7 Nonprofits Working on Sustainability with Salesforce

Nonprofits are on the frontline of preserving the planet and combatting climate change whether they are saving the rainforest or providing renewable energy to communities in need. At Salesforce, we are celebrating Earth Day with volunteer events and a commitment to be as sustainable an organization as possible. We would like to take this opportunity to recognize some of our Salesforce customers who tirelessly do this work year-round. Read on to learn more about these organizations and how they use Salesforce to advance their mission. Happy Earth Day!

Nature Conservancy

Mission: Conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Every acre we protect, every river mile restored, every species brought back from the brink, begins with you. Your support will help make a lasting difference around the world in more than 70 countries.

From saving the Island Fox to increasing habitat for migratory birds in California, The Nature Conservancy is leveraging the Salesforce platform and big data to power ambitious conservation programs. Working with farmers across California, the Nature Conservancy developed the Bird Returns program to identify plots of farmland that could easily be converted into bird friendly habitats when not in use for crops. Field technicians were equipped with a mobile app built on Salesforce1 to track birds and land use. A Force for Change grant funded the development and testing of this app which enabled the creation of 40,000 acres of temporary habitat and observation of over 1 million birds. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s ambitious projects all over the world.

Sierra Club

Mission: To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth;
To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources;
To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

With over 3 million members/supporters and a mission to explore, enjoy and protect the planet, Sierra Club is the largest grassroots environmental organization in the nation. Sierra Club modernized its organizing and fundraising efforts through implementing Salesforce to manage the millions of in-person and online interactions with constituents every year. With Salesforce, Sierra Club is able to engage and mobilize people across the country with a few simple clicks. Learn more about Sierra Club and how they are using Salesforce.

Pollinate Energy

Mission: We are a social business bringing life-changing products to people who need them most.
We empower local Indian entrepreneurs to be a positive force for change.
We are making social business mainstream by raising awareness about the communities we work with, and supporting the next generation of social entrepreneurs through our fellowship programs.

By: Julia Ponti

Approximately 390 million people across India live in under-serviced slums – communities of tents and other makeshift shelters that do not have access to basic essentials including electricity and clean water supply. The kerosene powered lamps and cookstoves they rely on create pollution that is harmful to their health and the environment. To address this, Pollinate Energy is providing life-changing products such as solar powered lamps and improved cookstoves to families. Rather than just give them away, Pollinate Energy works with local entrepreneurs, or “pollinators,” to sell the products on payment plans and at affordable rates. This model allows families to save around 10 per cent of their income, and improve their health, safety and quality of life, whilst also offering Pollinators a sustainable business, who are often vulnerable and from low-income backgrounds themselves.

Pollinate Energy uses Salesforce to manage all sales and track the impact they are making. Learn more about Pollinate Energy and how Salesforce has helped to reach over 90,000 people in 800 communities.

Surfrider Foundation

Mission: The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.

Good data is essential to understanding the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, scientists lack information about data trends in nearshore dynamic coastal areas, such as the surf zone. The Surfrider Foundation, in partnership with Smartfin, is about to change that. By equipping surfers with a surfboard fin that measures ocean properties, including temperature, GPS, and eventually salinity and pH levels, the Surfrider Foundation will help connect surfers and their communities to larger issues affecting ocean health through citizen science. Earlier this year, Salesforce collaborated on the Smartfin project by providing assistance as part of Salesforce’s Impact Innovation Challenge, helping the Smartfin team identify and resolve key data management and display issues. Learn more about Smartfin and how the Surfrider Foundation works to preserve and protect our ocean, waves and beaches.

Elevate Energy

Mission: Smarter energy use for all.

We design and implement efficiency programs that lower costs, protect the environment, and ensure the benefits of energy efficiency reach those who need them most. This “triple bottom line” approach—and the holistic solutions that result—makes us unique.

Elevate Energy believes that everybody deserves to reap the benefits of energy efficiency, even if they’re hard to reach. That is why we target low-to-moderate-income communities to provide programs that increase energy efficiency and create jobs. By implementing Salesforce to manage our customer relationships and programs, Elevate Energy provides exceptional service to over 60,000 families in Illinois and beyond, which created a total savings on energy costs of $25.5 million in 2016. Learn more about Elevate Energy and how they use Salesforce to combat climate change.

The National Aquarium

Mission: Inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures.

The National Aquarium has welcomed over 51 million visitors since its opening in 1981, aiming to change the way humanity cares for our ocean planet by inspiring conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. Like all nonprofit organizations, fundraising is an essential part of the Aquarium’s ability to reach their mission. To meet the needs of a rapidly growing development staff, the Aquarium turned to Salesforce and implemented the Nonprofit Success Pack. The were able to quickly adopt NPSP because of the standard features, and through customization created a powerful performance management tool. Learn more about the Aquarium and how they use NPSP to manage over 26,000 donor relationships.

Rainforest Alliance

Mission: The Rainforest Alliance’s ambitious mission is to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior.

Agriculture, forestry, and tourism have significant impacts on forests and land worldwide, and on the people who depend upon them. Since 1987, the Rainforest Alliance, represented by the well known “green frog” seal, has worked in more than 70 countries with farmers, foresters, tourism companies, communities and businesses, from smallholder landowners to leading global brands, to help minimize environmental and social impacts while maintaining livelihoods.

Rainforest Alliance pioneered sustainability-oriented agricultural and forestry certification, developing rigorous, multi-stakeholder driven certification systems, such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in forestry and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN)/ Rainforest Alliance system in agriculture. These remain industry-leading certification models, tracing raw materials from farm or forest to consumer products, and today, as the organization marks its 30th anniversary, the Rainforest Alliance continues as a leader in certification as well as value-chain sustainability advisory and assurance services, and monitoring and impact assessment. “Salesforce is an essential tool we utilize to manage a global portfolio of over 2,000 companies participating in our certification and assurance program,” said Eugene Kogan, Chief Technology Officer. Learn more about the Rainforest Alliance and their certification programs and services.