* NORTH CORP
Governor Tim Wa lz
130 State Capitol
75 Rev Dr. Martin Luth er King Jr. Bl vd.
Saint Paul , MN 55155
December 24, 20 19

Governor Wa lz,
I am writing to ex press my strong interest in bein g a member of yo ur Adviso ry CounciI on
Climate Change. The climate cri sis is one of the greatest chall enges Minneso ta fa ces, and I
co nsider it th e definin g iss ue of my lifetime.
[ was first introduced to climate change by my fri end and mentor, the legendary expl orer Will
Steger. As part of an Arctic ex pediti on led by Will in 2004, I saw firsthand the devastating
impac t of climate change on the Inui t co mmuniti es of Nunavut, th e north ernm ost territory in
Ca nada. That ex peri ence made a profo und impress ion on me, and continu es to in sp ire th e wo rk I
do toda y.
In 2013 , my co mpany, Askov Finlayso n, created our first North Hat , made to thi s da y in
Cloq uet, Minnesota. Si nce th en, and many hats later, the North has beco me a movement, and
we're committed to make it a movement fo r good. What started as a _impl e climate-foc used
givin g progra m, Keep Th e Nort h Co ld, has evo lved into a clim ate-positi ve bu sin ess model for
eve rythin g we do. Busin esses are large ly responsibl e fo r crea tin g th e iss ue of climate change,
and I beli eve busin ss leaders now have a mora l ob li gation to help so lve th e probl em.
I was raised to believe th at in busi ness, doing we ll and doin g good are not mutuall y exc lusive in fact, they go hand in hand . That' s an idea that 23 loca l co mpani es pioneered back in 1976 with
the creation of th e 5% Club. Minnesota is the birthp lace of co rporate soc ial res ponsibili ty, and
there's no better pl ace for businesses to step up and lead in thi s critical tim e th an right here in our
home state.
The sc ient ific co mmuni ty tell s us that th e nex t IO years are a crucia l window o f opportunity to
so lve th e clim ate cri sis, and I beli eve th em. I have committed to doin g eve ryth ing I ca n,
perso nall y and profess iona ll y. And it woul d be an honor to help support Minn esota's lea dership
in th e global effo rt thi s moment requires.
Tha nk yo u for yo ur co nsideration.

My ve ry best,
Eric Dayton
206 North First Stre et

I Minneapolis, MN 55401