Shortly after graduating high school, Kate Williams embarked on a 30-day hike in the mountains of Wyoming’s Wind River Range. The trip, already made difficult by the snowy spring, became even more challenging when Williams’ pastor broke his leg. During the ensuing crisis, the then 18-year-old Williams was challenged to lead the team’s evacuation—a moment that cemented his interest in all things leadership, organization and the desert. “I decided then and there that’s what I wanted to do with my life,” he told the Observer. Williams, now 59, has expressed those aspirations to 1% for the Planet, a Vermont-based network that encourages companies to donate at least 1 percent of their profits to environmental nonprofits around the world.
The last few years have not been odd years for climate action in the US Under the Trump administration, America has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, rolled back its EV goals and scaled back funding for environmental efforts. But even amid the tumultuous environment, 1% for the Planet continues to retain members and oversee growth in donations, according to Williams, who noted that the organization has secured $115 million in member donations by 2025—the largest annual total in its nearly 25-year history.
The origins of the organization date back to 2001, when Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Matthews, owner of fishing shop Blue Ribbon Flies, took a fishing trip to Montana’s Madison River. The longtime friends had already built their own separate businesses with a philanthropic slant focused on the environment. “But they realized, as they were fishing and looking at some land that was threatened with development, that this is not the work of one company: we have to build an organization,” said Williams.
Thus, 1% of the Planet was born. Over the past few decades, its membership has grown to include approximately 4,500 companies representing more than 100 countries and 65 industries, particularly professional services, health and beauty, and food and beverage. Notable members include Kendall Jenner’s tequila line 818, skincare company Youth to the People and
Williams joined 1% of the Planet in 2014 and became CEO the following year. But his first experience with the organization was actually from the perspective of a grant recipient. In addition to working on a Vermont yak farm, Williams previously served as executive director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, a long-distance canoe trail from the Adirondacks to Maine that was formerly part of the 1% of the Planet trail network.
For a time, it seemed as if the company’s commitment to the environment had stalled. Uncertainty about the state of environmental funding, combined with unexpected tax costs, has led to 2025 becoming “an interesting year, I would say, for disability and unemployment,” Williams said. Still, the network last year saw a strong rate of membership renewal, he added.
In recent times it has become even more difficult for non-profit organizations, many of which have lost government funding by 2025. “At the beginning of April last year, we talked to other non-profit organizations that were going out of business,” said Williams. “Government grants were seen as a reliable and stable source, so getting the ones that were just released quickly was a challenge.” For some nonprofits, financial struggles were compounded by the Trump administration’s criticism of the language’s separation, equity and inclusion (DEI) reference, adding more uncertainty and stress to an already taxed environment.
Such instability is not limited to the US Various features of the country, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, have also affected the members of the 1% of the Planet, noted Williams, who added that unexpected changes have long been part of the network. “There have been wars; elections in every country we operate in; different government regulations; increases or decreases in regulatory areas,” he said. “We have continued to grow and represent how businesses can make an annual commitment, even in the face of the volatility of the world in which we operate.”
This year, however, Williams has seen a pivot away from passivity and toward engagement. Members of 1% of the Planet, who are growing by bringing large accounts, are also starting to raise their voices about the importance of environmental advocacy and financing, said Williams, who announced that “translating courage into action” is the key message of his network for this year’s Earth Month. Coming off of last year’s record year for member giving, 1% for the Planet has now secured over $900 million in total member giving since its inception and is nearing its goal of surpassing the billion dollar mark.
In good time, the milestone may coincide with the 1% anniversary of the next 25 years of the Planet. “By doing the math, we should be pretty close,” Williams said. “When we get there, we’ll go in fast: how do we get to the next billion—and fast?”
