As part of our 20th birthday celebrations, we are sharing 20 interviews with leaders in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Pam Davis, President, Global Philanthropic (Europe), interviews James Thornton, CEO, Client Earth.
James Thornton launched ClientEarth in 2007, sparking fundamental change in the way environmental protections are made and enforced across Europe. Now operating globally, ClientEarth uses advocacy, litigation and research to address the greatest challenges of our time – including nature loss and climate change.
Transcript:
Pam Davis 0:00
James Thornton, founding CEO of Client Earth thank you for the longer version of this interview. I wonder if in summary, you can tell me what philanthropy has enabled Client Earth to accomplish and what has been the impact.
James Thornton 0:14
So, philanthropy has been 100% important, and allowing us to take law, first across Europe and then into Africa and Asia, to protect the environment to help stop the reliance on fossil fuels, protect forests, protect fisheries, and protect people's health from toxic chemicals and toxic air. None of this work across all of these continents and 60 countries would be possible without philanthropy.
Pam Davis 0:45
Excellent. And those philanthropists who have supported you, what have they been most complimentary about? What how do they describe the experience of of having made such an impact?
James Thornton 0:57
But what they often tell me is that of all of the giving that I do, yours is the most high leverage. And I look for leverage in my philanthropy and I get really high leverage here. And what I find it is that when people form a relationship with us, they stay which is very nice. It becomes a larger and larger family. I mean, people that were with us in the first year are still with us, and they don't get tired of it because they get more and more involved in they see more and more value.
Pam Davis 1:30
That's wonderful. James Thornton from Client. Earth, thank you so much for your time today. Thank you very much.
