Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative

The Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative is a cross-industry platform designed to mobilize the collective energy & motivation of businesses in the bi-national Great Lakes region to create measurable, long-term impact in reducing carbon emissions in the region while enhancing economic vitality.

Business-led, Cross-Industry, and Action-Oriented

The goal of the Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative is to develop multi-industry decarbonization projects in the bi-national Great Lakes region. The US Business Council for Sustainable Development and the bi-national Council of the Great Lakes Region, which are leading the effort, have 30 years of combined experience facilitating cross-industry sustainability initiatives, using a methodology that has proven successful in translating business goals into actionable projects. This industry collaborative is being modeled on the US BCSD’s successful Gulf Coast Carbon Collaborative - knowledge and project prototypes will be shared between the two groups as they move forward.

The empirical data from the Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative’s activities helps demonstrate the value, commitment and investment of companies in decarbonizing the bi-national Great Lakes region. On-the-ground project results can underpin policy initiatives, connect with research projects led by top academic institutions, and offer a market for new technologies. Working together, participating companies and organizations will be well positioned to accelerate the development of carbon reduction projects in the region.

About US BCSD

About CGLR

Designed for Action

The Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative is driven by business and focused on developing and implementing initiatives that reduce carbon emissions across the economy while minimizing business impacts.
Working groups meeting monthly include electrification, hydrogen, low-emission generation technology, carbon capture use and storage (CCUS), nature based solutions, and circular economy.
Better understanding of carbon reduction techniques helps participating company representatives engage internal decision-makers on potential solutions, leading to de-risked investments in appropriate decarbonization strategies.

Focus on the Great Lakes

Some reduction strategies may be unique to or higher priority in the region. The bi-national Great Lakes region’s industry mix, existing infrastructure, and unique attributes with respect to water and ecosystem services has already focused attention and identified some barriers and opportunities for action.
Regional focus also allows for outreach to small/medium enterprises - entities with high value and leverage, but without staff or resources to do it alone or participate in national groups.
This program is specifically tailored to businesses and organizations with operations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec - but may extend further outside of the region as appropriate.

Collaboration Framework

The structure of the Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative enables broad collaboration without losing business focus. The collaborative is engaged with a range of NGOs, business associations, academic and reseach institutions, and government entities.
The core focus is helping business and industry achieve decarbonization goals in the region. As projects are identified, we'll also look to engage a range of solution providers, including engineering and consulting firms directly involved in carbon reduction.

Built to Facilitate Cross-Sector Engagement

The bi-national Great Lakes region has a rich and vibrant mix of businesses from the automotive, chemical, refining, and steel sectors - many of which have aggressive carbon reduction goals already in place.
Our approach creates conversations across sectors, customers, and suppliers up and down the value stream. This engagement reveals unexplored common interests and opportunities, generates new ideas, new solutions, and brings new energy to develop strategies.

“If we can bring the collective power of this group and examples of the projects that come out of it to bear on developing good policies, they are much more likely to become reality. The result will be greater net benefits to our communities and our planet.”

— Chuck Barlow, Vice President, Sustainability and Environmental Policy at Entergy (a founding member of the Gulf Coast Carbon Collaborative)

Join the Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative

There is tremendous industrial activity in the bi-national Great Lakes Region supporting a strong economy, and companies are more motivated than ever to reduce carbon emissions. If your company is interested in learning different strategies, techniques and ways you can work together to drive greater carbon reduction, get in touch with our team using the form below to learn how to get engaged.

The Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative is a platform from the US Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Council of the Great Lakes Region. Membership in the Great Lakes Carbon Collaborative includes:

Facilitated Quarterly Group Meetings: Members and invited guests convene to report on working group progress and explore topics relevant to carbon reduction across all sectors.
Monthly Working Group Meetings: Member company representatives and invited guests pursue demonstration projects within selected strategy categories, for example CCS, electrification, nature-based solutions, low-emission technologies, etc.
Member Check-Ins: The program team meets one-on-one with members to track company expectations and gather feedback on working group objectives.
Exclusive Webcasts and Publications: Opportunities to explore various carbon reduction strategies and connect with enabling organizations.