Fiji Water Billionaire Owners have made the second-largest donation ever to a US academic institution by gifting $750 million to Caltech for climate change research.

Co-owners of The Wonderful Company, Stewart and Lynda Resnick announced a $750 million pledge to the California Institute of Technology on Thursday to pave the way for environmental sustainability research. .

With the world’s climate woes rapidly increasing, the philanthropists hope their contribution will help tackle pressing issues related to energy, water, and food resources.

Stewart, who is also a senior member of the Caltech board of trustees, told Business Insider:  “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.

“This will serve as a hub for the research. It will also provide state-of-the-art undergraduate teaching laboratories.”

Caltech Institute

Caltech plans to build a 75,000 square foot building called the Resnick Sustainability Research Center that will further research initiatives in solar science, climate science, energy, biofuels, compostable plastics, water and environmental resources, as well as ecology and biosphere engineering.

Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaun in a statement to Forbes said: “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.”

This monetary pledge is now the third time the entrepreneurial couple has donated to the institution.

Caltech established the Resnick Sustainability Institute after receiving its first $20 million contribution from the Resnicks a decade ago.

Then, in 2014, the  institute received a further $15 million to set up the Resnick Institute Innovation Fund, which provides fellowships and awards for students studying clean-energy and sustainability science.

• Read: Leonardo DiCaprio backed alliance promises $5M in aid for Amazon wildfires

What do you think of the philanthropists’ efforts to help save the planet? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

About The Author