The climate crisis threatens the future of life on earth. To help solve it, an energy revolution is moving the world beyond fossil fuels. How, and how fast that revolution happens will determine the future of humanity…
Mission: Driven by the imperative of climate justice, The Sunrise Project’s mission is to scale social movements to drive the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy as fast as possible.
How We Work
Founded in Australia in 2012, The Sunrise Project is a global network of changemakers who believe in the power of social movements to change the world. We’re passionate about building networks who can drive the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy to reduce greenhouse pollution and create a healthy and prosperous future for everyone. The Sunrise Project is a network of changemakers who believe in the power of social movements to change the world. From ending slavery to civil rights to women’s suffrage: social movements have achieved impossible things to make the world a better place. Now, more than ever, we need to nurture and scale powerful movements to solve the climate crisis. Sitting at the intersection of social movements and philanthropy, we’ve developed a ‘directed network’ model that supports networks of people and organisations to work together to achieve large-scale change that wouldn’t have been possible by individual organisations acting alone.
We essentially do six things:
• Analysis to understand the political, social and economic systems driving the climate crisis;
• Strategy design for multi-partner efforts that create systemic change;
• Partner with philanthropy to resource these strategies;
• Fund a diversity of organisations and support them to work together for collective impact;
• Support organisations and movements to sharpen their strategies and build their capacity to achieve real world outcomes; and
• Drive strategic interventions that will hasten the transition beyond fossil fuels.
From experience, we understand that complex webs of power shape our society, and many factors usually need to come together to achieve large-scale change. Our strategies start with a focus on understanding who has the power to implement the changes we need, what motivates them, and how they can be influenced.“Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change.” Martin Luther King Jnr
What We Do
We take a system-wide view of the causes of, and solutions to, the climate crisis and are continually looking for opportunities to catalyse transformative change. At a top-level, our strategy involves building the capacity of social movements to shift the finance sector, change public narratives and shift the politics of climate change in order to strengthen laws and regulations, while at the same time driving immediate interventions in the real economy to hasten the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. Our current programs focus on transforming Australia from laggard to leader on climate action, and shifting global finance out of fossil fuels.
Charitable Purpose
The Sunrise Project Australia Limited is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission and operates a fund listed on the Register of Environmental Organisations. Its charitable purposes are to:
• Protect, preserve and enhance the natural environment;
• Protect the natural environment from pollution and over exploitation;
• Support and empower individuals, communities, governments and industry to make changes required to prevent dangerous climate change;
• Facilitate public education about, and promote the transition to, a clean energy economy; and
• Educate, empower and support communities to protect natural assets and promote the sustainable and equitable use of natural resources in their local areas.
• Receive and grant funds for the achievement of the above purposes.
Annual Reports
For more on our work, see The Sunrise Project’s Annual Reports.
Our Values
The Sunrise Project is built on a foundation of 5 values that guide what we do and how we work:
• Prioritise Relationships: We understand that the quality of our relationships determines the effectiveness of our actions. We actively nurture honest, healthy relationships of mutual respect in our team and with our movement and funding partners.
• C’mon It’s 2021: We relentlessly ask: “What is required to solve the climate crises?” We push ourselves to imagine and implement the scale of action required. We move quickly and are willing to risk failing (fast) in pursuit of large-scale systemic change.
• We Don’t Live Single Issue Lives: It is a long road to climate justice but we are committed to doing the work we can today so we are closer tomorrow. We challenge structural inequality and strive to bring justice in our programs, the movements we are part of, and our own organisation.
• It’s Not About Us: We’re here to play a part in scaling social movements that can change the world. We prioritise enabling others to do their best work rather than trying to do it ourselves. We understand how much can be achieved if you don’t need to take the credit for it and we generously celebrate the work of others.
• Dare To Lead: Powerful organisations and movements are leaderful. We support each other to have the courage to step up and lead, to take initiative and to solve problems when we see them.