Global Compact International Yearbook 2015

Agenda
CSR in 2015
Leonardo DiCaprio:
“We need to chaNGE
our tHINKING and our
SENSE of urGENCY.”
Leonardo DiCaprio may be one of the world’s top movie stars, but he would rather be
defined and respected more for his work as a committed environmentalist. Over the years,
he has personally funded as well as helped to raise tens of millions of dollars for a variety of
green-related causes. He believes that his greatest legacy will be the progress he has helped
make toward safeguarding the planet against the ravages of global warming, pollution, and
species protection. Declares DiCaprio: “I’m equally as passionate about the environment as
I am as an artist. As a teenager, I was interested in becoming a biologist or working in the
environmental sciences.”
DiCaprio is the founder and director of the Leonardo DiCaprio
Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting ecological and
conservation-related projects. In April 2013, he hosted and
organized an auction at Christie’s in New York, where he was
able to raised nearly $ 40 million in donations from a variety of
celebrities that included Bradley Cooper, Mark Ruffalo, Tobey
Maguire, and Salma Hayek.
Says DiCaprio: “Despite the significant efforts of organizations
and individuals all over the world, our modern way of life has
caused unprecedented devastation to our oceans, our forests,
and our wildlife. Each of these natural systems is critical to
our way of life: They provide us with the food that we eat,
the air that we breathe, and the natural resources we need to
survive. The time to protect them is long overdue.”
His massive fame as an actor has allowed him to become
arguably the world’s leading celebrity spokesperson on environmental
issues. In addition to the important work done
by Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, and others, DiCaprio has
spearheaded celebrity eco-activism with mounting intensity.
Recently, DiCaprio closed a deal with Netflix – the global
internet streaming platform – to produce and distribute
a series of environmental movies. The deal comes as an
important follow-up to his Oscar-nominated wildlife documentary,
Virunga, which deals with the impending extinction
of mountain gorillas in Africa, and his previous cautionary
eco-documentary, The 11th Hour.
“Working on Virunga has sparked a shared vision about projects
that we want to develop and bring to viewers,” DiCaprio says.
“There’s never been a more critical time for our planet or more
of a need for gifted storytellers to help us all make sense of
the issues we face. I hope to give documentary filmmakers
doing urgent and important work the chance to have their
films seen immediately by audiences all around the world.”
DiCaprio will seek out leading experts in the fields of environmental
research as well as leading filmmakers to develop
cutting-edge documentaries that will have a major impact
on audiences around the world. With the increasing global
availability and popularity of Netflix, the production deal also
Global Compact International Yearbook 2015 15