Fast Company Highlights SAFE Cities in Most Innovative Nonprofits List

SAFE Cities‘ work was highlighted as a prime example of nonprofit innovation in 2023, as Fast Company named Stand.earth to its 2023 list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

Stand received the No. 4 spot in the not-for-profit sector of Fast Company’s annual list highlighting organizations at the forefront of their respective industries, which the magazine describes as “paving the way for the innovations of tomorrow (and) setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world.”

Fast Company featured the work of Stand’s SAFE Cities campaign, which the magazine described as serving to “help cities kick their fossil fuel habits by working with local municipalities on climate policies that do everything from prohibiting new gas stations to limiting fossil fuel use in buildings.” Other nonprofits that made the top 10 list include Holdfast Collective, Workers United, Sesame Workshop and Save The Children.

“It’s a tribute to all the hard work people in the SAFE Cities movement are putting in to remove fossil fuels from their communities,” said SAFE Cities Campaign Director Logan McIntosh. “People from local municipalities in New York to British Columbia are pushing the boundaries of what local governments can do to protect the climate and our health. And with more cities jumping on board each month, we know we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible.”

SAFE (Stand Against Fossil Fuel Expansion) Cities is a movement of neighbors, local groups, and government leaders working to keep their communities SAFE from fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry’s harmful practices and reckless plans for expansion threaten the well-being of communities and people around the world.

“Stand.earth’s SAFE Cities movement … advocates for local regulation in support of policies to phase out fossil fuels and fast-track clean energy solutions,” Fast Company wrote. “That movement grew in 2022. By June, the number of SAFE Cities policies had risen 68% compared to the year prior, with nearly 67 million people living in a community that has passed at least one policy or commitment—from opposing new fossil fuel infrastructure to committing to an electric future.”

“The truth is, real change starts from the ground up,” said Senior SAFE Cities Campaigner Nathan Taft. “The SAFE Cities movement is proving that people all over North America are excited to take action to stop fossil fuel expansion and accelerate a just transition to clean energy in their own communities. If you want to protect the health of your community and the climate from fossil fuel pollution, join us.”

Stand was pleasantly surprised to learn in December that the organization was being considered for inclusion. Fast Company’s editors and writers seek out companies making the biggest strides around the globe, and Stand stood out among a crowded pool of nominees for its work in challenging corporations and governments to treat people and the environment with respect.

“We will continue to push the limits of what is possible in the coming years as if our lives depend upon it — because they do,” Stand Executive Director Todd Paglia said. “The world is on a precipice, and it will tilt one way or the other based on the innovative work of small and medium-sized nonprofits, frontline organizations and indigenous leaders. I have hope for our future because I have seen the impact that real innovation can have to change our world.”

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2023) is currently available online here, and will be on newsstands beginning March 14.

“This year’s list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day,” Fast Company Editor-in-Chief Brendan Vaughan said. “Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation.”

Read more:

• By The Numbers: Top 5 Historic Outcomes of Stand.earth’s Innovative Approach
• Three Hallmarks of Stand.earth’s Innovative Approach to Advocacy
• Stand.earth’s Innovative Approach to Organizational Culture and Workplace Values

Media contact:

Cari Barcas, Communications Director, cari.barcas@stand.earth