New name, renewed commitment

Miles Grant Director of Publications & Media Relations

After 35 years as Woods Hole Research Center, we have become the Woodwell Climate Research Center. This shift honors our visionary founder and provides a clear sense of the Center’s mission of advancing climate research and sciencebased solutions for the world’s environmental and economic challenges. Along with the new name, Woodwell Climate has unveiled a new logo mark and launched a new web platform.

The rebranding comes at a pivotal time both for the Center and for the world’s efforts to confront climate change. As fires have raged across the Amazon, American west, and Siberia; heat waves have gripped the Northern Hemisphere; and hurricane alley has seen a record surge of storms, Woodwell scientists have been leaders in interpreting the climate connections and helping guide policy prescriptions.

Our climate risk work with partners like McKinsey & Company and Wellington Management continues to deliver landmark science and actionable recommendations. During primary season, our scientists and policy specialists delivered briefings to several presidential campaigns. And our scientists continue to be key resources for journalists looking for climate analysis, with our experts featured on ABC News and in the Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and hundreds of other news sources.

“I could not be more proud of the work we’ve done and the impacts that we’ve had as Woods Hole Research Center,” said president and executive director Dr. Philip Duffy in his address at the launch of the new identity. “But the simple fact that carbon dioxide continues to accumulate in the atmosphere means we need to do more, and we can do more. To do that, we need a name which is unique and which conveys that we work on the most important challenge facing humanity.”

Honoring our history

The rebranding was the result of a deliberate, data-driven process that started nearly two years ago and involved hundreds of hours of work by members of Woodwell’s staff and board of directors. Working with Moth Design and 43,000 Feet, and in constant consultation with the full staff and board, the team conducted a thorough discovery process and recommended the name Woodwell Climate Research Center to more clearly communicate our focus on climate change, and to honor our founder, Dr. George Woodwell.

Dr. Woodwell founded the Center in 1985, envisioning an organization where top researchers would work to address the most important questions in environmental science, develop evidence-based solutions, and engage decision-makers across sectors of society. He has pioneered multiple areas of ecological research, and was one of the first to raise the alarm about climate change. His 1986 testimony before Congress outlined many impacts of climate change that were then hypothetical, but which have become realities. That testimony, and Dr. Woodwell’s career of connecting science and society, has inspired many of Woodwell Climate’s staff.

“It is truly astonishing to reread that testimony today - something I’ve done more than once,” said Dr. Duffy. “There is no one who better embodies our values, our mission, and our passion. As we position this institution for its next phase of impact and success, it is ‘fitting and proper’ that we should rename it in honor of our founder, George Woodwell.”

A new look

With the new name also comes a new visual identity. The Woodwell Climate logo is a curving edge that connotes both the Earth as seen from space, and the upslope of rising carbon emissions and global temperatures. The logo is complemented by a suite of redesigned newsletter, email, social media, and presentation templates. A new video and an updated website tell the story of our science—and scientists—in new and compelling ways.

“This striking mark conveys the global reach of our science and the urgency of the climate crisis,” said Chief Communications Officer Dr. Heather Goldstone. “This process has given us the tools we need to get our message across in the digital era.” Celebrating our renewed mission

On August 19th, the Woodwell Climate community celebrated the relaunch with an online event featuring an inspiring keynote by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Woodwell Climate Research Center is recommitting and refocusing—and re-turbo-charging, if I may say so—your commitment to the growing number of stakeholders who want to be a very active part of the solution to climate change,” said Figueres. “Thank you for decades of scientific research. Thank you for championing bold, audacious action in the past—but emphasized even more for the future. And thank you for stepping up now, at this most critical junction for humankind.”

The event was emceed by Board Chair Joseph J. Mueller and included remarks from Drs. Duffy and Woodwell, as well as messages of congratulations from friends of the Center, including Senator Ed Markey and Dr. André Guimarães, Executive Director of IPAM Amazônia.

“What we do now and in the next several years will determine our collective fate. We believe that this moment calls for an intentional re-commitment to the values and mission at our Center’s core,” said Mueller. “We are thrilled to announce that we will now be known as the Woodwell Climate Research Center, to honor Dr. George Woodwell’s long-standing vision for the Center, and to signify a promise and a call to action for that ethos to guide our work as we rise to meet the unprecedented challenges facing us at this critical period in our history.”

Visit us at WoodwellClimate.org.

Above, left: (l-r) Board of Directors Chair Joseph Mueller, Founder George Woodwell, and President and Executive Director Philip Duffy, cutting the ribbon on the Woodwell Climate Research Center frontsteps. Above, right: Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, giving the keynote during the virtual launch event on August 19, 2020.