At the Climate Collaborative, we've been celebrating the announcement of our new Executive Director, Courtney Pineau, this past week. Courtney joins the CC from Green America’s Center for Sustainable Solutions where she led their Climate and Agriculture Networks. She has worked extensively with businesses in the food and agriculture sector and stakeholders throughout the entire supply chain for more than fifteen years. Courtney’s experience creating collaborative networks will help take the CC to the next level providing support to businesses in our transition to a clean, green, and just economy.

Courntey will be stepping in to support two exciting specially funded initiatives along with our other programming that is free through the generosity of 80 companies, individuals, and foundations. Thank you to all our donors!

The next two years are critical if we are to have any hope of staying below the 1.5^o C increase in global temperature that scientists say we must in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The Collaborative is poised to assist your business and our industry to contribute to drawing down greenhouse gas emissions. However, if you haven’t donated, we need your support. Join our donors by contributing in whatever amount you can with our pledge form here!  

We're excited to profile our donors and officially introduce Courtney to the community at Expo East, where we'll have two 45 minute sessions on Friday, September 24th. We're still finalizing our programming, but hope to see many of you there!

Take care, 

Katherine

		Webinar Recording: Scaling Up Climate Action - Net Zero Commitments and What They Mean for Your Business In case you missed our session last week, you can view a recording of our webinar led by Greenbiz's Joel Makower that helped demystify the "net-zero" landscape with UNFI, Numi Tea, SME Climate Hub, and Ceres. Watch the recording here!
		Tracking Progress on Climate Commitments If you have made a commitment to climate action through the Collaborative, you should have received an email with a link to the online survey to report on your progress. Please complete it as soon as possible. It only takes a few minutes to complete and gives us a wealth of information on how we can help better promote your good work and serve you. If you didn't receive the email or need help, please contact us at [email protected].
		Recording: 2021 Moms Meet Virtual WOW Summit: Why Every Mom Should Be a Climate Champion Before Erin Callahan left the Collaborative, she interviewed Dr. Joellen Russell as part of the 2021 Moms Meet Virtual WOW Summit. Don't miss this fantastic conversation about why every mom should be a climate champion!

Net zero's big challenge for small business

As the world moves toward meeting the net-zero targets set by the Paris Agreement, the role of SMEs is gaining increasingly more attention. And because many of these firms are part of the supply chains — or customer base — of their much larger corporate brethren, there’s a role for bigger firms to help smaller ones reduce their individual and collective footprint.

Waste not? Some states are starting to send less food to landfills.

States have come up with a number of approaches to reduce food waste, especially the refuse bound for landfills. They include laws that require separation of food from other waste and incentives in the form of grants.

Driven to Waste: The Global Impact of Food Loss and Waste on Farms

A new report from WWF and Tesco reveals an estimated 2.5 billion tonnes of food goes uneaten around the world each year. This is the first quantification of total on-farm food loss since 2011. When combined with updated data on loss in supply chains and waste at retail and consumption, we have a clearer picture of the scale of food loss and waste from farm to fork demonstrating how important it is to halve food loss and waste through the whole supply chain, not just in retail and consumption.

Maine Passes Packaging EPR Bill

Maine became the nation’s first state to require producers of packaged goods (consumer brands) sold in the state to finance the maintenance and expansion of municipal recycling programs. Under the new law, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (ME DEP) will select and contract with a stewardship organization to operate a packaging stewardship program that will reimburse and assist municipalities in providing recycling services throughout the state.

Clean Fleets Make Dollars and Sense, So Why Doesn't UPSP Clean Up?

A new report makes a strong bottom-line case for fleet managers to adopt new clean transportation technologies that are mature, available, and appropriate. Policy makers will have the final say on clean fleets, but the study provides strong dollars-and-cents support for electrifying fleets, including the nationwide U.S. Postal Service fleet.

Introducing Target Forward: Our Plan to Co-Create An Equitable and Regenerative Future For All

Target recently announced their new sustainability strategy called Target Forward, their plan to “co-create an equitable and regenerative future for all”. As part of Target Forward they are committing to “design and elevate sustainable brands” which could benefit companies that are climate beneficial. They also recently made a commitment to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C, helping ensure that their emissions won’t contribute to atmospheric warming of more than 1.5 degrees.

