As I write this, 20,000 leaders and concerned citizens from around the world are gathering in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26, the UN climate change conference. For 12 days their task is to accelerate a shared global climate agenda, and their work has never been more important. The scientific community has issued a Code Red for Humanity, and now it is up to our global leaders to speak up and act.

It was during COP21, the now historic event that gave rise to the Paris Climate Accord, that the idea for the Climate Collaborative was born. Our founders felt that there was an opportunity for the natural products industry to be part of the international community in tackling the climate crisis. They saw that the natural products sector (now a $180 billion industry) had the potential to be on the leading edge of driving business and consumer action. Their vision was to engage this industry in meaningful climate action through collaboration, education, and by making critical tools and resources freely available to all. Since that time, more than 700 companies have made commitments to reduce their climate impacts, and while our reach has expanded beyond the natural products industry, our commitment to identifying and activating pathways for our network of businesses to accelerate climate action has not waivered.

The work ahead is focused on deepening our efforts while also collectively engaging in critical policy efforts that ensure our work reaches the scale necessary to shift our current catastrophic climate trajectory. For those of you participating in our Call4ClimateNow campaign, you know that over the past weeks the U.S. Congress has been debating the most important climate legislation ever, which could put us on track to reduce emissions in half by 2030. This decision could be made any minute. And for many of us, it has been heartbreaking to watch the fossil fuel special interests of one senator wreak havoc on this absolutely critical legislation. The American people want action and the Climate Collaborative will continue to do our part to remove barriers to climate action to accelerate a powerful climate agenda.

The bottom line is that we all must up our climate game. We must fight harder for our leaders to lead. (If you haven’t already made a commitment to climate policy, you can do so here.) We must take more steps within our businesses and in our supply chains. No matter where we are in the process, we can all do more, and we must.

In this historic moment on the eve of the COP, we are reaching out to our network of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), those with fewer than five hundred employees, to ask YOU to consider joining the growing movement to commit to net zero emissions by 2050. You can find more information about how to do this below. While most of us can’t be in Glasgow, that doesn’t mean that we can’t take part in the efforts there. You will also find links below to a wide variety of sessions so that you can participate in the COP virtually.

At the Climate Collaborative, our job is to help you bring your commitments to climate to life. We are in active dialogue with our community over the next several months to understand your barriers to action and how we can help. I would love to hear your thoughts! Email me at [email protected] and let me know the challenges you are facing and how we might help.

With gratitude,

Courtney Pineau

Climate Collaborative Executive Director

We were so excited to see new and familiar faces at Expo East this past September. If you missed either of our sessions or just want to watch them again, we have good news! New Hope has made on-demand videos available! Just make sure you're registered in order to watch them. Global Warming: Moving from Overwhelmed to Action  Flight Climate Change by Reducing Food Waste: Strategies for Action

IN THE NEWS

More countries join global pledge to cut methane emissions

Dozens of nations, representing 30 percent of the world's emissions, have indicated support ahead of crucial climate talks

WWF Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard

WWF’s 2021 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard has found that palm oil buyers are still not demonstrating the kind of transformative action that is required to halt the destruction of the world’s most important forests and natural ecosystems. The Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard is a valuable tool for all companies using palm oil in their products to identify opportunities for improvement in their own policies, operations, and sustainability efforts. It enables benchmarking against peers and the ability to demonstrate progress over time.

UN declares access to a clean environment a human right

The U.N. Human Rights Council recognized access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right, formally adding its weight to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences.

California governor signs circular economy bills

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a legislative package of Circular Economy bills into law on October 5 that improve transparency, restore consumer confidence in the recycling system, and move the state away from disposable plastics.

George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communications release their "Politics & Global Warming Report"

The report found that public support for climate and clean energy policies has continued to increase. According to the report 60% of registered voters say global warming should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress, and 73% of respondents said corporations and industry should do more to address global warming. 

Oliver Wyman and the Climate Group release their report "Getting Real: A Blueprint for a Commercially Smart Climate Transition"

More than a fifth of the world’s largest corporations, with combined sales of nearly $14 trillion, are estimated to have committed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest. Many more still need to do so. The challenge for all these corporations is to make their intentions real: to turn commitments into sustainable plans and actions.

Seventh Generation: Hold the Line

Seventh Generation is asking individuals to sign on to tell President Biden to Stop Line 3 and keep fossil fuels in the ground. You can learn more about their campaign here. 

How Lotus Foods is creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive supply chain

Lotus Foods has begun working with Jubilee Justice, which supports Black farming communities in the U.S. Read about their work partnering with Jubilee Justice here!

Insights from Blue Apron on their food waste reduction journey

An estimated 35% of food in the United States goes unsold or uneaten, the vast majority of which becomes food waste at a significant environmental cost, while at the same time as many as 42 million people experience hunger. The potential environmental and social impacts of tackling food loss and waste are myriad, but for the business and sustainability leaders looking to take it on, the how-to isn’t always simple. Read here to see how Blue Apron got started!

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.

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.