Last week, an airport in coastal Iran recorded a heat index of 152 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly intolerable for human or animal life. They are not alone. Countries around the world are experiencing record-setting temperatures challenging the capacity of infrastructure and the limits of livable conditions. A crisis at this level of magnitude feels insurmountable, even to those of us that do this work every day, and yet we DO have the capacity to shift the direction of the crisis. So we take a collective deep breath, we fortify ourselves, and we keep going...

Several months ago, our team went through strategic planning with our Board, and there was deep alignment that one of the keys to unlocking climate action is through pre-competitive collaboration. In September, we will be unveiling the Climate Action Catalyzer, a new tool to help facilitate connections between companies. Then in October, we are launching a Community of Practice to support CPGs working on organic and regenerative transition.

In case you missed it, earlier this month, we sent out our sixth annual Tracking Progress Survey for companies that have made Climate Commitments through the Collaborative. Your completion of the survey provides accountability in our program, tracks your climate action, and assesses the climate progress of the grocery industry. New this year, companies that complete their Tracking Progress Survey are also eligible for UNFI's Climate Action Partnership. This provides you with more tools and visibility for your climate work. The deadline to submit your organization's update is August 18th. Please reach out if you have any questions about the Commitments your company has made.

Thank you for being an integral part of our vibrant community. We deeply appreciate your engagement in this work. 

In collaboration, 

Caitlin

There is a language to business. A lingo that most of us use. We can talk about our "value proposition" or our "ROI" and most of us have some sense of what someone means. Obviously, there are nuances in definitions from organization to organization, but these terms play a role in framing how we think and how we approach our work.

Abigail Prout, a leadership coach in my region, recently shared a social post asking, "What if ROI stood for ripples of impact?" This creative reframing of ROI made me think about how our business structures (vocabulary, frameworks, certifications, etc.) create boundaries to our thinking that we are often not even aware of. 

"Stakeholders" is another term we frequently use that informs how we think about who is invested in the outcomes of our business. We tend to think about our team, our board, our customers, but who else has a stake in the outcomes of our work? How about the communities surrounding our facilities, or the people impacted by our waste stream? Can we go so far as to think about nature being a stakeholder?

If we considered nature as a stakeholder, it would impact everything from our operations to our product design. At the Climate Collaborative, we see this start to come alive in our forest commitment. Keeping forests intact and thriving is a critical climate solution. Whether you source directly from the forest or utilize row crops, you need to be considering how the land and forests are being managed. Forests are a critical stakeholder and are integral to our planet's wellbeing. 

If you want to learn more about the why and how of a forest commitment, I encourage you to listen to the webinar we hosted earlier this month with Quantis and Tony's Chocolonely. It did a fantastic job framing a path for companies to take meaningful action on their forest commitment. 

Keep an eye out for an invitation to our Forest Summit at Expo East in September!

In collaboration, 

Courtney

April is a big month for companies in the natural products industry. There are no shortage of Earth Month activations for companies to engage staff, customers, or the wider community. I hope you'll consider one more SIMPLE yet powerful action to help close out Earth Month. You can ensure that the Farm Bill has strong climate provisions by signing your company on in support of the COVER Act—a bill that rewards farmers for growing cover crops and building soil health. Sign here to let Representative Casten, the COVER Act sponsor, know that your business supports the bill. Rep. Casten, and those working to incorporate the Act into the Farm Bill, will use this list to demonstrate to other lawmakers the support from the business community for the COVER Act. It takes one minute to sign! 

Last week, our Board of Directors gathered in Boulder for a three-day strategic planning retreat. It was the first time our new Board was together in person, and it was incredible to experience their depth of expertise, insights, collective vision for the future of the Climate Collaborative. We left our time together more energized than ever before about the work ahead and how we can deepen industry wide collaboration. To help close our retreat, we each wrote down an offering to the group. I'd like to leave you with one offering for our wider community of collaborators, partners, and supporters. 

May we continue to see the power and potential of transformation in ourselves, our industry, our economic system, our society and in each other.

In community,

Caitlin

In less than a month from now, the Climate Collaborative staff and our Board will be coming together to engage in strategic planning. So much has changed in the climate landscape since the Climate Collaborative was first founded in 2017 and we are energized to explore how we can be of the most service to this community now and in the years to come. We would love to hear your thoughts!

