What Laudes Foundation does

Laudes Foundation is a private Swiss philanthropic foundation established in 2020 and headquartered in Zug, with operational support from Philanthropy Support B.V. in Amsterdam. The foundation deploys grants, collaboration support, and impact measurement to accelerate systemic change in four industry verticals — Fashion, Built Environment, Food, and Finance & Capital Markets — with a stated mission to inspire industry transition toward a green, fair, and inclusive economy. It works through partnerships with NGOs, city governments, research institutions, industry coalitions, and central-bank adjacent bodies; cumulative partners number 623+ since inception, with 303 grants disbursed in 2023. Noteworthy co-funders and collaborators include Ford Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, Climate-KIC, C40 Cities, CNCA, ITUC, Green Finance Institute, World Resources Institute, Dalberg Advisors, and Canopy.

The organization does not sell products or commercial services; its core "products" are grant funding, beyond-grantmaking support (collaboration facilitation, learning, advocacy), and a proprietary four-tier rubrics measurement framework (Process, Early/Later Changes, 2025 Outcomes, 2030 Impact) published in annual reports. Revenue mechanics are typical of an endowed foundation: capital is drawn from an undisclosed endowment and deployed through grant cycles. Cross-cutting themes are gender equity, social inclusion, and just transition for workers and communities affected by industrial decarbonization.

Laudes is governed by a board chaired by Lawrence Brenninkmeyer with Leslie Johnston as CEO; program leadership includes Anne Bordier (Food, ex-WRI), Lee Risby (Effective Philanthropy), Clare Hierons (Finance and Capital Markets), and Cedric Pacheco (Senior Programme Manager, Finance). Outreach runs through a website, newsletter, research publications, an annual report, partner portal, and convening at forums such as London Climate Action Week. The foundation operates globally with no stated geographic restrictions, and reports operating status as active.

Name

Laudes Foundation

Legal name

Laudes Foundation

Website

https://laudesfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Laudes Foundation is a Swiss philanthropic foundation that funds and collaborates with partners across the Fashion, Built Environment, Food, and Finance & Capital Markets industries to drive a just transition to a green and inclusive economy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy and Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation
• Climate action grants
• Just transition funding
• Sustainable industry programs
• Impact measurement rubrics

Headquarters

HQ city

Zug

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant-making and Philanthropy: Laudes Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization that provides grants to partners working across Fashion, Built Environment, Food, and Finance & Capital Markets to accelerate just transitions that value people, nature and climate. The foundation also offers support beyond grantmaking, including collaboration facilitation, learning support, and impact measurement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Laudes Foundation is a private Swiss philanthropic foundation that deploys grants and non-financial support to partners across four industries — Fashion, Built Environment, Food, and Finance & Capital Markets — to accelerate just transitions toward green, fair, and inclusive economies. Beyond financial grants, the foundation offers collaboration facilitation, impact measurement frameworks (rubrics), and shared learning across its partner network. The foundation also runs a Cross-Industry programme and a Partner Portal to coordinate with grantees.

