Deloitte and the University of Colorado Boulder on Tuesday launched a new Climate Innovation Collaboratory to translate cutting-edge climate research and data into meaningful climate solutions for federal, state and local government agencies and communities.
Researchers work on a project to create a blockchain and sensor platform in California for groundwater conservation. From left to right: Matthew Falcone, CU Boulder PhD student; Stephanie Tatge, The Freshwater Trust; Becky Rittenburg, The Freshwater Trust; and Nathan Wangusi, IBM Research
CU Boulder is a center of excellence in climate science and technology research. Deloitte assists government agencies in reducing the impact of climate change, as well as achieving their ambitious climate equity and resilience goals. The new collaboratory combines the power and experience from both organizations.
Deloitte’s initial $2 million commitment will accelerate the research and application of climate solutions being developed by CU Boulder and Deloitte climate professionals.
“This collaboration will expand government access to critical climate data and science, encourage the exchange of public information, and support the work being done at CU Boulder’s 12 research institutes and more than 75 research centers,” said Terri Fiez, vice chancellor for research and innovation at CU Boulder.
Find out about the findings from the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has released a 2022 reportClearly communicate the urgent need to take action on climate change. CU Boulder will continue to connect work from Climate Innovation Collaboratory with Deloitte to market applications and support agencies with collaborative proposals.
“We’re proud to team up with the University of Colorado Boulder to develop the tools and resources that government agencies need to accelerate their progress on climate solutions at this critical time,” said Deborah Sills, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, who serves as the global consulting leader for Deloitte’s government and public services (GPS) practice and a member of Deloitte’s U.S. Board. “Working together, we will help design and implement data-driven approaches to address the climate crisis; build a more equitable, sustainable society; and foster a more resilient environment for generations to come.”
The collaboration will begin with two research-technology development projects that address environmental challenges in the western United States. These include one project on wildfire risk assessment and another on drought mitigation.
“This is a critical moment to redefine the nation’s wildfire risk,” said Jennifer Balch, professor of geography and director of Earth Lab, an Earth data synthesis center housed at CU Boulder. “Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated, thousands of homes have been lost and over a hundred people lost their lives in blazes in just the past three years. An amazing wealth of data on fire and homes—from government data and satellite imagery—offers an opportunity to build resilience solutions to acute wildfire risk.”
“The current 20-year megadrought throughout the western United States is the worst in more than 1,200 years and is intensifying social and economic stressors,” said Evan Thomas, professor of environmental engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and director of the collaboratory. “We have an opportunity with technology and with collective community action to improve management and conservation of our surface and groundwater resources.”
The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering hosts the collaboratory. It will also focus on a wide variety of climate priorities, including building public-private ingenuity and entrepreneurship capacity as well as expanding the deployment and deployment of technologies.
“This innovative collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder will help government officials access, analyze and interpret the latest climate data and research to strengthen their program execution,” said Mike Canning, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte’s GPS leader. “We are committed to this alliance and to helping those on the front line better protect their communities, mitigate the climate crisis and make an impact that matters for generations to come.”
The University of Colorado Boulder is a leader in climate and energy research. We are proud to partner with UN Human Rights in co-hosting the conference. Right Here, Right Now Global Climate SummitIn fall 2022.