Businesses Call on Congress to Amend Voting Rights Act to Honor the Late John Lewis this Session

More than 160 companies from across the country sign letter for Voting Rights Reform Ahead of the One Year Anniversary of Rep. John Lewis' Passing. A number of CC companies have signed on, including MOM's Organic Market, Clif Bar, Seventh Generation, and Dr. Bronner's. If you're interested, you can sign on here. 

Announcing the 2021 CEO Environmental Leadership Award Recipients

The CEO Environmental Leadership Award is established to support, inspire and recognize business leaders who help save the earth we share. We’ve always believed that strong leaders make stronger communities. Congratulations to Rebecca Hamilton & Emily Whyte-Schwerin, Co-CEO's of W.S. Badger & Company! Read more here!

Pavitramenthe Leads Covid Relief Efforts in Northern India

In Spring 2021, when Covid-19 was ravaging communities across India, Dr. Bronner's was called upon by Nihal Singh, the Managing Director of their local fair trade partner Pavitramenthe in Northern India, to help raise emergency funds for a Covid-19 prevention and medical relief campaign. With help from CC committed companies, Dr. Bronner's raised nearly $10,000 in Covid relief funds which Dr. Bronner’s then matched, to help Nihal and his team purchase and distribute medical supplies, PPE, ayurvedic medicines, and immune supplements that have saved lives and helped the community weather the most recent storm of Covid-19 infections. Learn more about their efforts here!

Organic Valley Launches Clean Energy Fund for its Farmers

New Cooperative fund offers nation’s most farmer-friendly renewable energy loan program. Read more here!

Got methane? BMW's dairy-assisted EV charging scheme (27:30)

Joseph Button, sustainability director at Straus Family Creamery, and Adam Langton, energy services manager at BMW, chat with Associate Editor Jesse Klein about their innovative partnership to generate credits through the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard program. Listen here! 

Share your good news with us! In this new section of our newsletter, we want to share out climate-related progress, announcements and good news from our community in action. Send us an email at [email protected] to contribute to next month's section.

SPOTLIGHT: Taking a Bite Out of Climate Change with Our Eat the Change Impact Grant

Although most of the CC’s funding comes from generous donations from companies, we have received a few grants that help support our programming to help companies improve their climate practices. Eat the Change Impact™ (ETC Impact) is one of these crucial funders.  Founded in 2020 by social entrepreneurs Seth Goldman and Julie Farkas, ETC Impact is a grant program dedicated to promoting and expanding access to climate-friendly foods. Read more here to find out how the ETC Impact grant funded much of the Climate Collaborative food waste programming over the past year!

Welcome to the newest companies making commitments, Eco Quality Solutions LLC, Bioenergy Devco, Graces Goodness Organics, Mud Lab, Applegate, Fare Elements, Quinn, and Earth Science Naturals! Click here for a complete list of the companies that have made commitments to date.

Partner Event: VERGE 21

October 25 - 28, 2021

The urgency of the climate crisis is accelerating — and so, too, is the opportunity to build a clean economy. We are proud to be Community Partners at VERGE 21: The climate tech event. Join more than 10,000 leaders online — from the private and public sectors, utilities, solution providers, investors and startups — advancing systemic solutions to address the climate crisis through five key markets: clean energy, sustainable mobility, carbon removal, regenerative food systems and resilient infrastructure. Register here today!

SHARE YOUR STORY

Have you had any climate impact successes you think we should know about? Send them our way and we’ll make sure that your lessons learned benefit the whole community. 

Send us any blog or social media posts your company publishes about your experience reducing your impact on the climate and we’ll spread the word!

Twitter: @climatecoll     Instagram: @theclimatecollaborative    Facebook: /climatecollab

If you haven't already made a commitment to Climate Action please visit the Climate Collaborative website and check out the nine areas in which your company can make a commitment to bold climate action.