Foundation News

The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign continues to build on its track record as one of the most successful and inclusive environmental campaigns in decades. By the end of 2013, the campaign has secured the retirement of 158 coal plants, and continues to demand that polluters be held accountable as the nation moves ever more quickly to wind, solar, and other renewables.  2013 brought accolades for this campaign from many different quarters.

Mary Anne Hitt, Beyond Coal Campaign Director, was listed in SNL Energy's inaugural 10 Most Influential People in 2013 for her pioneering work to move the nation off of polluting fossil fuels and onto clean sources of energy like wind and solar.  Mary Anne is sharing company with some very interesting energy industry leaders, including allies and some of the fossil fuel industry executives that she has been so effective in challenging.  This recognition places the Club's Beyond Coal Campaign among the most significant forces shaping the energy sector in the US, along with the EPA, the U.S. Senate, and energy companies of all stripes.  "I look forward to the day when this list is entirely leaders in the clean energy sector and not relics of a dirty-fueled past," said Mary Anne Hitt.

In December, the Business Ethics Network gave its Path to Victory award to the Beyond Coal Campaign in recognition of its efforts to retire coal plants.  The BENNY Awards are given to recognize outstanding corporate campaign victories and acknowledge the dedicated people and organizations that work to transform corporations into socially and environmentally responsible organizations.

Yale’s Climate Forum spotlighted Beyond Coal in its review of the top U.S. climate news stories of 2013, deeming it noteworthy that the campaign announced that 30 percent of the nation’s coal plants are slated for retirement. 

With an overarching goal to move America off coal no later than 2030, the campaign works with a broad and growing coalition of more than 100 local, regional and national allies, and includes legal and grassroots fights to transition to cleaner and more modern sources of power.  2013 was a momentous year for clean energy, as solar and wind generation hit record highs, prices plummeted, and wind and solar took on increased market share from coal.  Installation of renewable energy capacity outpaced coal, oil, and nuclear growth combined. 

Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign has grown to become one of the largest and broadest grassroots environmental campaigns in the nation’s history. Our success in leading a nationwide movement to end U.S. coal burning has helped to shift the narrative about climate change from a drifting defeatism to an optimistic story of how state by state and plant by plant we are moving beyond coal and building a clean energy economy that supports our families and the planet. 

None of this momentum and success would be possible without the ongoing support of our donors across the country.  Sierra Club Foundation donors continue to be at the leading edge of the most important climate and public health fights we face as a nation.  For your boldness and dedication, we are grateful.  Let’s work even harder and achieve even greater things in 2014.

•  Peter Martin, Executive Director, TSCF