• Drop me a note and help us answer the question: How can the Climate Collaborative best support the climate action of this community into the future?

I also wanted to flag our upcoming course. Over the past year, we have heard from many of you that there is a need for beginner- to intermediate-level climate education to support your staff in deepening their understanding of the landscape of organizations in the climate space and company climate action. In May, we will be offering a two-half-day course in partnership with CU Leeds School of Business that will provide a deep dive into the essentials of climate action. The course is informed by Project Drawdown’s framework for climate action and does an awesome job of exploring everything from commitments, actions, reporting, and disclosure. It is fast-moving, engaging, and actionable.

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Climate Day and at Expo West. This community is thriving and doing incredible work. I was struck by the overarching theme of collaboration that came through in so many sessions and the bold steps companies are taking in their climate work. In closing, here is a wonderful quote from Leah Thomas that sums it up perfectly:

"If we can collectively, radically imagine new futures we have a better shot at protecting both our planet and our people at the same time".

In community,

Courtney

Expo West is next week, and we can't wait to see many of you at Climate Day. Check out the full program here and below. We have an incredible day of programming planned! Don't forget to join us for a hearty breakfast and hot beverages starting at 7:30 am. While you are getting ready for the day, our first session will be a coffee and climate fireside chat. From there, we have four morning sessions covering the Farm Bill, investing in climate, The Almond Project (a very innovative cross-brand collaboration), and eliminating deforestation in your supply chain.

The afternoon kicks off with a keynote from author Kim Stanley Robinson. If you are not familiar with his work, he is considered to be one of the top science fiction authors of our time. We are also thrilled to welcome Leah Thomas and Bill McKibben as keynote presenters. Our closing session includes Jason Buechel (CEO, Whole Foods), Jordan Rubin (CEO, Ancient Nutrition), Brian Rudolph (CEO, Banza), and Kristy Lewis (Founder & Chief Visionary Officer, QUINN). Each session is actionable, inspiring, and oriented towards bringing you the information you need to make strategic decisions to accelerate your climate action. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

• View the full Climate Day agenda on the Climate Collaborative website
• Go to the Natural Products Expo West website

All the best,
Courtney

Let’s talk about Climate Day at Expo West! It is right around the corner and there are some key themes and incredible speakers that I want to draw your attention to. This year’s event is focused on bringing our community’s attention to some of the most important areas to focus your work at this time. Here are few highlights:

#1 Taking your collaboration to the next level – Over and over companies try to go at their climate work alone. At Climate Day, we are going to show you examples of how companies are coming together to work through the barriers in their climate work, with awesome success.

#2 Moving beyond carbon tunnel vision – Yes! We need to reduce carbon emissions, AND we need to be keeping our eye on the much bigger picture of working in support of a thriving and just nature-positive future. We will show you how companies are bringing this to life.

#3 Leveraging your dollars and your voice for impact – Hear from Bill McKibben on how your company’s cash can play a critical role in fighting climate change. Trust me, this is going be an awesome and actionable session!

#4 Shifting your mind, to shift our collective future – Hear from speakers on how they are bringing new tools and frameworks to inform their climate work, including: circularity, regenerative design, and radical imagination.

There will be almost 50 speakers at Climate Day! Including:

We are still firming up all our speakers, but you can see the current agenda here. In addition to a jam-packed day of climate programming, we are hosting a Resource Fair and an evening reception following our final keynote!

I can’t wait to see you there!

All the best,
Courtney

Earlier this month, we published our 2022 Tracking Progress Report. Compiling the report provides us deep insights into how our community is progressing on their climate commitments. A few highlights:

• On average, 70% of responding companies reported that they are actively implementing climate commitments this year, an increase from 63% last year
• Almost 85% of responding companies said they are considering climate when they design new products
• 75% of responding companies said they are engaged in climate advocacy
• Almost half of responding companies have trained more than 80% of their staff on their climate commitments
• 76% of respondents reported that they are prioritizing emissions reductions over offsets

There continues to be a deep commitment to this work, even as companies navigate the challenges related to the pandemic, transportation related supply chain issues, labor shortages, and inflation. Read the full report to learn more.

It is our role at the Collaborative to create pathways that unlock where companies are getting stuck. To that end, in 2023, we will be leaning into launching several communities of practice, redesigning our Commitment Program, and creating more climate advocacy programs that make it possible for you to engage in climate policy efforts without dedicated staff working on policy. 

