Potential Energy Coalition

Background

The Potential Energy Coalition brings together leading marketing firms to increase public awareness of climate change. ¹ It was founded by marketing executive John Marshall and Harvard professor Daniel Schrag. ²

Marshall’s son took Schrag’s class and prompted his father to take action against it. This prompted Marshall to call fellow advertising and marketing executives about putting together a climate communication effort and recruiting companies to provide pro bono resources. ²

The group says that more than 200 industry allies in marketing and media companies have committed to “shifting the narrative” on climate change by joining the Potential Energy Coalition. The companies have signed on to a pledge that says, “Together We Agree: Global climate change is an urgent threat to humanity.” ⁶

The coalition’s key partners are Activista; Brandwatch; the Ad Council; 360i; FreeWheel, a Comcast company; R/GA; Missing Pieces; Dynata; Maslansky + Partners; Mother; Pereira O’Dell; MRM/McCann; WME; Work & Co.; and Advertising Week. ⁶

In March 2021, the Potential Energy Coalition joined Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters to launch a $10 million-plus ad campaign to pressure the Biden administration and Congress to spend trillions on climate change mitigation and weather-dependent energy. The campaign was dubbed “The Great American Build.” ⁷

Founders

John Marshall is the chairman of Potential Energy Coalition. He has been the chief strategy officer at the marketing consulting firm Lippincott. He has also been a professor of marketing at Dartmouth College. Marshall has done communications consulting work for Fortune 500 companies and was previously was a partner at the nonprofit consulting firm the Bridgespan Group, a partner at the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, and a vice president at the digital marketing agency Digitas. ¹

Daniel Schrag is a professor of geology and environmental science at Harvard. He has supported the abolition of coal and the total electrification of all vehicles. ⁸ Schrag directs Harvard’s Center for the Environment. ²

Arabella Ties

The Windward Fund, a 501(c)(3) established by Arabella Advisors, was previously the fiscal sponsor of the Potential Energy Coalition. ³

The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation donated $1.5 million to the Windward Fund “for the Potential Energy Coalition project.” ⁸ In 2021, the Hewlett Foundation contributed another $4 million to the Windward Fund earmarked for the Potential Energy Coalition. ³

The McKnight Foundation gave the Windward Fund $75,000 “to support the Potential Energy Coalition.” ⁸

The KR Foundation, a group that says it wants to get to “the root causes of climate change” and shut down “misinformation,” gave Windward Fund $822,456 earmarked for the “Potential Energy Coalition pilot phase.” ⁸

In October 2020, the group became its own nonprofit entity, and as of 2024 still operates as an independent group. ⁴

Focus Groups

The coalition has about 25 people that work with focus groups of people to refine a message. It also runs digital tests on Facebook and YouTube to test responses. ²

The Potential Energy Coalition data determined women are more persuadable than men on the environmental agenda and that Hispanics are more persuadable than non-Hispanics. ²

The team determined that using “climate crisis” is 26 percent less effective than using the less-charged “climate change” for moderate Americans. ² The organization claims a majority of conservatives are concerned about climate change but are turned off by the message, which they see as alarmist. ⁹

Science Moms

The coalition says its polling found “83% of our target segment of moms report high levels of concern” about climate change compared to 60% of the overall population. To more effectively reach these moms, it created Science Moms—a $10 million TV, newspaper, and online video campaign. The group says it collaborates with climate scientists who are also mothers, to educate mothers about climate change, because, the group says, “moms listen to moms.” ^{9 2}

Science Moms became most noted for YouTube ads warning parents their children are in danger if they do not support left-leaning climate policies. ⁸