Product overview

Laudes Foundation is a philanthropic organization, not a software product company. It operates grant-making programmes across four industries: Fashion, Built Environment, Food, and Finance & Capital Markets. The foundation provides grants, fosters collaboration, offers support beyond grantmaking, measures impact, and facilitates learning with partners. It does not offer commercial software products or technology services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fashion Programme Grant-making and partner support programme focused on transforming the fashion industry's supply chains toward sustainability, including long-term partners such as Canopy and Fashion for Good.
• Built Environment Programme Grant-making programme supporting city-level and industry-wide efforts to reduce emissions in the built environment, including bio-based materials, urban redevelopment, and carbon benchmarking.
• Food Programme Grant-making programme supporting food providers and partners to reduce food loss and waste, shift diets toward lower-carbon options, and address worker impacts of food system transitions, including the Coolfood initiative.
• Finance and Capital Markets Programme Grant-making programme supporting investors, central banks, and financial institutions to align capital with just transition objectives, including frameworks for government-financier alignment on just transition investments.
• Cross-Industry Programme Cross-cutting programme addressing systemic themes that apply across the foundation's four focus industries, with particular emphasis on gender equity and social inclusion in industry transitions.
• Grants Database Public database providing transparency on grants awarded by Laudes Foundation across its four focus industries, supporting openness about philanthropic capital deployment.
• Measuring and Learning with Rubrics Impact measurement framework (Categories A–D: Process, Early and Later Changes, 2025 Outcomes, 2030 Impact) used across the foundation to evaluate change and impact in its focus industries.
• Beyond Grantmaking Support Non-financial support services offered to partner organisations alongside grant funding, including collaboration facilitation with other funders, capacity support, and learning opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 303 grants awarded in 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Dalberg AdvisorsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Laudes Foundation partnered with Dalberg Advisors to study the impacts of transitioning to a planetary health diet on workers in the food supply chain, examining opportunities for businesses, governments, investors, CSOs, and worker organisations.
• Climate HorizonsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Climate Horizons conducted a mapping project of 632 local just transition initiatives working to accelerate climate action at local levels.
• World Resources Institute (WRI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Laudes Foundation partners with World Resources Institute to catalyze change in the food industry through the Coolfood pledge. WRI leads a team of researchers, communication and engagement experts working with food providers to embed climate action approaches.
• Climate-KICcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate-KIC is a long-term partner that has helped equip Madrid's climate team with connections, skills and evidence base to accelerate the city's sustainability agenda. Climate-KIC supported Spain's largest publicly-led urban-redevelopment project that adopted bio-based materials.
• C40 CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC40 Cities has been supporting enterprising mayors globally on inclusive climate action. The partnership helped secure mayoral backing and cross-department links in cities like Madrid, partnering with climate units and forging links with urban-planning, employment and procurement teams.
• Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNCA collaboration enabled cities to set benchmarks for buildings lifecycle total greenhouse emissions. The alliance works with cities to exchange tools, ideas, and strategies for carbon reduction.
• CanopymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanopy is a long-term partner in the fashion programme, working to transform supply chains and protect forests.
• IDHmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDH (Initiative for Sustainable Trade) is a partner that works on sustainable supply chains and has helped strengthen and scale initiatives in the fashion programme through the Regenerative Production Landscape Collaboratives.
• GIZmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ (German Society for International Cooperation) is a development organization partner working on sustainable transitions.
• Fashion for GoodmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion for Good works with a set of 20+ industry partners including some of the world's largest brands and manufacturers to drive pre-competitive collaboration that has helped move innovations beyond pilot stage.
• Green Finance InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaudes Foundation works with the Green Finance Institute to create a new framework for aligning government and financier perspectives on just transition investments.
• Council on Economic Policies (CEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEP, founded by Alexander Barkawi, contributes to central bank climate work and has helped influence European Central Bank integration of climate considerations into asset purchasing decisions.
• International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITUC represents 200 million workers across 167 countries. The Just Transition Centre has been translating just transition concepts into practical government action and won the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award.
• Swaniti InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise that set up the Green Consortium in Jharkhand, India, reskilling over 8,000 at-risk coal workers into green jobs since 2023. The methodology is being replicated in other coal-producing Indian states.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ford Foundation: One of the largest U.S. foundations, with major programs on inequality, climate, and just transition. Co-funds Laudes' mapping of 632 local just transition initiatives, making it a directly comparable peer working on overlapping mission areas.
• IKEA Foundation: Funds climate action, renewable energy, and inclusive economies. Highly comparable philanthropic mandate and scale of grant-making to Laudes, particularly in industry-focused climate programs.
• ClimateWorks Foundation: Global philanthropic platform focused exclusively on climate change mitigation. Comparable in deploying catalytic philanthropic capital across multiple climate-related industries and convening multi-funder initiatives.
• Wallace Global Fund: U.S. foundation focused on climate, democracy, and corporate accountability. Co-funds Laudes' just-transition mapping initiative, indicating close programmatic alignment with Laudes' climate and inclusion work.
• Hewlett Foundation: U.S. foundation with significant climate and environment programs, including work on finance and capital markets. Comparable philanthropic scale and overlapping focus on climate-aligned finance and just transition themes.
• European Climate Foundation: Major European climate philanthropy focused on policy and systems change. Closely comparable mission, geography (European base like Laudes), and focus on driving industry and financial-system transitions.
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund: Foundation funding climate solutions and just transition globally, including finance-sector engagement. Comparable philanthropic model, scale, and explicit focus on aligning capital markets with climate goals.
• KR Foundation: Denmark-based foundation funding climate action, sustainable fashion, and food systems transformation. Highly comparable to Laudes in industry focus (textiles/fashion, food) and European philanthropic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Much larger philanthropic vehicle addressing climate, cities, and public health globally. Operates in adjacent areas (especially built environment and finance) but at significantly greater scale and with a broader thematic portfolio.

Others

• Climate-KIC: EU-backed climate innovation community and knowledge/innovation center. A long-term Laudes partner rather than direct grantmaking competitor, but a relevant peer in the climate-philanthropy ecosystem focused on built environment and cities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/laudesfoundation
• Xx.com/Laudes_Fdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/laudesfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Laudes Foundation