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The founder of Rivian, an electric-vehicle startup backed by Amazon, has pledged to put 1% of the company's equity in a fund aimed at preserving nature.
Founded in 2009, Rivian currently offers two electric-vehicle models: a pickup truck and an SUV, which started shipping in September. When the company went public this week it was valued at over $100 billion—making it the biggest IPO in the U.S. since 2014. Following its IPO Wednesday, the company announced it will put 8.2 million shares into Forever.
Details around Rivian's conservation fund, simply called "Forever," are still fuzzy. But CEO RJ Scaringe made one thing clear: Rivian is investing 1% of its equity, not its profits. (That's a good thing, since Rivian has only shipped 156 vehicles so far, and almost all went to employees.)
The fund will "focus on high impact climate initiatives with an emphasis on preserving and restoring wildlands, waterways and oceans," the company's website reads.
"By putting 1% of Rivian’s equity into Forever, the natural world will become a stakeholder in our success," it continues. "As our company’s value grows by transitioning our customers to sustainable transportation solutions, so will the value of our impact and philanthropic giving, creating a virtuous cycle of impact."
Podcast: The Fetcher family's ranching and conservation legacy
The latest episode of CWP's The Landscape podcast features an interview with Colorado rancher and conservationist Jay Fetcher, recorded on location at the Fetcher Ranch near Steamboat Springs. Jay sits down with CWP's Aaron Weiss and Lauren Bogard to consider the past, present, and future of conservation easements, and how voluntary private conservation measures can fit into the "30x30" vision to protect America's land and waters. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or westernpriorities.org.
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Klamath has a history of racism that continues to be handed down from generation to generation... Our water crisis still exists today because of racism against the tribe, and racism against the tribe exists, in part, today because of our water crisis.”
