training, and skill building to kickstart their efforts to put a price on carbon in their state.
Among other projects, this year CABA released a new Member Engagement Guide which provides our member businesses with a menu of concrete actions they can take on climate change. Our growing membership base continues to amaze us as they take action on climate through our Internal Sustainability, Political Advocacy, and Community Building programs.

We are excited for what’s to come as we build and grow. We’re ready to pass a price on carbon pollution in Massachusetts and beyond, make our communities more resilient to climate change, and push for bigger and bolder action every day.