Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable
Tomorrow
Expects to Create Career Pathways to Green Jobs
for 25,000 Individuals
The Ares Charitable Foundation (“Ares Foundation”), a 501(c)(3)
qualifying organization sponsored by Ares Management Corporation
(“Ares”) (NYSE: ARES), announced today the launch of
Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow (“CREST”), a
five-year, $25 million grant-funded initiative that intends to
prepare and reskill individuals for climate-resilient jobs in the
U.S. and India. CREST is a partnership with Jobs for the Future
(“JFF”) and World Resources Institute (“WRI”).
CREST seeks to offer evidence-based solutions to climate change
challenges in the labor market through research, innovation and new
approaches that both developed and developing countries can
integrate into their economic strategies. In addition, CREST
intends to help disrupt the racial, gender and systemic inequities
that create occupational segregation in the green economy, enabling
a just transition to clean energy.
The initiative is expected to train and place at least 25,000
individuals in clean energy jobs, while further raising awareness
of climate-resilient careers among 100,000 individuals. CREST is
also expected to partner with micro, small and medium enterprises
(“MSMEs”) to ensure their businesses can withstand climated-related
shocks and drive global supply chain equity while reducing climate
impacts and mitigating worker displacement.
“The for-profit, nonprofit and public sectors increasingly
recommend and fund climate change mitigation strategies with little
attention paid to developing a skilled and diverse workforce to
fill these critical new roles,” said Michael Arougheti, Chair of
the Ares Foundation, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ares.
“Career preparation and reskilling is a funding priority for the
Ares Foundation, which positions us well to address the labor
market challenges the climate crisis poses. CREST will not only
help prepare people to successfully enter green careers, but will
also engage key stakeholders to aid in devising practical,
actionable solutions that make a just transition possible.”
“CREST weds the imperatives to provide job training and help
problem-solve the climate crisis. Philanthropy frequently funds
workforce readiness initiatives to meet labor market demands, but
has not deeply considered how that support can also help counter
climate change,” said Michelle Armstrong, Executive Director of the
Ares Foundation and Head of Philanthropy at Ares. “This signature
initiative allows the Ares Foundation to help develop scalable,
inclusive solutions to climate challenges and hopefully inspire
other funders to do the same.”
The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes $550
billion for roads, bridges and climate change mitigation
activities. However, labor experts and economists believe there is
not enough funding or proven solutions to train the workers needed
to fill the jobs the Act will create.
“CREST will help address this critical gap, support the workers
who have been hardest hit by pandemic job loss and help to ensure
an equitable recovery,” said Maria Flynn, JFF’s President and CEO.
“Most of the jobs that will be created through the infrastructure
investments will require skills and credentials that workers can
acquire in training programs tailored to regional strategies. If we
don’t invest in our nation’s workers, these new jobs will be out of
reach for millions of Americans, including people of color, women
of all races, and others facing barriers to employment.”
JFF is a national nonprofit that drives transformation of the
American workforce and education systems to achieve equitable
economic advancement for all. As part of CREST, JFF will examine
models that effectively upskill individuals for climate-resilient
jobs in the U.S. JFF will identify leading training providers,
organizations and best practices to design career pathways to those
opportunities. JFF will also conduct a five-region jobs
challenge—in collaboration with local intermediaries, educational
and training institutions, and civic leaders—to develop region-wide
climate and energy resilience agendas that drive economic and
workforce development. Each region will operationalize its agenda
through an implementation project that provides opportunities to
understand the efficacy and impact of programs and solutions. In
addition, the grant will connect regions to both entrepreneurs,
whose products support climate-resilient job entry, and digital
platforms that help workers strengthen their career navigation and
personal finance skills.
“Climate resilience is becoming key to India’s social and
economic health today,” said Dr. OP Agarwal, CEO, WRI India. “As
enterprises facing climate risk seek newer adaptation solutions,
this partnership will help foster green jobs by creating just and
equitable employment opportunities while enabling skilling and
capacity-building projects across India.”
WRI is a global nonprofit organization that works
collaboratively with government, business and civil society to
research, design and carry out practical solutions to improve
people’s lives and ensure nature can thrive. Through CREST, WRI
will help build the resilience of India’s MSMEs in two states to
future-proof their business models within a changing climate. WRI
will perform in-depth research to inform its capacity-building
efforts and design digital resources to strengthen MSME workers’
skills. Concurrently, WRI will set a new, sustainability action
agenda for equity in global supply chains by leading the first
major initiative to identify, amplify and communicate the systemic
challenges that small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) and their
workers face in meeting the mandates of multinational companies to
reduce climate impacts. This will help empower an anticipated
100,000 SME workers and owners across multiple geographies as
advocates for a just transition and help mitigate the risk of
worker displacement by supporting SMEs to meet their customers’
demands.
Both JFF and WRI also intend to engage Ares employees as CREST
volunteers. For example, JFF will invite Ares employees to mentor
participants in job preparation programs and advise the development
of digital platforms that support personal finance skills
development. WRI intends to engage Ares employees through its
peer-review knowledge product process and will invite team members
to participate in local site visits as well as the organization’s
Corporate Climate Group activities.
FSG, a global nonprofit social impact advisory firm, will serve
as the external learning and evaluation partner for CREST. Pagitsas
Advisors will serve as the strategic consultant on CREST-related
climate and social issues, impact metrics design and knowledge
products creation.
About the Ares Charitable Foundation
The Ares Charitable Foundation (“the Ares Foundation”) is a
501(c)(3) qualifying organization sponsored by Ares Management
Corporation ("Ares"), a leading global alternative investment
manager. Established in 2020, the Ares Foundation seeks to
accelerate equality of economic opportunity through grants to
nonprofit organizations whose programming provides Career
Preparation & Reskilling, encourages Entrepreneurship and
deepens individuals’ understanding of Personal Finance. The Ares
Foundation's vision – a world in which all people benefit from
equitable access to knowledge, resources and opportunities so that
they can achieve their full potential – reflects Ares’ core values
and staunch commitment to philanthropy.
About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global
alternative investment manager offering clients complementary
primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit,
private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We
seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create
value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By
collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate
consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market
cycles. As of December 31, 2021, Ares Management Corporation's
global platform had approximately 2,100 employees operating across
North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and
approximately $314 billion of assets under management, including
Ares Management’s acquisition of AMP Capital’s Infrastructure Debt
platform which closed February 10, 2022. For more information,
please visit www.aresmgmt.com.
About Jobs for the Future
Jobs for the Future (JFF) is a national nonprofit that drives
transformation of the American workforce and education systems to
achieve equitable economic advancement for all. www.jff.org.
About World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research
organization that spans more than 60 countries, with international
offices in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United
States, regional offices in Ethiopia (for Africa) and the
Netherlands (for Europe), and program offices in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Our more than
1,600 experts and staff turn big ideas into action at the nexus of
environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. More
information at www.wri.org or on Twitter @WorldResources.
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