As we close out the year, I also want to celebrate all that we've accomplished as a community. It's been a busy year! Some of the highlights include: 

• Hosting ongoing programming and events, including a full day of programming at Climate Day with 600 attendees, 12 webinars reaching thousands of people, and programming at four other industry events
• Recruiting 77 companies to make net zero commitments via the SME Climate Hub and continue to amplify the importance of north star climate targets via toolkits, programming, and our webinars
• Creating a coalition of more than 35 business organizations with the goal of activating companies, largely SMEs, to sign on to a letter urging Congress to get climate legislation over the finish line. We had more than 1100 businesses signatories! Senator Stabenow referenced the letter in her testimony in support of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
• Developing and launching a new Tracking Progress Survey accessing climate action including how companies are integrating climate through their entire organization

We look forward to continuing to support the work of this incredible community in 2023!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holidays with your loved ones.

In collaboration,
Courtney

I hope that you were able to find time to celebrate with your loved ones last week, and that you have space over the next month to enjoy this festive time of the year. May we all find ways to regenerate ourselves, so that we have the heart and clarity of mind to do this critical work. As I took pause last week to reflect on all I am grateful for, I was struck by deep gratitude for this community of people and organizations that are working in support of the extraordinary place we call home. 

The incredible work of our community was top of mind because our team has been busy aggregating the data from our Annual Tracking Progress Survey, and there are a number of trends that we are excited about and grateful for. In the coming weeks we will be releasing our Annual Tracking Progress Report, but a few key trends have already emerged. Despite all the barriers companies have faced in the economy, within their supply chains, and due to pandemic related issues they are finding ways to persist in their climate action. We are also seeing more companies setting net zero targets and finding ways to integrate climate action into every aspect of their business. Your work in this area is on the leading edge—and we have so much more to do. The insights gleaned from the Tracking Progress Survey are helping us set our course for 2023 and this work is underway right now!

We would love your support with the work ahead. Today is Giving Tuesday, and we invite you to please consider becoming a sponsor of the Climate Collaborative. Sponsorship is a fantastic way to support our work AND to gain visibility as a climate leader. 

As you start thinking about 2023, please save the date for Climate Day (March 7th) at Expo West in Anaheim, California! This all-day event focuses on the most critical and timely topics to support your climate work, brings top speakers, and provides many opportunities to connect with your peers in this work.

Thanks again for your amazing work. Please keep an eye out for our upcoming Tracking Progress Report to learn more about how you and your peers are having an impact.

In collaboration,
Courtney

There seems to be a flourish of activity ahead as we close out 2022. I wanted to bring to your attention some upcoming events hosted both by the Climate Collaborative and our partner organizations.

First, I am looking forward to attending a webinar this week hosted by the Yale Center for Climate Communications focused on the Health Impacts of Wildfires. My family experienced firsthand some of the worst air conditions in the world a few weeks ago, and it has me thinking more deeply about how we support personal and organizational climate resilience and adaptation while also accelerating climate action.

All eyes will be on COP27 commencing in less than a week. As we watch COP27 from afar, I encourage all of our companies to examine the key themes for the event and consider how these reflect the work that must be done at the organizational-level. For instance, how do we ensure our climate actions take into account the people that are disproportionately impacted by climate change? Are we meeting the climate commitments that we have made, and are we on track to meet our emissions reductions targets? What steps are we taking to increase adaptation, both for our organizations and our communities? How can we leverage our collective power to ensure that the corporations that you likely supply to or that you purchase from are also taking meaningful and transparent climate action. Lastly, recognizing that voting is one of our most impactful tools for ensuring that our country continues to take climate action at scale, I encourage you to consider how you can ensure that your staff have the time and support to vote.

In the coming weeks we have some very strong programming to share with you. Please take a look at the four-part webinar series we are hosting with UNFI. You can access and share the recordings from the first two webinars. I have been impressed by how these sessions have gotten into some of the specific details and questions that often stall progress. We have upcoming sessions on tying biodiversity to your climate strategy and a session on packaging in partnership with OSC2. Our team will also be attending the training hosted by the CU Leeds School of Business, and we hope to see you there.

I hope you have a fun and spooky Halloween!

In collaboration,
Courtney