Leading Businesses, Cities and Non-Profits Join "Together" to Fight Climate Change

Mercy Corps works with communities and partner organizations to mitigate climate change and create economic opportunities through innovative environmental projects. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Leading businesses, U.S. cities nationwide and respected non-profit organizations, including Mercy Corps, today joined with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to launch "Together" (www.together.com) — the largest-ever consumer engagement campaign on climate change.

Together unites brands, cities and non-profits to make it easier for every American to fight climate change. Together partners are committed to delivering and promoting simple, practical solutions that will help people save energy, save money and save the planet.

New research released today shows that while Americans are more willing than ever to change their behavior to do something about climate change, the majority still do not know exactly what to do. Together delivers clear and simple steps people can take to help reduce their impact on the planet.

"Protecting our environment is a job that belongs to each one of us. It means more than companies changing their practices or governments changing their policies. It means each person finding ways to change the little things in our lives that will in turn have a huge positive impact on the world around us. Together will help make this possible," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Together is an initiative of The Climate Group, a global, independent non-profit organization dedicated to building public-private partnerships to find solutions to climate change. Together first launched in the United Kingdom in 2007 with the help of then Prime Minister Tony Blair. To date, Together solutions in the United Kingdom have helped consumers save 522,000 tonnes of CO2 and over $200 million on household energy bills.

Companies including Chase, the campaign's founding corporate partner, as well as Dell, Lenovo, MySpace, Nestlé Waters, RecycleBank, smart USA, Target and Timberland, seven cities across the country and non-profit organizations including ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, The American Red Cross in Greater New York, Climate Counts, Global Footprint Network, Mercy Corps, National Wildlife Federation and The Center for a New American Dream have joined Together, with dozens of additional partners set to join in the coming months. MTV, News Corporation and Time Warner have joined the campaign as media partners.

Together will promote simple products, services and initiatives that yield measurable energy-saving results, and the campaign will clearly show how, together, these small actions make a big difference. The "Togetherizer," an online aggregator at www.together.com, will tally the combined efforts of everyone who adopts a Together solution, demonstrating the real savings — both in CO2 and in dollars — that the campaign delivers directly to consumers. Environmental Resources Management (ERM), an independent, third-party validator, will verify CO2 savings for every Together solution.

Through Together's alliance with the City of New York, the campaign's founding city partner, as well as Boston, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Seattle, participating mayors are committing to collaborate with brands and non-profits to create custom programs that enable city residents to help fight climate change.

Mercy Corps' commitment to the environment and vulnerable communities around the world makes its partnership with Together a natural fit.

Mercy Corps sees climate change as a threat to the communities we serve, but we also view it as an economic opportunity to contribute to global mitigation measures and strengthen communities. We are committed to helping communities mitigate and adapt to the environmental changes impacting their lives.