A new non-profit, the Center for Green Market Activation (GMA), has been officially launched in Washington D.C. The organisation is set to focus on encouraging and funding decarbonisation in industries notoriously difficult to reduce emissions, such as aviation, trucking, concrete, and chemicals.
GMA’s approach involves building on existing models in the green market sector, such as the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) and the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), to drive substantial environmental impact.
Kim Carnahan, CEO of GMA, explained the organisation’s mission: “GMA is scaling a proven model for raising critical capital in service of deep decarbonisation in high-emitting sectors. Other organisations have successfully driven companies to set ambitious climate targets. GMA’s focus is turning those targets into bankable contracts.”
The organisation looks to gather and channel funding towards green technologies integral for reducing carbon footprints in various sectors. GMA plans to help companies engage in collective procurement programs for low-carbon goods or environmental attribute certificates (EACs), leveraging economies of scale and ensuring the integrity of environmental standards. Significant backing for GMA comes from the Bezos Earth Fund, along with grants from multiple organisations.
Background and Partnerships
GMA’s strategy hinges on collaborations with key players experienced in environmental markets. The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), a joint initiative of RMI and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), run by the Aspen Institute, both serve as foundational models for GMA. The new non-profit will work closely with these initiators as well as other partners like the Smart Freight Centre to help companies pay a premium for decarbonised goods and services, thus aggregating their demand.
“The GMA team has been essential to ZEMBA’s success, from their technical expertise on alternative fuels and book-and-claim to their vision for widespread impact,” said Ingrid Irigoyen, CEO of ZEMBA and Senior Director of Ocean and Climate for the Aspen Institute. “We are eager to continue our collaboration.”
Financial and Operational Focus
GMA will operate with a focus on sectors where decarbonisation is challenging due to the high cost and limited availability of suitable alternatives. Pace of change in these sectors remains insufficient to meet global climate goals. The non-profit’s approach involves aligning corporate net-zero ambitions with practical and scalable investment opportunities in low-carbon technologies.
Bryan Fisher, Managing Director of RMI, emphasized the importance of this approach: “Strong aggregated demand signals are critical to shifting and shaping the market for much-needed low-carbon solutions within the transportation and heavy industries sectors. The radical collaboration that we’ve been facilitating through demand platforms like SABA is crucial to spark the investment needed for new technology and infrastructure deployment.”
Programmes and Future Initiatives
GMA’s initial programmes will extend across heavy-duty trucking, cement and concrete, and chemicals, with a prospective collective procurement for zero-emission trucking expected later this year. The non-profit also aims to explore future initiatives beyond these sectors.
Angela Churie Kallhauge, Executive Vice President for Impact at EDF, pointed out the importance of rapid funding for high-integrity environmental solutions: “To decarbonize today’s economy – especially in challenging sectors such as aviation and maritime shipping – we need to rapidly ramp up funding for solutions with the greatest environmental integrity.”
Leadership and Governance
GMA’s leadership team includes seasoned professionals with extensive experience in environmental markets and alternative fuels. Aside from CEO Kim Carnahan, the team comprises Ellen Palmer as Chief Finance & Operations Officer, Andre de Fontaine as Senior Director of Programs, and Kari Pederson as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor.
“Leverage the Smart Freight Centre’s normative accounting framework and partnerships with global shippers active in decarbonizing their logistics, we are excited to partner with GMA to jointly aggregate shipper demand for the environmental attributes of zero-emission trucks,” said Christoph Wolff, CEO of Smart Freight Centre.
Future Prospects
Through initiatives like the Advanced and Indirect Mitigation (AIM) Platform in partnership with C2ES and Gold Standard, GMA is working on standardising systems for accounting and reporting impacts of value chain interventions towards corporate climate targets. This alignment seeks to stimulate market readiness for low-carbon technologies and facilitate substantial investments in achieving decarbonisation objectives.
The establishment of the Center for Green Market Activation marks a significant step towards harnessing corporate ambitions for practical and scalable climate action, setting a precedent for increased investment and coordinated effort in reducing carbon emissions across high-impact industries.
