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March 11, 2025
Investing in the Next Generation of Climate Innovators
As a global climate innovator, we don’t just consider the environmental side of sustainability. We have a much broader, more inclusive view of what sustainability really means. Sustainable communities provide opportunity for all. That’s why so much of our work is devoted to fostering access to resources and opportunity for people, both within our organization and in the community at large: Opportunity for All is a pillar of our 2030 Sustainability Commitments.
My role as global corporate citizenship leader is to broker and build relationships in our community. I help to connect us to change makers, thought leaders, organizations and spheres of influence in the communities where we live and work. To me, corporate citizenship really is about making sure that we, as a company, are an active, integrated and relevant citizen of our society.
Sustainable Futures, the strategy behind our relationship-building and corporate citizenship, is focused on the next generation of learners and leaders. By creating and promoting access to STEM-related education and sustainability career pathways, we are investing in their futures – and ours.
Investing in the future through meaningful partnerships
A big part of what we hope to do through corporate citizenship is reframe the way people think about STEM, sustainability and the careers connected to it. We need to help young people understand how relevant these fields are – and to be able to see themselves in them. As we look to bring future innovators along and into our industry, we've got to help them see what the future looks like.
That's why we focus on building meaningful partnerships that connect our resources and volunteers with young learners. We carefully consider these relationships, viewing them as extensions and enablers of our strategy. We ensure our partner organizations specialize in STEM education and support the communities we aim to reach. Additionally, we seek partners in areas where we have a significant number of employees, enabling our team members to engage and provide support.
One such relationship is with Digi-Bridge, a North Carolina-based organization that supports students in exploring and building interest and persistence in STEM/STEAM education, careers and digital tools in direct partnership with schools and community partners.
With a mission of sparking interest in STEAM learning, and ensuring students have access, opportunities and skills to succeed in a rapidly changing world, Digi-Bridge has reached over 20,000 students in grades K-8 since 2013. They focus on teacher training, ongoing access to resources and industry experts, and out-of-school programming via their signature STEAMLabs and STEAMKits.
We were pleased to host Alyssa Sharpe, CEO of Digi-Bridge on the Healthy Spaces podcast last summer.
As we look to bring future innovators along and into our industry, we've got to help them see what the future looks like.
Beginning with the end in mind
To make their work more meaningful and relevant, Digi-Bridge involves students from the very beginning. “We are a community-organizing organization, which means we start from the ground up,” says Digi-Bridge CEO Alyssa Sharpe. “We really make sure that we are talking to our students. We have focus groups. We ask, ‘What do you care about? What do you want to learn? How do you want to learn?’ Making sure that the student is present in our design and our delivery is absolutely essential to creating curriculum and learning experiences that are going to be highly impactful for students.”
Digi-Bridge has embraced digital skills as the pathway to success across all fields. “We all know technology is shaping our world faster than anything else,” continues Alyssa. “If you want to go into medicine, or you want to go into engineering, or even finance, you have to have technology skills.” As with all of their programming, students shape the content and delivery. “Artificial intelligence is right on the horizon,” cites Alyssa, “and school districts don’t really know what to do with it yet. So we're talking to our students about what excites them about AI.”
Teachers as innovators
The other key demographic that Digi-Bridge uplifts and involves throughout its work is classroom teachers. “We’re really fortunate that we get to work with amazing educators – and they're not hard to find. Most teachers are very innovative because they have to make a lot out of a little, whether that's supplies or curriculum. We like to find teachers that are really at the cutting edge of blending best practice teaching strategies with content that's more fresh, more innovative, more cutting edge. We build their capacity. We give them access to content that Digi-Bridge creates with industry professionals.”
Teachers are already invested in our future generations, Alyssa explains. “We're just providing the resources, tools, trainings, and professional development so that they can not only impact the kids in their classroom today, but the thousands of kids they will impact over their tenure as a teacher.”
Imagining the future of environmental stewardship
Young people care about climate issues, says Alyssa. They just need a bridge to help them see themselves as the leaders of today – and tomorrow - who can make a difference. “When we poll both our teachers and our students about what they want to teach and what they care about learning, climate innovation is one that always comes to the top of mind because they care about where we live and how we live. It’s a topic that's near and dear to a lot of people's hearts.”
Operating with sustainability at the forefront is about making investments in the future: The future of our organization, our society and our planet. The Trane Technologies Foundation is proud to have recently awarded Digi-Bridge a $290,000 grant to support and expand their STEAMLab and Robotics programs. Together, we can reach and inspire even more students and future climate innovators.
To learn more about how Trane Technologies is helping build the next generation of climate innovators, listen to the Sustainable Futures episode of the Healthy Spaces podcast.
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