Building a Georgia Beyond Carbon: Inside the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact

Chapters

00:00 Meet David Eady 

00:36 David’s Path into Sustainability Work 

03:17 How the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact Started 

08:32 How the Compact Works, and What It Costs to Join 

10:52 Current Business Compact Initiatives, from Clean Power to Plastics 

16:44 Building Healthy, Energy-Efficient Homes 

22:11 Why Small, Purpose-Driven Companies Have Surprised David Most 

24:56 The Power of Partnerships Across the Compact 

29:08 What’s Giving David Eady Hope

When it comes to advancing climate solutions in Georgia, the business community has both the resources and the reach to make a significant impact. That idea is the driving force behind the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, a collaborative initiative housed at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech.

In this edition of the Georgia Climate Digest interview series, host Eriqah Vincent sits down with David Eady, the Compact’s organizer and director of industry engagement at Georgia Tech, to talk about how this growing network of companies is working together to scale climate solutions that make sense for Georgia’s economy, environment, and communities.

How Did the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact Start?

David traces the Compact back to 2020, when Drawdown Georgia’s first research phase identified 20 high-impact, market-ready climate solutions, just as many companies were accelerating their own decarbonization commitments despite a lack of federal leadership. Seeing an opportunity, David’s team invited businesses to form a collective impact initiative. The Compact launched in October 2021 with about a dozen founding members and has grown to roughly 70 companies, spanning multinational corporations, small startups, and minority-owned businesses across every region of Georgia.

What Does Collective Action Look Like Across the Compact?

David walks through the initiatives where Compact members are working together because they can achieve more collectively than individually: bringing carbon-free electricity onto the grid with Georgia Power, MEAG Power, and Georgia EMC; exploring renewable natural gas and sustainable aviation fuel made from Georgia’s agricultural and forestry resources; helping underserved landowners access the voluntary carbon market; piloting healthy home retrofits; and building out regional infrastructure for plastics recycling.

How Is Equity Built into the Compact’s Work?

Equity isn’t an afterthought for the Compact, David says; it’s intentional from the start. The group actively recruits women-led, minority-owned, and B Corp businesses, and partners with organizations like the Georgia Forestry Foundation and the University of Georgia to make sure underserved landowners and farmers can access new opportunities in the voluntary carbon market and renewable natural gas.

What Has Surprised David Most About This Work?

David points to founders like Kashi Sehgal of Retaaza and Jasmine Crowe-Houston of Goodr, who built profitable companies around solving Georgia’s food waste and food insecurity problems at the same time. “They’re purpose-driven, but also profitable,” he says, describing the community of practice the Compact has built among sustainability leaders who share ideas, form new partnerships, and learn from each other’s successes.

Whether you lead a Fortune 500 sustainability team or a scrappy startup, this conversation offers a clear look at what collective climate action can look like across Georgia’s business community.

What You’ll Learn

• How Drawdown Georgia’s research helped launch the Business Compact in 2021.
• What it costs and what it takes for a Georgia business to join.
• The Compact’s current collective-action initiatives, from clean electricity to sustainable aviation fuel to plastics circularity.
• How the Compact builds equity into its work, from landowner outreach to recruiting women- and minority-led businesses.
• Why founders like Kashi Sehgal and Jasmine Crowe-Houston have inspired David most.
• How the Compact’s community of practice helps member companies build new partnerships.
• What gives David Eady hope about Georgia’s climate future.

Continue reading in our companion blog to learn more about the important climate work being done by Drawdown Georgia Business Compact members, and how your Georgia business can get involved.

Download the Interview Transcript

Prefer to read the conversation instead? Download the complete PDF transcript of this interview with David Eady to explore his insights on the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, collective climate action, and equity in Georgia’s business community.