What to know
- With climate change impacting athletes around the world, Nike is working on solutions that help protect the planet and with it, the future of sport.
- Nike is launching its new Community Climate Resilience Program with an inaugural $2M grant to Trust for Public Land.
- The program will fund projects advancing climate resilience and access to public green spaces and sport in communities disproportionally impacted by climate threats.
- In its initial round of funding, Nike’s work with Trust for Public Land will focus on New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Climate change is impacting athletes around the world, and Nike is working on solutions that help protect the planet—and that starts with all communities having a fair shot at an equitable future of sport. Nike’s Community Climate Resilience Program starts with a $2 million grant to Trust for Public Land over the next two years. The grant will fund projects that work to accomplish a major goal: advance climate resilience in communities disproportionally impacted by climate threats. Its method: creating and cultivating public green spaces.
Green spaces play a critical role in reducing the effects of urban heat islands and flooding, which are both intensified in communities that are most vulnerable and underserved. Parks can be as much as 17 degrees cooler than surrounding cityscapes. Parks can also help disperse storm and groundwater, lessening the impact of climate-related natural disasters in communities and improving water quality. However, parks in communities of color in the US are often half the size, lower quality and, in many cases, more prone to flooding than parks serving white neighborhoods.
The program will initially focus on communities in the U.S. where Nike employees live, work and play: Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. The first round of funding will focus on two areas: transforming asphalt and concrete schoolyards into recreational spaces, and creating and maintaining parks and trails.
The Community Climate Resilience Program is one of the ways Nike is investing in a more inclusive future for all. The partnership with Trust for Public Land and community nonprofit organizations is grounded in Nike’s global Made To Play commitment to get kids moving, while working with local partners to increase kids' participation in sport – particularly in marginalized communities. The program builds upon existing funds like the Inclusive Community Investment Program and the multi-year $40 million commitment to support the Black community in the U.S. on behalf of the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands. Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand are also donating more than $100 million over 10 years to organizations dedicated to progressing racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.