Major Georgia-based climate philanthropy fund plans to sunset in 2030

John Lanier, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement that “much care and thought went into the family-led decision” to wind down its operations.

“After an in-depth and rewarding strategic planning process, united in love for each other and for this planet we call home, the trustees have decided that this is the way to make the biggest difference in the shortest amount of time,” said Lanier, the grandson of the foundation’s namesake, the late Ray C. Anderson.

The foundation said it plans to support “key projects” through 2030.

Anderson was the founder of Interface Inc., a major Atlanta-based manufacturer of commercial carpeting and flooring, who passed away in 2011 after a battle with cancer. A devoted environmentalist and proponent of corporate sustainability, Anderson bestowed $50 million of his estate to create the foundation.

Since 2012, it has awarded more than $36 million to support dozens of projects aligned with Anderson’s values. Those range from initiatives that aim to curb climate change to research on biomimicry, the practice of incorporating elements of the natural world into human-made products and systems.

One of its most notable projects is The Ray, an 18-mile stretch of I-85 near the Georgia-Alabama border that the foundation has supported as a “living laboratory” for renewable energy, biodiversity and traffic safety solutions research.

The foundation also backs Drawdown Georgia, a research outfit that measures greenhouse gas emissions across the state and investigates solutions for reducing them, and the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech, Anderson’s alma mater.

Lanier said the organization remains “committed to helping the sun ‘rise’” on new climate change and climate justice initiatives over the next five-plus years before it sunsets.

“The challenges we are working on are only growing more acute,” Lanier said.

A note of disclosure

This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at AJC.com/donate/climate.