About Change the Chamber

Change the Chamber is a nonpartisan coalition of young adults, 100+ student groups across the country, environmental justice and frontline community groups, and other allied organizations. Within our campaigns, we educate for science-based climate action within the Chambers of Congress, trade associations (e.g. the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), corporations, government agencies, and local communities. We pursue meaningful change towards an equitable, sustainable future, and empower others to do the same.

• As a part of a network of youth-led campaigns, we are pushing for our governments to implement climate education that prepares students for the climate crisis and empowers them to contribute to the solutions.

• We understand that increasing climate adaptation and community resilience is equally important as climate mitigation. We work with organizations to progress climate adaptation in cities in need.

• As youth, we take on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest dark money, pro-fossil fuel group in the United States. We hold the Chamber, its member corporations, and other influential companies accountable for obstructing climate policies.

• We research the U.S. Chamber, prominent corporations, the flow of dark money, and other important topics to educate people.

• We empower young adults to move beyond doom and gloom, and get empowered and engaged in solutions while building their skills to create positive changes in our broader society.

• We advocate for science-based climate policies through social media, and educating representatives and congressional offices.

• We work directly with large corporations to educate their executives on their power to influence the Chamber and implement steps to improve its climate action.

• We host and attend global events and campaigns to advocate for sustainable business practices, climate action, and climate education.

• Another key element of accountability is public exposure. We are coordinating with student groups and other organizations around the planet to get the word out, but we need as many people collaborating as possible.

• Social-media is more important than ever in connecting us to the wider world. We use our strong presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, instagram, Facebook, and more to further our message. So engage with us on social media.

• Over 110 million potential impressions distributed out on social media. Retweets from: climate scientists, Mark Ruffalo, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator Brian Schatz, Sierra Club, and Bill McKibben among others.

• Conversations and written communications with over sixty corporations. Meetings with governmental relations and sustainability professionals from Lowe’s, Pfizer, Best Buy, Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Honeywell to influence their climate actions and support for governmental policies and regulations.

• Created a coalition of 100+ climate organizations and student groups with the collective aim of driving federal and local science-based action on climate change.

• Wide spectrum of media coverage from Politico Morning Energy, ExxonKnews, Red Green and Blue, Yahoo News! and USA Today. Received media coverage of Change the Chamber’s overall efforts and research reports.

• Presented the campaign at multiple webinars that reached hundreds of politically and/or sustainability-minded people.

• Coordinate an international Youth for Climate Education coalition of multiple campaigns with SOS International, Fridays For Future, multiple African, Asian and North American efforts. Asking policymakers from multiple countries to sign onto a manifesto calling for climate education in all disciplines and levels of education around the world.

• Conducted a media campaign directed at key policymakers needed to support climate bills.

• Conducted media campaigns directed at customers, executives and employees at key corporations asking them to lobby for as well as publicly support climate bills and voter protection bills (e.g. John Lewis and For the People act).

• Sent multiple letters to over 60 corporate members of the U.S. Chamber, asking them to: (a) publicly state their differences with the U.S. Chamber about climate and voter policies and (b) lobby for climate and voter protections.

• Conducted meetings with staff from >60 US Senators and Representatives requesting their support for climate bills, as well as voter protections.

• Made hundreds of calls to policymakers in support of climate legislation.

• Created multiple Twitter Days of Action, calling out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its obstruction of climate policies and linking to our multiple research reports documenting the U.S. Chamber’s blocking of climate solutions through its litigation, advocacy and funding of candidates that vote against crucial climate solutions.

• Contacted local chambers to get their support.

• Submitted multiple comments to federal agencies to support climate solutions, including banking transparency and reporting on climate risks, methane regulation and more!

• Contributed to the Chamber’s radical shift in January 2021 to supporting a “market-based mechanism” to “accelerate emissions reductions across the US economy.”

• Reinvigorated the Chamber’s Climate Solutions Working Group, which is a group of corporate members that meet to change the Chamber’s stance on climate. When we launched our campaign in July 2020, the group had not met since March 2020. Since then:

  • The group started having regular meetings;

  • It adopted an official charter stating their two goals: 1) to get the Chamber to support the goals of the Paris Agreement, and 2) to get the Chamber to support a price on carbon;

  • And, thanks to our efforts, Disney, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Morgan Stanley have joined the group.

• Collected interest from Congressmembers about a Republican narrative for climate and good paying jobs, and built contacts for follow up after the next election.

• Worked with Lowe’s to design possible approaches to building deep decarbonization efforts, to become a trusted source for greenhouse gas reductions in residential and small commercial buildings.

• Published a “How to Be An Environmental Changemaker” toolkit for youth.

• Engaged other youth and provided them with resources to help them create a career in sustainability and social justice.

• As a member of Climate Action Campaign’s Solutions for Pollution Coalition, we are calling on the Biden administration to carry out its responsibilities under our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act, by advancing approximately 20 protections across federal agencies that could cut climate pollution in half by 2030.