Boston Globe: Tom Hopcroft launches trade group aimed at taking companies to ‘net zero'
A New Place to Talk About Going Net Zero
Excerpted from Bold Types column by Jon Chesto, published January 8, 2024
Tom Hopcroft spent nearly 15 years running the Mass Technology Leadership Council, a trade group for software and other tech firms. Now, Hopcroft is unveiling plans to run another trade group — but this one is new.
Hopcroft this week is announcing the launch of the Net Zero Institute, with the help of corporate sponsors such as PTC and Commvault. The group will serve as a convening force, primarily for small- to mid-sized companies and their sustainability officers, to share best practices about what companies do to achieve net-zero carbon emissions status. He will host virtual “boot camps,” akin to the training programs he offered at MassTLC. There will be networking opportunities, and eventually, maybe some governmental advocacy as well.
He has been working on this venture for much of the past year, and hopes to line up enough funding to support a half-million-dollar annual budget, allowing him to hire two or three employees and outside contractors. While it will largely be funded by corporate memberships, he expects to offer a free membership tier to individuals.
Hopcroft figures the time is right, with everyone from customers to investors to government regulators applying pressure on businesses to reduce their carbon footprints.
“We’re at this tipping point now, especially with younger people caring so much about this issue,” Hopcroft said. “As they become consumers and employees and investors, . . . it’s going to be less and less tenable to be running a business that’s burning all these fossil fuels.”