Amplifying Global Climate Leadership Through Strategic Campaign Management
The Challenge
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) needed to execute a comprehensive six-month “Road to COP” tentpole campaign spanning multiple high-stakes global climate events—Climate Week NYC 2024, UN Biodiversity COP16, and UNFCCC COP29. With a “One EDF” approach requiring seamless coordination across Marketing, Communications, Development, Mission, and Regional teams, EDF faced the complexity of:
• Coordinating 82 events and speaking engagements across three major international forums
• Managing a 24-member delegation at COP29 with strategic messaging and brand consistency
• Delivering flagship events, including the MethaneSAT data release, reaching 125+ million people
• Integrating 14 specialized workstream teams (Analytics, Brand Writing, Carbon Pricing, Creative & Design, Donor Communications, Media, Social Media, and more)
• Navigating last-minute changes, compressed timelines between COP16 and COP29, and evolving executive schedules
• Ensuring cultural intelligence and stakeholder engagement across diverse international audiences
Strategic Approach
Fuzieh Jallow, now Founder & CEO of Terra40, served as the Road to COP tentpole campaign leader, providing comprehensive Strategic Event Communications & Brand Strategy through a campaign-based approach integrating multiple services:
Strategic Planning & Management: Developed and executed a comprehensive campaign plan aligned with EDF’s multilateral priorities across Climate Week NYC, COP16, and COP29, conducting weekly coordination meetings with the Global Engagement & Partnerships team and weekly meetings with Marketing, Communications, and Development staff.
Event Production & Campaign Management: Led event planning for major flagship events, including the MethaneSAT satellite data release, coordinating 82 total events with consistent messaging, branding, and objectives. Managed seamless coordination with volunteers, vendors, and creative teams while strategizing event logistics from Climate Week through COP29.
Message Development & Brand Stewardship: Drove strategy and liaised with Communication and Media Leads on crafting tailored, impactful messaging that showcased EDF’s thought leadership. Ensured all campaign elements adhered to EDF’s brand guidelines while maintaining consistency across all platforms and touchpoints.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Facilitated coordination across participating MarComm, Development, and Mission teams through structured weekly meetings, comprehensive project tracking tools, and a centralized Master Tracker system, ensuring alignment of communications leads with marketing resources.
Delegation Management: Oversaw strategic coordination for EDF’s 24-member COP29 delegation, including executive engagement scheduling, talking points coordination, and on-ground support, ensuring high-impact participation across the two-week conference.
Realized Impact
The six-month Road to COP campaign delivered exceptional visibility and stakeholder engagement across all three major global climate forums:
Media & Communications Achievement:
• 483 media hits related to COP29, including top-tier coverage in the Washington Post, CNN, The New York Times, and widely syndicated Reuters and Associated Press stories
• 9 of top 15 media hits featured Chinese media coverage of EDF President Fred Krupp, with one article syndicated 41 times and reaching 125+ million people
• Strategic messaging reached audiences across multiple countries, includingthe U.S., Italy, the UK, New Zealand, and China
Digital & Social Media Impact:
• 55 COP29 posts across platforms driving nearly 100,000 views with 5.5% average engagement rate (well above brand average)
• MethaneSAT LinkedIn post became account’s top-performing content, reaching over 3x the engagement of the satellite launch announcement
• 13 MethaneSAT social posts achieved record-breaking engagement for the account
• 50%+ open rate on MethaneSAT email blast to 4,600 subscribers—a record for the program
Event & Stakeholder Engagement:
• 40-50 attendees at MethaneSAT flagship event in venue designed for 20, creating standing-room-only atmosphere
• $10M Data-to-Action grant announcement to MethaneSAT and Carbon Mapper at flagship event
• 60% open rate on COP29 curtain raiser email to 1,424 managed donors and board members
• High-profile participation from U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Canadian Ambassador Catherine Stewart, and Bloomberg Philanthropies leadership
Campaign Infrastructure Success:
• Road to COP29 Slack Channel facilitated real-time coordination with 335-453 views per daily update video
• Daily Delegation Newsletter received positive feedback for clarity and timeliness in coordinating teams
• Master Tracker successfully coordinated executive engagements and event logistics
• 14 coordinated workstream teams delivered integrated campaign execution across analytics, creative, media, social, and communications
Strategic Positioning:
The campaign positioned MethaneSAT and EDF’s methane reduction work as the centerpiece of COP29 communications, with satellite data unveiling demonstrating complementary capabilities with Carbon Mapper. The comprehensive approach solidified EDF’s thought leadership on methane accountability while establishing a scalable framework for delivering high-impact activations aligned with organizational goals—setting the stage for sustained efforts leading to COP30 in Belém, Brazil.