What happens when the former leader of the free world launches a global foundation aimed at tackling the globe’s most pressing problems?
In the case of Bill Clinton, who founded the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in 2005, the unequivocal answer is that major money from major global players flows in.
The initiative's annual meetings have included more than 125 current and former heads of state, 15 Nobel Peace Prize winners, and hundreds of leading global CEOs and philanthropists.
These men and women have made nearly 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion, which, in just five years, have improved 220 million lives in 170 countries.
The 2010 soiree has been no different—especially for the environment.
Treehugger compiled the greenest of the green initiatives to emerge from CGI 2010:
- Hertz Vows to Rent Electric Cars: The car rental company is adding Toyota and Nissan EVs to its lineup. Starting January 11, you can rent an electric car by the hour, or by the month. $100 million reportedly went into this investment.
- STREAM will bring citizen reporting to the Gulf of Mexico: This project, helmed by Philippe Cousteau and Casi Calloway, will educate thousands of students around the Gulf in the fast-changing ways of modern journalism. Now that the national media is packing up and heading home from the Gulf, it will be up to locals to defend their homeland from further degradation and to make sure it gets the restoration it deserves.
To see how CGI is turning grand green ideas into practical solutions, check out the rest of Treehugger’s list here.
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