>>> This episode airs on 27 Jan 2025 <<<
Leslie Johnston, CEO of the Laudes Foundation, delivers an insightful exploration into the transformative work her organisation undertakes to combat climate change and foster a just transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy.
As the leader of a relatively young foundation founded in 2020, Leslie underscores the urgency of addressing the "polycrisis" of climate change, inequality, and economic upheaval. She delves into the foundation’s strategy of targeting industries with outsized impacts, such as fashion, the built environment, and food, to accelerate decarbonisation while prioritising equity and inclusion.
The concept of a just transition emerges as a recurring theme in Leslie’s commentary. She emphasises the importance of ensuring that communities and workers — particularly those who have contributed least to the climate crisis but are most vulnerable to its effects — are central to solutions. In practical terms, this involves advocating for worker rights, building resilience within supply chains, and fostering collaboration among businesses, governments, and civil society.
Leslie highlights examples like Bangladesh, where fashion industry workers face existential threats from rising sea levels, stressing the need for place-based strategies that empower individuals and provide pathways for economic opportunity.
Leslie also addresses the strikingly small percentage of global philanthropy — approximately 2% — that is allocated to climate philanthropy. She challenges the philanthropic sector to adopt a systemic lens, leveraging its resources to influence policy, catalyse private investment, and spur industry transformation.
By funding visionary nonprofits and creating platforms like the Fashion for Good and Built by Nature initiatives, the foundation has successfully convened stakeholders to tackle issues like carbon reduction in supply chains and promoting sustainable building practices.
Partnerships play a pivotal role in these efforts, as Leslie explains. She outlines the foundation's collaborative work with organisations such as the IKEA Foundation to establish Assemble, a donor collaborative focused on decarbonising the built environment, and its involvement in the Just Transition Donor Alliance. These initiatives aim to break down silos among funders, foster learning, and amplify collective impact.
Leslie also touches on the need for innovative financial mechanisms to mobilise the trillions required annually for global decarbonisation. She advocates for tailored financial products, public-private partnerships, and policy interventions to unlock investment at scale. Furthermore, she highlights the importance of sharing knowledge and best practices, pointing to initiatives like the Just Transition Finance Lab at the London School of Economics, which creates tools to guide investors and policymakers.
In her concluding remarks, Leslie encourages individuals to recognise their agency in driving change through conscious consumer choices and urges philanthropic leaders to integrate a climate lens into all aspects of their work. Solving the climate crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, with philanthropy playing a catalytic role in creating a sustainable and equitable future.
About Leslie Johnston
As its founding CEO, Leslie Johnston leads the development and execution of Laudes Foundation’s strategy to deliver on its mission to accelerate the transition to a green, fair and inclusive economy.
Leslie currently serves on the boards of Impact Europe (formerly the European Venture Philanthropy Association) as Chair, Fashion for Good BV, Built by Nature Stichting (as Vice Chair), Climate Resilience for All as well as University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose Advisory Board. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Philanthropy for Climate and Nature.
Leslie has over 25 years of management experience across business, entrepreneurship, development, and philanthropy. Previously, she headed C&A Foundation as its first Executive Director, repositioning it as a global catalyst to make fashion a force for good. She served as Executive Director of the Argidius Foundation, Deputy Director for TechnoServe in Africa and a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.
Leslie lives in Zug, Switzerland with her husband and two teenage sons.
Useful Links:
Economic System Map which Laudes created in 2020 with Nexial to understand the complexity of the global economic system we are working to influence
Race to Zero Built Environment System Map which was used for the COP26 Race to Zero Built Environment
Mapping and Trend Analysis on Just Transition Initiatives - Laudes Foundation for the report and video on the just transition mapping by Laudes, Wallace Global Fund and Ford Foundation
Home - Fashion for Good for an example of collaborative innovation (sparked by philanthropy) by brands and retailers in the fashion industry
Built by Nature for another example of collaboration across six different industries for a bio-based built environment
content.climateworks.org/funding-trends-2024 for the latest ClimateWorks report on the state of climate philanthropy