Carbon Neutral Indiana is a 501c3 nonprofit, and our mission is to help our state become carbon neutral and a better place to live.
We’re pursuing this mission by:
Convening climate innovators
Learning how to engage Hoosiers and
Helping them become carbon neutral
Below are ten of our accomplishments in 2023. If you like what you see, and want to invest into making it grow, please consider contributing here. Your gift will be be matched up to $6,500.
Convening Indiana’s climate innovators in an ongoing learning network.
1. We hosted the largest event of it’s kind in Indiana history.
Carbon Neutral Indiana hosted The Hoosier Climate Party, which brought together over 150 people implementing climate solutions. We had the idea, assembled a 12 person event committee, and pulled off the event within three months.
A few days before the party, we downloaded the LinkedIn connections of half of the people who bought tickets. We did the same after. This enabled us to demonstrate that the party created 150+ new connections within our community.
2. We grew the largest climate solutions community in Indiana.
Through years of effort, we’ve grown the largest email list of climate concerned Hoosiers in the state. At the bottom of our emails we promote other environmental groups, and their events, so strengthen the broader community.
3. We matched climate mentees and mentors.
We matched 20 pairs – including Fortune 500 executives, elected officials, and more. These introductions could change the course of the young person’s career.
Learninghow to engage Hoosiers by experimenting with small pilot projects.
4. We hosted two virtual gatherings.
After The Hoosier Climate Party, we hosted two virtual gatherings to continue the momentum. Here’s a presentation about Carbon Neutral Indiana from the first gathering:
5. We engaged Hoosiers with our book.
Towards the end of 2022, we mailed thousands of copies of our book to leaders throughout the state. In 2023, we hosted book discussions, public conversations, and more.
We mailed our book to 500+ elected officials in Indiana. Our Senator Mike Braun was the only one to invite us to meet to discuss the book. Most don’t realize he co-founded the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the US Senate and authored the Growing Climate Solutions Act. We also met with State Senator Carey Hamilton and former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. Mayor Ballard created the City’s Office of Sustainability.
7. We launched new project with scouts.
Did you know there are 300 young people who become Eagle Scouts every year in central Indiana? And did you know that, to earn that rank, they must complete a 200 hour community service project? What if they implement climate projects, like putting solar on community buildings or reducing food waste at schools?
In 2023, we started a new project to engage these young people. Stay tuned for more.
8. We continued publishing climate solutions stories in the Purdue University student newspaper.
And helped the Indianapolis Zoo make some of their events carbon neutral.
“We wanted to ensure we were contributing to meaningful projects in North America and focused on biodiversity, and Carbon Neutral Indiana did a great job supporting us through this process.”
