2025 Impact Report
About Us
To our clients, partners, and communities: 2025 demanded honesty about the moment we are in. Climate investment faced new pressure, funding streams were disrupted, and the language of sustainability became more contested. Yet the work continued—and in many places, it deepened. The organizations we serve became more strategic, more creative about financing, and more deliberate about building resilience from the ground up. We matched that energy with rigorous analysis, deep stakeholder engagement, and strategies designed to survive contact with institutional and political reality. We also held ourselves to the standards we ask of our clients, submitting our sixth B Corp recertification, maintaining our 1% for the Planet commitment, and investing hundreds of hours in volunteer and in-kind support. As we move into 2026, we carry momentum through our partnership with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the release of The End of Extraction. Both reflect a belief we have held since Council Fire’s founding: rigorous science, practical strategy, and honest storytelling turn complexity into action.
Our Trusted Supporters
2025 At a Glance
A year of stronger standards, durable strategies, and measurable outcomes for people and planet.
1% for the Planet hours
Volunteer and in-kind support.
Percent of revenue equivalent
Volunteer and pro-bono work.
Our Standard
Business can, and must, create lasting value for people, planet, and profit.
This Moment
Climate disruption is appearing in earnings reports and insurance withdrawals. Supply chains built for efficiency are fracturing under pressure, and institutions designed to manage risk are straining against conditions they were never built to handle.
In 2025, our clients leaned forward. From Chesapeake Bay communities to fisheries in Peru, they invested in durable strategies that combine science, stakeholder collaboration, practical financing, and honest storytelling. The regenerative economy is already being built—one durable strategy at a time.
B Corp: How We Do Business
2025 marks our sixth B Corp Certification since 2010. Our score increased to 113.8, with our strongest performance in Workers, Community, and Customers—the areas that most directly reflect our values in practice.
Our Impact
01 / Natural capital
Council Fire partnered with the Huron River Watershed Council to translate watershed health into economic terms that decision-makers can use. The valuation is building the evidence base for a dedicated long-term protection fund and aligning counties around the costs of inaction.
02 / Sustainable ports
Across the iMPAct Report series, Council Fire helped Maryland Port Administration turn complex environmental performance into clear narratives for communities, partners, and decision-makers—showing how operational innovation can create habitat and community value.
Chesapeake WILD grant secured to support the Friends of Hart-Miller Island and advance citizen-led habitat and community initiatives.
03 / Community resilience
With the Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Council Fire supported the AMRI process: bringing community voices, risk evidence, financing strategy, and implementation planning into one practical resilience framework.
Community-led priorities
Finance-ready implementation
Trust built through engagement
Our Company
Better processes
We improved the internal systems that help our multidisciplinary teams deliver rigorous work consistently.
Clearer collaboration
More transparent Affiliate roles strengthen accountability, coordination, and the experience of working together.
Stronger security
Improved company security protects employees, Affiliates, client information, and the trust at the center of every engagement.
Giving Back & Partnerships
In 2025, Council Fire contributed volunteer and in-kind support through 1% for the Planet and mission-aligned partners including B Lab, Masonville Cove, Assateague State Park, the National Aquarium, Asante Africa Foundation, BLMA, and SustainaFest.
B Local Mid-Atlantic
Council Fire continued its long-standing leadership in the regional B Corp community, with George serving as Chair as BLMA became a registered nonprofit and prepared for the next BLD gathering.
SustainaFest
Founded in 2012, SustainaFest uses film and narrative to move audiences from awareness to action. Highlights included a Chesapeake Bay Trust screening, a Climate First Bank panel, and $5,000 raised through the Vermont Climate Gravel Ride.
Looking Forward
What This Work Makes Possible
The strongest outcomes come from trusted partnerships, shared evidence, and a commitment to act.
