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🍃The Sustainability Top 10: Do you need to adjust your sustainability plans given the shifting landscape for carbon offsets use and nature reporting?

🍃The Sustainability Top 10: Do you need to adjust your sustainability plans given the shifting landscape for carbon offsets use and nature reporting?

Julio Corredor
September 26, 2023

Welcome back 🖐,

This week in sustainability, we have evolving expectations for businesses use of carbon offsets, a newly-launched framework for reporting on nature risks (sibling of TCFD), a startup using a new ownership paradigm to support circularity, the carbon emissions of remote workers, Amazon’s program to cut emissions among sellers, not alone if you are succumbing to ESG reporting requirements, the launch of American Climate Corps, and more…

Here are The Green Tea's Top actionable, innovation, and hot sustainability stories this week! 👇

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Carbon Offsets Perspective

1. The expectations of how businesses should use carbon offsets are rapidly changing.

Norway’s $1.4 Trillion wealth fund is now telling portfolio companies (many public companies) not to count carbon credit towards interim climate goals. While some frameworks are telling companies to “first reduce their emissions in alignment with a 1.5°C-aligned reduction pathway and then using carbon credits", at least one company is going as far as just dropping carbon credits all together to instead invest that money on decarbonization. And EU Lawmakers are banning emissions offsetting-based green product claims.

The actions above could result in a reduction in the use of carbon offsets among businesses, which could be a positive in reducing greenwashing and increasing transparency. However, having seen on the ground and on satellite imagery the positive impact that voluntary carbon credit projects have in protecting nature (forests, wildlife, water) and supporting indigenous and low-income communities, we better find ways to continue to support high quality projects, especially now that the risks to businesses around nature loss and standards to encourage action (see below) are gaining attention and momentum, respectively.

2. (IR Magazine) The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has launched its final framework designed to address risks for businesses connected to the natural world read here. See the full TNFD recommendation here.

3. (GreenBiz) Amazon just launched a new program to cajole sellers into cutting their emissions. read here

4. (ESG Today) Only 1 in 4 companies very confident in meeting ESG reporting requirements according to survey read here. With a still-growing list of reporting requirements, tech platforms whether from startups or Big Tech might be the only way to get this done and not succumb under the red tape. I have shared with you before tech startups in this space, and this week, IBM announced that it is adding Scope 3 emissions analysis capabilities to its ESG data platform which should help with reporting. read here

5. (Reuters) When the CEO gets a 40% raise (must be 👆…), what do the workers deserve? That question is at the heart of the United Auto Workers union's strikes at assembly plants owned by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. read here

Circularity Vibes + Startup of the Week!

6. (GreenBiz) Narrow circularity: 55% of large companies have circularity commitments; however, these commitments are narrowly confined to recycling and waste management strategies and lacking on embracing the technologies and business models needed for a circular economy. read here

7. (GreenBiz) Changing the ownership paradigm and reducing resources needs: startup Tulu is working to upend the bias for ownership. It provides modular rental units for buildings, offering household items such as vacuum cleaners, home theater projectors and waffle makers. The company seeks to reshape consumption habits, particularly in cities where space and financial constraints make many purchases wasteful and unnecessary. read here

8. (Just Capital) A new study estimates that fully remote workers produce less than half the carbon footprint of those who work onsite. read here

9. (NYTimes) A Biden administration rule that allows employee retirement plans to consider ESG in investment decisions survived a legal challenge by 26 states. read here

10. (Time) President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program employ more than 20,000 young adults. read here. Do young-at-heart qualify 😂? But seriously, isn’t this a little ageist 😎? The irony…. Here is where to apply.

🍃The Sustainability Top 10: Do you need to adjust your sustainability plans given the shifting landscape for carbon offsets use and nature reporting?

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