Fiji Water billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick donate $750 million for climate change research: 'We need breakthrough innovations'
Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the billionaire couple who co-own The Wonderful Company— the largest producer of almonds and pistachios and whose brands include Fiji Water, have pledged to donate $750 million to the California Institute of Technology to aid climate change research.
Unilad reported that the donation is to support environmental sustainability research. A report by the New York Times said the couple's gift to Caltech is the second-largest gift given to a university.
It recognizes the mammoth task ahead to avert disasters and provides hope that there will be a way made to capture carbon and remove plastic from the ocean.
Stewart's statement, according to Business Insider read: "In order to comprehensively manage the climate crisis, we need breakthrough innovations, the kind that will only be possible through significant investment in university research."
"Science and bold creativity must unite to address the most pressing challenges facing energy, water, and sustainability. As a result of the pledge, Caltech plans to build a 75,000 square foot building called the Resnick Sustainability Research Center," he said.
He added, "This will serve as a hub for the research. It will also provide state-of-the-art undergraduate teaching laboratories."
According to the university's press release, the money will be used to support four research initiatives, solar power, climate science, water resources and Global Ecology and Biosphere Engineering.
"This research will no doubt change the world," noted Dr. M Sanjayan, chief executive officer of Conservation International, in the statement. "It may even save the world. It's that profound."
According to Forbes, a statement by Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum, read: "Sustainability is the challenge of our times. Stewart and Lynda Resnick’s generosity and vision will permit Caltech to tackle issues of water, energy, food, and waste in a world confronting rapid climate change."
"The Resnick Sustainability Institute will now be able to mount efforts at scale, letting researchers across campus follow their imaginations and translate fundamental discovery into technologies that dramatically advance solutions to society’s most pressing problems," Thomas added.
The couple have donated to Caltech before. Ten years ago, they contributed $20 million resulting in the establishment of the Resnick Sustainability Institute.
They followed it up by donating another $15 million in 2014 to create the Resnick Institute Innovation Fund, which provides fellowships and awards for students studying clean-energy and sustainability science.