April 22, 2021

The $1 million gift will enable the Carolina community to make sustainable, research-based projects a reality.

HanesBrands is celebrating Earth Day 2021 with a $1 million investment to establish the Champion Sustainability Fund at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The new fund will support innovative programs that integrate sustainability practices into the university’s research, education and service activities. The multi-faceted initiative is designed to encourage UNC-Chapel Hill community members to create sustainable solutions that benefit the wider community. By funding sustainable innovations and preparing tomorrow’s field leaders today, this partnership pushes both organizations closer to a shared goal: making research-based ideas and discoveries a reality to benefit the public good.

“As a leading global public research university, we know the importance of environmental stewardship and what’s at stake if we don’t act swiftly,” said UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz. “Our students, faculty and staff have long been committed to creating a more sustainable Carolina. The Champion Sustainability Fund will open new doors for our sustainability work and allow us to invest in projects and practices that benefit our community and our world.”

Champion Sustainability Fund

In the revolving fund model, Carolina community members are encouraged to submit project ideas focused on sustainability education and energy efficiency to the new Champion Sustainability Fund advisory group, comprised of sustainability leaders from HanesBrands and the university. Selected projects will receive seed funding to put plans into action.

Once a project is approved and implemented, the cost savings created through the project will be reinvested back into the Fund, allowing sustainability initiatives to continue moving forward. By reinvesting savings, the future funding levels will be built and this will allow the program to continue.

When operational, the revolving fund will support several new programs, including:

• The Champion Sustainability Research Accelerator, awarding $50,000 annually to university faculty whose research programs are poised to target improved sustainability and environmental outcomes; and,
• The Sustainable Carolina Opportunity Fund, providing seed funding for scalable opportunities to advance sustainability at the university.

Preparing the next generation

The university will also partner with HanesBrands on broader programming and educational opportunities, including equipping students to become future sustainability leaders.

A paid internship program will provide Carolina students hands-on experience working on HanesBrands’ comprehensive sustainability program, which is focused on aggressive goals to improve the lives of people, protect the planet and produce sustainable products.

“We are incredibly pleased that two North Carolina-based icons are coming together to drive ambitious sustainability initiatives to help improve the planet,” said Chris Fox, HanesBrands chief sustainability officer. “We are deeply committed to sustainability in all that we do and believe that our efforts can have a much broader impact through strategic partnerships. Having some of our brightest minds working with us through the Champion Sustainability Fund will allow us to make even greater strides forward in support of our 2030 goals.”

 Sustainable together

Through the Sustainable Carolina program, the university has broadened its sustainability focus to include education, research and engagement, while remaining committed to decreasing its environmental footprint. The Champion Sustainability Fund initiative is an important next step toward meeting the university’s future sustainability goals as outlined in the recently released Climate Action Plan.

“The generous gift and committed partnership from Champion will help us accelerate Sustainable Carolina,” said Michael Piehler, chief sustainability officer at UNC-Chapel Hill. “The initiative will help us pursue our long-term goals, while supporting the more immediate sustainability projects that can help us get there. Our university is fueling innovation around sustainability through novel research programs in solar energy, water and air quality, upcycling plastic waste and many other areas. This gift will greatly enhance our efforts to move research programs forward to real-world campus sustainability solutions.”

The gift from Champion counts toward the Campaign for Carolina, the university’s most ambitious fundraising campaign in history, launched in October 2017 with a goal to raise $4.25 billion by December 2022.