In partnership with United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), the Climate Collaborative is thrilled to share three case studies focused on the forest action efforts of Nature's Path, Traditional Medicinals, and Tony's Chocolonely. Traditional Medicinals® is a botanical wellness company known for its commitment to promoting sustainable practices and preserving forests and biodiversity. The ethos of Traditional Medicinals (TM) is summed up in the following statement: “We are not just in the business of tea. We are in the business of change—changing lives, changing communities, and changing the quality of herbal remedies.” Sustainable sourcing is at the heart of this ethos. By sourcing its ingredients responsibly, engaging in forest preservation efforts, and supporting local communities, TM established itself as a leader in promoting wild collection and biodiversity.

In partnership with United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), the Climate Collaborative is thrilled to share three case studies focused on the forest action efforts of Nature's Path, Traditional Medicinals, and Tony's Chocolonely. Tony’s Chocolonely was born when Teun van de Keuken realized that forced labor and illegal child
labor still existed in the cocoa industry. Passionate about social and environmental issues in the supply chain from the start, Tony’s made a conscious decision to focus on preventing deforestation on the farms where they source cocoa. “We’re using 5 sourcing principles (fully traceable beans, paying a higher price, working with strong farmers, long-term contracts and increasing productivity & quality) to make all chocolate 100% exploitation free. We want to inspire other companies to do the same, as this is the best way to solve problems in cocoa including deforestation.”

In partnership with United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), the Climate Collaborative is thrilled to share three case studies focused on the forest action efforts of Nature's Path, Traditional Medicinals, and Tony's Chocolonely. Nature’s Path Organic Foods is a leading triple-bottom-line organic food company recognized for its pioneering work in addressing climate change. The organization’s accomplishments include addressing climate change through the use of organic certification for all raw material ingredients, investments in farmers to promote and accelerate the adoption of regenerative organic agriculture, achieving zero waste, and the adoption of impactful water preservation measures. Ratana and Arran Stephens, Nature’s Path Organic Foods Co-Founders, outline the ethos of the company as follows, “at Nature’s Path Organic Foods, our purpose is to always leave the Earth better than we found it.” Nature’s Path Organic Foods Sustainable Purchasing Policy, against which all vendors are vetted, ensures that products and services purchased or contracted conform to this broader purpose.

You can download a version of this case study here.

The idea for Boulder Organic Foods started in 2006 when Kate Brown was searching for a refrigerated soup without preservatives, artificial ingredients, and emulsifiers. Two years later, Boulder Organic Foods was born and now produces a wide range of made-from-scratch organic and gluten-free soups. Passionate about sustainability from the start, Boulder Organic Foods is working to reduce its climate impact in line with climate science; given the role of packaging in their operational footprint, it’s a big focus for the company. For this case study, Boulder Organic Foods used a Life Cycle Assessment to measure their packaging emissions and create a packaging strategy that maintains food safety and quality while minimizing climate impacts.

You can download the case study here. 

Theo Chocolate is an enthusiastic and mission driven brand integrating sustainability into every aspect of their company. They are making life sweeter far beyond their chocolate by investing in the lives of their cocoa farmers in Peru and Eastern Congo. Theo Chocolate sets high standards for social and environmental responsibility— that is why all of their ingredients are third party verified. Theo Chocolate is fair trade certified, USDA Organic, STAR-K Kosher certified, and does not use GMOs in their products. Now they are pushing the bar even higher—Theo Chocolate is working towards bringing their products to market in 100% plant-based packaging.

You can download a version of this case study here.

Bhoomi’s cane water is a healthy functional beverage; its name means “Mother Earth” in Sanskrit. The cold-pressed sugarcane juice (cane water) is a Low Glycemic Certified beverage and Paleo friendly. Their mission is to revolutionize the relationship with sugarcane in Western culture by promoting its Ayurvedic health benefits, partnering with minority farmers, and working for radical positive environmental impact. Bhoomi has worked with their suppliers to ensure the bagasse (sugarcane fiber) produced from cane water production is composted. Bhoomi also sources their business cards, sample cups, and sell sheets from sugarcane fiber. Bhoomi is continuing their sugarcane revolution by switching packaging to utilize sugarcane-based bio HDPE instead of their current PET bottle to be a 100% plant based bottle beverage. 

The Climate Collaborative is a free community to join, with resources, and tools to help any company go deeper on climate. This is all made possible by the contributions of our donors, and their commitment to helping the whole industry move forward. As a thank you to them, we want to share some of the fantastic ways our sponsors are leading the way on responding to climate change--and bringing the industry along with them through their support and the examples they set.

You can download a version of this case study here.

The Power of Carbon Farming to Mitigate Climate Change

Agriculture accounts for 15% of global emissions, and carbon farming practices such as composting, cover cropping, and rotational grazing have significant potential to start reversing that number. Project Drawdown has shown that carbon farming or regenerative agriculture practices are the 11^th most powerful tool in humanity’s tool kit to mitigate global warming.

As of this writing, 151 companies have committed to implement these practices through the Climate Collaborative. Many of those companies are struggling with how to engage farmers in their supply chains to begin a shift toward adopting carbon building practices. This is, in part, because while the climate case is clear, the business case is still being developed.

Straus Family Creamery— a pioneer in carbon farming and many other sustainable practices— set out to change that. Straus has started to build an unprecedented financial case for carbon farming and ranchland management.

You can download a version of this case study here.

The Climate Potential of Food Waste Reduction

A third of all food produced globally goes to waste, accounting for 4.4 gigatonnes of GHG emissions. If food waste were its own country, it would rank third-highest in emissions of all the countries on Earth![1]

Food waste emissions are created through the process of growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, and refrigerating food, then transporting it again to its final resting place—the landfill—where it rots, creating more GHG emissions. Food waste also represents a tremendous waste of resources including water, cropland, fuel, fertilizer and human labor, making it not only terrible for the environment but also a significant financial loss for brands, retailers and consumers!

Situated between producers, distributors and consumers, retailers have a unique potential to impact emissions both upstream and down, by working with all of these parties to minimize food loss and waste. BriarPatch Food Co-op, a community-owned business in Grass Valley, California, has pioneered a successful effort to minimize waste at the source by working with local producers.

You can download a version of this case study here.

REBBL, an organic beverage company that creates plant-based elixirs, makes strides in reducing its environmental footprint by incorporating recycled plastic into its bottles. A core part of REBBLʼs mission is to create positive social and environmental impact by leveraging business as a tool for good. Through ethical, impact sourcing of ingredients, REBBL strives for dignified supply chains, promotes regenerative stewardship of the earth and its resources, and empowers communities around the world, thereby reducing the risk of human trafficking. REBBL also contributes 2.5% of net sales to the nonprofit Not for Sale, an organization that supports survivors of exploitation.