Verizon is rethinking what role technology plays in
addressing the world’s most pressing issues. Citizen
Verizon
is the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and
social advancement by engaging three pillars:
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Digital inclusion
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Climate protection
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Human prosperity
“Across all of those pillars, we’re interested in looking at the needs of all
communities that might be under-resourced or systemically marginalized,” said
Dylan Siegler, a CSR strategist and climate-justice lead at Verizon, told
Sustainable Brands™.
In recent years, Verizon has taken a critical look at how the triple bottom line
really plays out for a tech company. For its part, the company is well
positioned to make a real climate impact — it makes massive renewable energy
purchases every year and aims to achieve net zero by
2035.
But Siegler admits that’s not enough to reverse the damage that’s already been
done and is affecting the most vulnerable in real time.
“Climate change is here, and we’re experiencing it right now,” she said.
“Unfortunately, this summer has been a really good example of how that is
manifesting.”
Verizon Forward for Good
Verizon envisions a world where tech such as 5G will help reduce climate impacts
for everyone, especially underrepresented communities. Tech accessibility and
carbon neutrality are key components of Verizon’s responsible business strategy,
and another new initiative will further embed social impact into the company’s
core business proposition.
In its first Forward for Good
Accelerator cohort, Verizon dedicated
resources to scale seven early-stage startups focused on climate justice. Each
startup was awarded $50,000 in non-dilutive funding in addition to mentorship,
networking and technology to help them build their businesses and become more
venture-ready.
The first cohort startups have found niches engaging seven categories:
Wildfire, Oceans, Community Impact, Agricultural Monitoring, Hurricane Warning
and Mapping.
In the Wildfire category, for instance, Fireball Info
Technology (recently rebranded as Exci) provides early fire detection
and mapping services tailored to protect populations and infrastructure
vulnerable to wildfire. In Community Impact,
ISeeChange helps cities, engineers, utilities and
the public develop climate solutions together.
Assistance is custom-tailored to each startup — some need a boost on the tech
side of things, others need executive mentorship, and others need help polishing
their value propositions. Verizon will help them all authentically communicate
how their product or service will help people in communities hardest hit by
climate
change.
A year of back-to-back,
record-breaking
heat waves and natural disasters put climate justice front and center. Verizon’s
future cohorts will address other social impact topics, the next being
disability. The annual 16-week program will feature different social impact
themes and the startup innovators rising to the challenge of moving the needle
within them.
Business as a launchpad
Verizon notes that Forward for Good focuses on supporting smaller, more nimble
businesses developing innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.
Verizon is making an intentional investment in the external innovation community
by leveraging Verizon resources to drive positive change.
Verizon commits to always support small-scale change makers advancing external
innovations while continuously building its own advanced CSR strategy. Both,
Siegler said, are essential to authentically impactful sustainability work.
“Verizon is always going to be a mammoth communication and tech company, and
we’re not going to have the nimbleness or agility that a small startup will have
to address very specific concerns in the community,” she said. “What we saw as
Verizon’s core competency here is this ability to provide tech resources to
those that are out doing it. We wanted to leverage what Verizon is good at, and
provide what we’re good at to those smaller companies.”
Verizon seeks to tune into market signals indicated by the innovative startups,
most of which are on the cusp of emerging market trends. Together, the Verizon
Forward for Good cohorts and Verizon will create an interface for fresh
strategies and partnerships in new and developing fields.
“We’re meshing the expertise and resources inside Verizon with these innovative,
nimble businesses,” Siegler said. “It helps us, it helps them; it’s a way for
Verizon to learn from them what’s happening in the marketplace. All of that
creates a yeasty environment to foment an innovative environment both internally
and externally.”
Beyond the accelerator
Verizon Forward for Good sends a clear signal of the company’s willingness to
build meaningful collaborations with more nimble change makers, offering Fortune
20 assistance in a mutually beneficial way.
“This isn’t just philanthropy. This is a pragmatic way for Verizon to be part of
something that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to see into,” Siegler added.
After a hybrid demo event September 29, Verizon is offering ongoing development
opportunities for the climate justice cohort, matching each startup with
experienced executive mentors as well as skills building workshops throughout
the year following the Accelerator.
“Verizon is incredibly invested in the success of these companies,” Siegler
said. “The 16 weeks has come to an end, but our relationship with them has not;
and we really look forward to continuing to explore how we can work together and
what sort of social impact innovation we can do together.”
Verizon recently announced the theme for its next cohort: Disability
Innovation. Startups building technology for the disability community with 5G,
MEC, AI, & XR can
apply by November
1.
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Christian is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and outdoor junkie obsessed with the intersectionality between people and planet. He partners with brands and organizations with social and environmental impact at their core, assisting them in telling stories that change the world.
Published Oct 21, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST