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Live Life Every Day ® |
Live Life Every Day ® is an inspirational and eco-friendly clothing brand, made in the USA. Our mission is to inspire the world to never take life for granted and to take advantage of every opportunity that life throws at you. The Live Life Every Day ® motto is: “Do what you gotta do. Live Life Every Day.”
All Live Life Every Day ® products are produced using various eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, bamboo and recycled polyester. We use water-based inks to print our designs and use 100% recycled paper for our hangtags, letters and promotional materials. All products are shipped in eco-friendly packaging. Live Life Every Day ® is not only dedicated to helping our fellow man, but we are also dedicated to helping our environment and our world.
$1 from every Live Life Every Day ® t-shirt and hoodie that is sold, is donated to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We are proud to say your purchase has a purpose!
Our website is also home to The Live Life Blog which features various original inspirational poems providing yet another avenue for us to inspire!
Live Life Every Day ® is unlike any company or brand you have ever known. Our success is based on how many lives we change.
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Solar Us Shop |
Solar Us Shop is an online retailer of premier solar and wind applications for home and business use featuring products such as complete solar system kits, individual solar panels, solar outdoor string lights, solar fence cap posts, solar landscape lights, solar lanterns and flashlights, solar power inverters, wind generator kits, mounts and towers for solar panels and wind turbines, and batteries.
Solar Us Shop's main goal is to provide its customers with affordable renewable energy solutions and promote environmental sustainability. Solar Us prides itself on finding innovative products that can improve the lives of everyday citizens. Additionally, Solar Us maintains a solar power blog featuring topics on solar energy, wind energy, feature renewable energy, climate change, sustainability, electric vehicles, and more!
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Yaya Maria's, LLC |
Yaya Maria’s is a small, family-owned business. We proudly make the highest-quality liquid soap there is using 100% natural ingredients. We do this while respecting animals, the planet, and the well-being of our customers and partners.
Customers trust our products because, unlike other “natural” soap, Yaya Maria’s contains:
- Zero toxins.
- No greenwashing.
- Only good ingredients that anyone can understand.
Our soap is made with just 6 ingredients everyone understands:
- Distilled water
- Vegetable glycerin
- Coconut oil
- Potash
- Castor oil
- Lavender essential oil
That’s it – and it really works. That’s why healthy lifestyle consumers love Yaya Maria’s, and buy it again & again.
Quality certified:
- Top-rated by EWG for non-toxicity
- Certified cruelty-free with Leaping Bunny
- Certified vegan with PETA
- Green America certified
- Naturewatch Foundation endorsed
Feel free to send us any questions you might have. Looking forward to working with you,
Andy at Yaya Maria’s
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Build Back Greener For All |
……We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours….
Excerpt from Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb”
Green America congratulates President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on their historic inauguration. We thank President Biden for his calls for unity and the crucial, positive leadership he demonstrated within hours of assuming the presidency to get our nation on a better course for the sake of all people and the planet, and build back greener for all.
The President’s first actions respond to many of the urgent needs that have been building for years and that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, growing inequality, and the racism embedded in our society. The President’s priorities reflect a new federal commitment to key issues that Green America and our allies have been championing, especially on the climate emergency. The following steps are just a few of the initiatives that will help repair our nation:
Anti-Racism and Supporting Vulnerable Communities
- Launching a Governmental Racial Equity Review to ensure the equitable use of federal resources
- Urging Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
- Supporting economically vulnerable communities by extending moratoriums on foreclosures, evictions, and student loan payments
- Supporting economically vulnerable communities by extending moratoriums on foreclosures, evictions, and student loan payments
- Reversing the Muslim country travel ban
- Addressing immigration reform as a priority
Climate
- Rejoining the Paris Agreement on the climate crisis
- Cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and drilling leases in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge
- Strengthening standards on methane emissions that harm human and environmental health
- Requiring review of fuel economy and emissions standards which were significantly weakened under the previous administration
- Re-assessing the ability of retirement plans to adhere to investors’ values and provide socially and environmentally responsible investment options so investors can accelerate system change for the climate, anti-racism, the pandemic and other issues for people and the planet.
Pandemic
- Prioritizing the pandemic and empowering a White House coronavirus response coordinator for vaccine dissemination
- Strengthening health protections by rejoining the World Health Organization
The new administration’s actions reflect an integrated approach to solving for the intertwined crises our nation faces, including the need for racial and environmental justice, which must go hand-in-hand.
President Biden cannot address all the multiple crises that we face with Executive Orders alone. We call on Congress to work with the Biden Administration to quickly pass legislation to boldly address the challenges of COVID-19, income inequality, racial injustices, and the climate crisis.
And we each have a role to play, by providing ideas and responses to the White House and Congress; holding our leaders accountable while providing encouragement, persistence, and patience for addressing how difficult it is to address the deep crises facing us; finding ways to work together in our movements without fracturing; and healing the divides in our country and communities.
Here at Green America, we promise you we will continue to accelerate our economic action on climate and renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, responsible banking and investing, and labor justice, with a priority on combating systemic racism across all this work.
We celebrate the opportunity that new national leadership represents and look forward to advancing the hard work ahead. The recognition that we must Build Back Better than the so-called “normal” is an essential truth to embrace and guide our nation’s progress.
For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it
Excerpt from Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb”
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Fair Planet Advisors --- Investments & Comprehensive Financial Planning - For People and Planet |
Where do you want to go? We'll get there – together.
Our vision is to provide customized sustainable financial planning
for the good of all people, communities, and our Earth.
Our mission is to help people set and meet financial goals in alignment with their values.
We specialize in socially responsible, impact, and environmentally conscious investing.
Our priority is helping you take care of yourself and your family in ways that align with your values. We want to learn more about your values, identify your dreams and goals, and understand your risk tolerance in order to provide you with a customized, comprehensive financial plan. Relationships are the cornerstone of our success.
BFA™ The importance of Behavioral Financial Advice and understanding the Emotions of Investing is a key component of comprehensive financial planning. The brochure linked above addresses the process we use and why Dave became a Certified Behavioral Financial Advisor™.
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Kroger: Ditch the Climate Pollutants in Your Stores! |
Campaign Update: Falling Short on Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Campaign Update: Kroger said that it would address the issue in its latest Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Road Map which came out in January of 2023. Well, let’s just say the road doesn’t go very far. In fact, its own projections show HFC emissions going up before plateauing in 2025 onward. Not going down. Kroger must do better.
Kroger is a crucial time for Kroger to get the message! The company’s shareholders are meeting June 22 and HFC reduction needs to be part of the conversation. At last year’s meeting, 35 percent of Kroger’s shareholders voted to encourage the company to take action on refrigerants. Join Green America in showing Kroger that customers also want the grocery giant to act fast.
Kroger's Inadequate Action on HFCs
Kroger is the largest grocery chain in the US and is failing to take action on HFCs. HFCs account for a staggering 63% of Kroger’s direct climate emissions, but Kroger is only committing to install non-HFC refrigerants in 7 out of their 2,800 stores.
These HFCs have thousands of times the warming capacity of carbon dioxide, and supermarkets are leaking millions of tons of them every year.
Some major chains like Target, Aldi, and Whole Foods are taking steps to reduce HFCs and use refrigerants with ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) in their stores.
However Kroger still is not.
Take Action for Urgent Change
The climate crisis is here, and we need Kroger to take action to cut these dangerous emissions on a more aggressive timeline.
Kroger needs to hear from consumers. Whether you've taken action before or not, please take action now. Kroger needs to hear from us again.
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57NorthPlank |
Coming soon.
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Gardening for Beginners: Your 15-Minute $15 Garden |
Whether it is on a patio, windowsill, or balcony, the Climate Victory Gardening movement is putting down roots across the country that are not confined to the traditional backyard garden. Every day, we are inspired by the creative ways people are growing food and giving back to the planet. If you’re interested in joining the fun but daunted by limited cash or space, we have a few tips to jump start your regenerative journey with this Gardening for Beginners Guide.
It All Begins With A Seed
It is wise to research what crops thrive in your local climate before planting. Beginners might start with easy plants that do not need a lot of space like radishes, salad greens, and herbs. The Turtle Tree Biodynamic Seed Initiative {GBN} sells a variety of vegetable seeds. All Turtle Tree seeds are certified by the US Demeter Association, ensuring their chemical-free and mineral-rich properties. You can also often find organic seeds under $5 at a local food co-op or hardware store.
Choose Your Soil
Gardener’s Supply’s {GBN} Eco-co Coir Seed Starting Mix ($5.95) is made from renewable coconut husks that fluffs out to over two gallons, giving plenty of mix to work with. The company also sells Square Biodegradable Pots ($4.95) made from sustainable wood that roots can grow through when it is time to move to a bigger pot. You can also re-purpose small containers like yogurt cups and water bottles.
Seed starting mixes are great for seedlings, but once the plant matures, it will need added nutrients. See p. 24 to learn how to make your own compost.
Find Your Pot and Start Planting
Most likely, you already have something in your home, like old buckets and plastic trash bins, that can be used for the transplanting stage. This is when plant sprouts outgrow their smaller containers and you re-pot them into bigger ones.
“I have a couple of big, deep cake pans that I don’t bake in so I use them for planting,” says Turtle Tree
co-general manager, Lia Babitch. “To use the light efficiently from a window, you can even plant into a washed hanging shoe rack.”
Once you know what you’ll be planting in, the only things left to do is choose a spot with maximum light, start watering, and let the journey begin.
Gardening isn't reserved for the expert horticulturists or life-long green-thumbed. Even if you are a beginner, gardening is a great way to help the planet and spend time in nature, no matter how big or small your garden is. Join our Climate Victory Garden cohort and get dirty!
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Kroger: Ditch the Climate Pollutants in Your Stores! |
Campaign Update: Falling Short on Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Campaign Update: Kroger said that it would address the issue in its latest Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Road Map which came out in January of 2023. Well, let’s just say the road doesn’t go very far. In fact, its own projections show HFC emissions going up before plateauing in 2025 onward. Not going down. Kroger must do better.
Kroger is a crucial time for Kroger to get the message! The company’s shareholders are meeting June 22 and HFC reduction needs to be part of the conversation. At last year’s meeting, 35 percent of Kroger’s shareholders voted to encourage the company to take action on refrigerants. Join Green America in showing Kroger that customers also want the grocery giant to act fast.
Kroger's Inadequate Action on HFCs
Kroger is the largest grocery chain in the US and is failing to take action on HFCs. HFCs account for a staggering 63% of Kroger’s direct climate emissions, but Kroger is only committing to install non-HFC refrigerants in 7 out of their 2,800 stores.
These HFCs have thousands of times the warming capacity of carbon dioxide, and supermarkets are leaking millions of tons of them every year.
Some major chains like Target, Aldi, and Whole Foods are taking steps to reduce HFCs and use refrigerants with ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) in their stores.
However Kroger still is not.
Take Action for Urgent Change
The climate crisis is here, and we need Kroger to take action to cut these dangerous emissions on a more aggressive timeline.
Kroger needs to hear from consumers. Whether you've taken action before or not, please take action now. Kroger needs to hear from us again.
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Electronic Engineering Times |
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Program Director, Soil Carbon Initiative |
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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.
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Issue #119, Green American Magazine - Make a Difference From Where You Are (Winter 2020) |
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The Haney Company |
One of the philosophies our firm has adopted is the adage, "A rising tide lifts all ships." We incorporate that into our company culture and ethos to mean that it is our responsibility to make all reasonable efforts to not just adopt and demonstrate moral, ethical, and socially conscious business practices, but to become advocates and changes agents in our sphere of influence to see our neighborhoods, city, industry and society change and leave the earth better than we found it. Our most prominent and visible expression of that belief is in our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Since the founding of our firm we have been engaged on all four levels of advocacy to promote change: at the individual level with our clients through our business practices, at the agency level supporting other advisor and practices through education and workshops, industry level through our association memberships volunteering as leaders on every diversity committee and council we can support, at the societal level through national and international outreach and engagement. IF by our efforts we can get the tide to rise, then everyone's ship will sail!
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Solar Us Shop |
Solar Us Shop specializes in providing small-scale renewable energy applications at affordable prices for every day people.
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Opportunities to Improve Electronics Safety |
Climbing out of the potential well of starting a company-wide, individualized environmental/human health safety improvement project may seem daunting: doing the research to identify candidate projects, selecting and defining a target project, getting buy-in and support from other internal — and external — organizations, and obtaining funding from management and doing this all while juggling existing projects and responsibilities is indeed quite challenging.
One approach to reducing, if not entirely eliminating, the challenge is to join an external, industry-wide project. While this will still require obtaining some level of buy-in and support from other internal organizations, funding from management and taking on more responsibility, it may not be as steep a hill to climb and can enable you to leverage others’ work. So what opportunities exist for you to get involved in industry-wide actions, such as they are? Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN) and The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), as mentioned last month, offer the opportunity to work with peers to influence and drive safety improvements in the manufacturing process itself and products, respectively.
The Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN) is a multi-stakeholder innovation network, launched in 2016 by Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions to address complex workplace health and safety challenges in the electronics supply chain. The goal of CEPN is to “move toward zero exposure of workers to toxic chemicals in the electronics manufacturing process.” While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA in the USA and similar government agencies in countries around the world) sets the baseline requirements for these chemicals and their exposure to workers, CEPN sees its role as “raising visibility of these issues in the supply chain, focusing on safer substitutions and developing tools to build worker engagement and participation in their workplaces,” says Pamela Brody-Heine, CEPN’s Director. CEPN members have operations and supply chains that extend globally, beyond any individual country or region.
CEPN has developed a Process Chemicals Data Collection Tool available for free that you can use to gather information from suppliers about process chemicals. While effective use of this tool requires plenty of prep work, it benefits the industry by creating a common format for consistent collection of information across the supply chain. Including a solid explanation of why you are requesting the data will increase the likelihood of your being able to get useful information. Understanding what you are looking for and what actions can be taken based on the data received is also another consideration.
“Joining CEPN provides Network members a framework, credibility and public recognition for voluntarily improving worker chemical safety in the electronics supply chain” and “enables progress on a complex issue no individual leader can solve alone, proactively moving the electronics industry to a safer supply chain,” says Brody-Heine. While CEPN membership is by invitation from existing members, the group continues to grow adding multi-stakeholder innovators and leaders. CEPN is an important organization to be aware of.
iNEMI is apparently the electronics industry’s sole remaining independent research and development entity. The breadth of projects done by iNEMI over the decades cuts across a wide and exciting variety of technical challenges. One area they have focused on over the past few years is Sustainable Electronics.
While some projects in this space have these have been very helpful to the industry in general, they have primarily been point projects. But now a new, more broadly applicable project is in development that more generally addresses circularity. “Eco-Design Best Practices for a Circular Electronics Economy” is focused on understanding how thought leaders go about implementing eco-design — what are the drivers and where do ideas come from? How do they define the requirements? How are these decisions made?
These are great questions — and this presents an opportunity to get in on the ground floor, participate, share knowledge and learn. Circularizing product lifecycles is not an area I believe we should be competing on: the better the industry’s environmental footprint is, the better it is for all stakeholders — and there will still be plenty left to compete on. iNEMI is also a member-driven organization and to get the most out of it your company should be a member. Visit the link above and get in touch with Mark Schaffer at iNEMI to learn more.
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Refrigerant Reform are a Critical Climate Solution |
When we talk about our climate crisis we don’t often mention refrigeration, and yet climate scientists rank refrigerant reform near the top of their list of climate action priorities. Consequently, Americans are beginning to seek more information about the ongoing battle for safer refrigeration and cooling. As emissions increase, wildfires rage, storms grow in intensity, and our oceans, fresh water bodies and glaciers are all in trouble – we must demand faster action.
It’s critical that we act now, because refrigerants contribute to both climate change and ozone damage. They are greenhouse gases, assigned with a GWP or Global Warming Potential rating. For all these reasons Green America’s Cool It campaign focuses on quickly eliminating harmful refrigerants.
History of Global Action
Environmentalists and progressive refrigeration professionals have been trying to work on this problem since before the Montreal Protocol in 1989. As with so many of our environmental challenges, we have made positive progress in isolated cases, but the needed momentum is seriously lacking.
The Montreal Protocol was a response to the discovery of a breach in the earth’s atmospheric ozone layer (“the hole in the ozone above the Antarctic”) caused by hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) refrigerants. The treaty was signed by most of the nations on earth, 197 in all.
It resulted in some slow but positive action, and although new problems have emerged, it shows that countries can indeed come together on important climate accomplishments. The hole in the ozone layer has shrunk, but improvement stalled during 2019, which scientists think may have been caused by violations in China and fracking complications in the US.
While HFCs don't harm the ozone layer, they negatively affect the climate. For this reason the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol was created, and came into effect in January of 2019. It calls for 80% reduction in the use of HFCs by 2050. Sixty-five of the 197 global signatories to the original protocol have ratified the amendment. The US should pass detailed ratification legislation and provide leadership to benefit both its own clean energy industries and all countries suffering from severe and growing climate crisis impacts.
The most recent development is a bi-partisan agreement in the US Senate during September 2020 for new legislation to guide the country’s phase-down of HFCs. The phase-down will occur over a 15-year period from when the legislation is passed, but this is unlikely to happen before 2021.
What are the Solutions for Refrigerant Reform?
Ideally, HFCs will be replaced by natural refrigerants, and also unfortunately, with blended products. Blended products are costly half measures designed by profit-minded chemical companies who are lobbying governments to make rules that will help them sell more chemicals. Natural refrigerants are well proven, less expensive and a much better choice, however, their introduction has been delayed by these political efforts.
There are now numerous case examples of natural refrigerants doing the job in all the necessary realms: cooling for buildings, retail store refrigeration, deep freezing in food plants, refrigerated warehouses and transport vehicles.
Three natural refrigerants in particular can cover most of the refrigeration and air conditioning needs that affect Americans and our organizations. None of them are new and they have been used extensively in the past 100 years. Innovative modern equipment and processes have been evolving to help solve contemporary challenges, including flammability and high pressure, and bring the three natural products back to the forefront.
Natural Refrigerants are Available
The three main refrigerants are Ammonia, C02, and Propane, which have been designated as having Global Warming Potential (GWP) ratings of 0, 1 and 3 respectively. For context, most of the products in our systems today have been ascribed GWP numbers exceeding 3000, and most of the blended products fall roughly in the middle between these two extremes.
Large companies are proving that natural refrigerants can meet the scale of cooling demands. Pepsi and Coke have reportedly installed thousands of retail refrigeration cabinets that use natural R290 propane refrigerant. Target has deployed such cases in more than 1,000 of its 1,800 U.S. stores, while Whole Foods has them in 500+ stores, according to the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy. These alternatives have also been adopted by chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks.
The ALDI U.S. supermarket chain operates more than 320 stores using transcritical C02 refrigeration.[2] Whole Foods, Albertsons and Raley’s are also operating successful ammonia/C02 systems.
It may seem counter-intuitive that C02, widely known as a greenhouse gas that causes global warming (in excessive concentrations), is described as a sustainable, natural refrigerant. However, new C02-based heat pumps and other refrigeration and cooling equipment provide the greenest, safest, most economical solutions.[3] This is the nomenclature of the industry, and it is the same element, just much better managed and in far lower concentrations than the fossil-fuel driven C02 emissions wreaking havoc on our climate.
One of the key by-products of these systems is that they recapture heat from the refrigeration system and use it for space heating in the store. In many regions, including some cold places in Canada, the result is an abundance of heat available, and no other heating system is needed, so these modern systems also save energy and reduce space heat emissions.
Making the Economics Work
Just as economics play a negative role in the questionable motivation of chemical companies, they also can play a positive role in changing refrigeration. To defeat climate change, we must find ways to create good-paying jobs while building better buildings and installing less harmful technical systems.
Although both sides in the Senate seem to agree on refrigerant action, it’s unclear when new legislation will actually be passed. In the absence of national leadership, regional governments have implemented their own guidelines. This is a problematic outcome, because though similar, they are not identical, creating a regulation patchwork that can be difficult for design work by manufacturers, for training of installers, and for efficient equipment supply by distributors.
Within the US refrigeration industry, trade organizations and equipment makers (but not chemical companies) are eager for this long overdue regulation to be enacted, and to contribute to essential national and international standards. America is coming late to the effort, and technology manufacturers are concerned that they have already given up market share to European and Asian firms, as the disruption manifests in the refrigeration marketplace.
Energy is much more expensive in Europe and densities in both homes and businesses in Asia are very high. These two regions have been working with more efficient alternative equipment for decades, and have a head start on research and development, supply chains and regulatory frameworks.
I’m predicting that natural refrigerants will win the fight against blended chemical products in the end, but the current pace of progress is far too slow and we must demand faster action. Although natural refrigerants are in use by large brands mentioned in this article, and by many lesser known companies, obstacles have been created by vested interests every step of the way.
We need to celebrate and promote natural refrigerant success stories, and press our governments to move quickly on the needed regulatory framework, especially at the federal level.
In addition, Green America's Cool It campaign promotes some important short-term refrigerant management goals. These include better leak repair and proper end of life refrigerant and equipment disposal. We can improve the world together by pressing for faster, more positive change. Let’s all Cool it for Climate!
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About the Author: Bruce (BF) Nagy is a sustainable technologies columnist for the American Society of Engineers Plumbing Engineer magazine (Chicago), and writes also for the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI), and other technical and government journals. He is the Author of The Clean Energy Age (2018 Rowman & Littlefield, Washington DC) and more than 190 feature stories on climate solutions.
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Year End Dec 16 |
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The Rise of Incense |
As the pandemic approached its peak, so did sales of the aromatic material.
By Sydney Gore
Hyungi Park, a Los Angeles-based artist, began learning how to make incense six years ago. She admits that incense isn’t necessarily the most eco-friendly option, compared with candles or essential oils, but thinks that it’s “definitely more for the mood.” The different functions of incense and the history behind it makes it special to her, especially because it is tied to religious ceremonies. “Incense feels more intentional,” said Ms. Park.
Ms. Park, 25, now sells small batches of handmade incense products through her studio Baboshop. She has seen a 142 percent increase in sales from April through September of this year, based on the same time period last year. The studio’s third most popular item is a $45 incense making kit used for the online workshops that she has been leading on how to make your own.
Continue reading here.
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US EPA once again enforcing environmental regulations |
In March 2020, the US EPA issued a controversial memo stating that it would suspend enforcement actions for violations of environmental regulations when the agency assessed that the Caronavirus was to blame. Failure to enforce regulations provided polluters with permission to pollute at a time when air pollution was linked to increased risks for people contracting the Caronavirus.
Green America joined environmental, environmental justice, and health allies in protesting this memo, and our members sent over 10,000 messages to Congress, asking elected officials to intervene.
In June, the EPA announced that it would terminate the memo and re-start all enforcement actions by September 1, 2020.
This is an important victory for people and the planet. Thanks to everyone who took action to protest this egregious suspension of enforcement.
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Don’t Discount Our Future, Trader Joe’s |
Trader Joe's needs to answer for its poor labor and climate practices and lack of transparency. Join us in holding them accountable!
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"Don't Discount Our Future" Campaign Targets Trader Joe's Cocoa Sourcing and Climate-Damaging Refrigeration |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 10, 2020 – Trader Joe’s ranks poorly among U.S. grocery stores when it comes to both ethical chocolate (in terms of child labor and deforestation concerns) and super-pollutant hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used as refrigerants. A new push by Green America and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) tackles both issues in a bid to hold the popular food retailer accountable.
The new Don’t Discount Our Future, Trader Joe’s campaign urges the national grocery store chain to improve its sourcing for cocoa products and use of HFCs. The retailer received one of the worst scores on Green America’s Chocolate Retailer Scorecard, and the lowest score on the EIA’s Climate-Friendly Supermarket Scorecard on refrigerants.
Trader Joe’s shares little information about how it is addressing the risk of child labor and deforestation in the chocolate from which it profits. The campaign calls on Trader Joe’s to publicly disclose its chocolate supply chain; require all cocoa suppliers sourcing out of West Africa to use a child labor monitoring and remediation system; disclose how it is supporting efforts to pay cocoa farmers a living income; and commit to no deforestation by 2022 throughout its entire supply chain.
“There are over one million children in West Africa experiencing child labor in cocoa growing, and cocoa farmers make less than $1 per day,” said Charlotte Tate, Green America’s Labor Campaigns director. “In order to end child labor in cocoa, ALL companies, including grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, must demonstrate that they are taking action to address the injustices in cocoa supply chains.”
This announcement also builds on Green America’s Cool It campaign and EIA’s Climate-Friendly Supermarkets platform, which tackle the super-pollutant HFC greenhouse gases, used as refrigerants. HFCs have thousands of times the global warming potential of CO2.
“Trader Joe’s has made a fortune off its ‘wholesome’ branding but continues to fail to do its part on addressing the threats of climate destruction and labor abuse,” said Avipsa Mahapatra, EIA Climate Campaign lead. “Our climate is in crisis and Trader Joe’s not only has no sustainable cooling policy, but also refuses to engage with those of us who can help. Trader Joe’s must prioritize swift action to eliminate the use of HFCs in all new stores and establish company-wide programs to reduce their overall cooling footprint.”
The Green America/EIA campaign is calling on Trader Joe’s to phase out HFCs from all its locations by 2030 and to use only ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants in new builds and retrofits, as well as issue annual sustainability reports detailing progress, among other refrigerant management actions.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency entered into a 2016 settlement with Trader Joe’s over the company’s alleged Clean Air Act violations related to refrigerant leaks that impacted the climate and depleted the ozone layer, and there is no information from the company about making improvements on this issue.
“Companies must be held accountable for their emissions that are escalating the climate crisis, and improving refrigerant management is a crucial part of that process,” said Beth Porter, Green America’s Climate Campaigns director. “Trader Joe’s has a dismal record on leaking highly potent gases and neglects to follow the most basic practice of releasing an annual sustainability report – this doesn’t inspire confidence in the company’s progress behind the scenes.”
EIA’s scorecard shows other major supermarket chains, such as ALDI US and Target, have demonstrated progress on reducing climate impacts of refrigeration. In contrast, Trader Joe’s has not disclosed whether they have installed any HFC-free refrigerant systems, nor has it shown progress on reducing its historically high leak rate of refrigerant gases.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin for Green America, (703) 276-3255, or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com; and Lindsay Moran, for Environmental Investigation Agency, lmoran@eia-global.org.
ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses, investors, and consumers to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org
ABOUT EIA
Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an independent non-profit campaigning organization dedicated to identifying, investigating, and implementing solutions to protect endangered wildlife, forests, and the global climate. EIA Climate campaign is working to eliminate powerful greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency in the cooling sector, and expose related illicit trade to campaign for new policies, improved governance, and more effective enforcement. www.eia-global.org.
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Brady Quirk-Garvan |
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Paul Freundlich |
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Danielle Burns |
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Julie Lineberger |
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Board Member |
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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.
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CVG Sign Download |
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Write an Effective Letter to a Company |
Companies have a vested interest in your opinion on their products. At Green America, we refer to the act of purchasing from companies you share values with as “voting with your dollar.” This action is only one part of conscious consumerism—writing letters to companies to demand accountability is a crucial strategy in getting big corporations to do better for people and the planet.
To help you write the most effective letters to companies, here’s an example letter with notes and suggestions. Ask your friends and family if they’d like to sign onto your letter or write one themselves—there is power in our collective demands for corporate accountability.
Tips on Writing a Letter to a Corporation
Do Your Research
When writing your letter, do your research to address it as specifically as you can. Do you need to reach the CEO? Head of manufacturing? Use their name when possible.
Use Facts, Name the Problem
In the beginning, state the problem. Use facts to back up your statements. Here, we talk about the climate impact of the fast fashion industry. Other problems you can highlight for the specific company you are talking to may include: toxic chemicals, worker rights, pollution, and livable wages, to name a few.
Call for Action
Lastly, finish up with your call to action. What is it you want the company to do? Develop a measurable climate plan? Transition to compostable packaging? Respect workers’ right to freedom of association or prioritize sourcing from unionized suppliers? Speak to what is important to you.
Set a Deadline
Set up a time frame. This makes the goal measurable and acts as a tool to hold the company accountable.
Sample Letter Using Best Practices:
Dear President and CEO,
The fast fashion industry produces 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and consumes more energy than both the aviation and shipping industry combined. Additionally, the textile sector accounts for 20% of industrial pollution, and fashion retailers make clothing in excess and burn millions of unsold products, which contributes to emissions and poor air quality. As a longtime customer of your company, when I learned about these issues, I looked to see if your company had developed a plan to address its social and environmental impacts. I was disappointed to see you had not.
It is important, more now than ever, that your company takes responsibility to eliminate your carbon emissions by 2030—the timeline recommended by IPCC scientists to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change. As a major retailer of men and women’s clothing, your company has the potential to lead industry-wide changes in climate responsibility.
I am writing to ask your company to commit to climate goals. I want to see your company become carbon neutral by 2030 and transition to organic cotton because healthy soil is crucial to capturing carbon emissions. For polyester, I want to see you use reclaimed fishing nets since virgin polyester is made from petroleum, a fossil fuel responsible for the climate crisis. For all clothing, I want to see your company adopt a strong chemical management policy and eliminate the most toxic chemicals from your supply chain. Lastly, I want to see your company offer a take-back and recycling program for used clothes and repurpose them into new clothing items.
I would love to keep buying from you, but my continued support will depend on your taking action and reporting what you do to me and the public. As a leader in fashion sense and sales, your company should prioritize becoming a climate leader, too.
Thank you,
Your Name
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What COVID-19 Is Teaching Us About the Fight Against Climate Change |
When we envision a fully-fledged climate emergency, scenes of ferocious wildfires, flooded streets, and monstrous weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes commonly come to mind. Writer Mary Annaïse Heglar coined the term “climate vision” to describe this commonly-shared sense of impending doom, and in so many ways, the crises of COVID-19 and climate change are revealing to us the world that we don’t want to see. But through the insights of landmark research and the tenacity of everyday people on the frontlines, both crises are also showing us the world that we want. It is in that spirit of transformative power that we share four lessons to take from the COVID-19 pandemic that can make the climate movement even stronger.
Climate Change is A Public Health Issue
Like the COVID-19 pandemic, overcoming climate change requires both collective behavioral changes on the part of everyday people and bold government policy. One way to move people to action on both fronts is explaining how climate change not only damages the planet’s health, but ours too.
“When we think of policies for solving climate change, it is really important that we put human health at the center. As a society, we don’t talk much about the human toll associated with unmitigated climate change, but it’s projected to get worse if we don’t rise to the challenge,” says Dr. Vijay Limaye, epidemiologist and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) climate and health scientist.
A pioneering model by climate scientist Dr. Jonathan Patz shows how high temperatures, rising sea-levels, and weather extremes can stir the intensity for a variety of illnesses. For example, relentless heat can lead to increased rates of cardiorespiratory failure and unchecked sea-level rises and subsequent floods can provide havens for water-borne diseases like cholera to thrive. In addition, the strain that extreme weather events like wildfires and hurricanes can have on mental health can lead to increased risks of unhealthy coping mechanisms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
COVID-19 shows us our current opportunity not only to respond to current challenges but also to invest in preventative healthcare. For example, air pollution is linked to more than 7 million premature deaths worldwide annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Implementing aggressive policies that cut potent greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane) derived from fossil fuels can help stabilize the climate and save lives, especially amid COVID-19, when people with pre-existing conditions are more likely to have fatal outcomes from the virus.
The historic 1970 Clean Air Act is proof of the radical change possible. In the year 2020 alone, the act will prevent an estimated 230,000 premature deaths and since its passage, it has delivered roughly $2 trillion in benefits to the public, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“The Clean Air Act has been a monumental achievement for this country and it can serve as a blueprint for solving climate change,” says Dr. Limaye. “Just as we’re wearing masks and socially distancing, we need to take steps to reduce the underlying burdens of disease, and climate policy plays a huge role in that.”
If It’s Not Just, It’s Not Sustainable
Following the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the spring, cities like Atlanta, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C.—and others with high populations of people of color and deep financial disparities—emerged as hotspots. Native Americans, African Americans, and Latin Americans all have experienced higher rates compared to white Americans for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, some cities with lingering legacies of segregation like Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee, report the starkest contrasts of the pandemic’s harm across racial lines. In Milwaukee, for instance, African Americans represent only 27 percent of the population but 51 percent of COVID-19 cases and 57 percent of deaths, according to the Brookings Institute.
“Those disparities don’t just come out of nowhere, they’re the cumulative effect of numerous factors whether it is environmental exposures such as air pollution, reduced quality of care in a hospital, or reduced likelihood of receiving care,” says Limaye. “We’ve also seen high rates of people of color being turned away from facilities because their symptoms were discounted disproportionately.”
The data confirms what leaders in the environmental justice movement have said for decades. Like COVID-19, climate change is slamming communities that have already been marginalized by centuries of systemic oppression, highlighting the urgency for a truly intersectional climate movement.
“It is no accident that the environmental justice movement emerged out of the civil rights movement; it is the same pursuit of equal protection under the law. And it is no coincidence that COVID-19 hotspots are in the same redlined districts mapped out in the 20s and 30s,” says Dr. Robert Bullard, professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University.
In his seminal 1990 book, Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality, Bullard led a historic study that revealed that toxic sites like landfills, oil refineries, and chemical plants are largely located near communities of color and communities with lower incomes. Amid this year’s back-to-back news stories of Black men and women being recklessly killed by police and the global protests that followed, many environmental organizations join a chorus of voices that seeks true justice for Black and Brown lives. Bullard, who is also a co-chair of the National Black Environmental Justice Network, says that green groups need to go further by amplifying the call for resources to grassroots, POC-led organizations.
“We have to fight not just on the federal level, but at the local level, in the city councils, county commissions, the school boards, the state legislatures, and the governor’s office and do it 24/7. In order to do that, local groups need to be funded properly,” says Bullard. “White-led environmental groups should make every stride they can to diversify their boards, staff, and agendas, but they must also stand with smaller groups who are calling for green dollars to be diversified, so that resources flow to those on the frontlines.”
A Green Economy Is More Resilient Amid Crises
Green Plate Catering owner Kit Wood empties excess waste into composting bin at the factory location in Montgomery County, Maryland in October 2020. Photo by Jacqueline Malonson of jaxphotography.com
Amid COVID-19, occasions that would normally draw large crowds have become micro-celebrations and online gatherings. As our lives change, big corporations and small businesses alike have no choice but to keep up with the times. In April 2020, the US unemployment rate soared to a historic 14.7 percent and while those numbers have leveled off, many Americans are still trying to bounce back from job loss while struggling to pay for regular expenses.
Green businesses are being affected by the pandemic too, but many are proving that we do not have to choose between prosperity and sustainability or “growth vs. green.” In fact, eco-friendly and fair labor practices build inherent sustainability and resiliency into a business, and if more companies adopted them, we would see better outcomes for consumers, workers, and families.
Green Plate Catering{GBN} is one of many small businesses that has made a major pivot through the pandemic by switching to a delivery meal business. Owner Kit Wood says people are not catering events much anymore, but she is now able to serve those struggling with food insecurity and seniors by partnering with the Montgomery County Food Council, a community organization advocating for a local and sustainable food system in Montgomery County, Maryland.
“For food businesses, there are always weather disruptions that can make sourcing difficult, but since we work with local farmers and that have more sustainable practices than conglomerates, we can get what we need and mix up the menu when necessary,” says Wood.
Wood is continuing to cut waste by offering biodegradable bamboo packaging. These type of direct climate actions serve as examples to restaurants and big corporations who reach more people and can have an even greater impact.
From Lessons Learned to Taking Action
Research by cognitive scientists Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber shows that the way to move people to action isn’t through facts alone but emotion. We can create change from the bottom-up by realizing the power our words, stories, and actions have to inspire others. Take these actions for a stronger, more just, and healthy world.
Push Politicians Further
The people in Congress, the White House, and courts across the country are meant to represent the people who elect them. Tell the public officials who represent you at the local level and in Congress to become champions for strong environmental health and environmental justice legislation including the Environmental Justice for All Act, Health Equity and Accountability Act, and BREATHE Act today. At usa.gov/elected-officials, you can find (and save) your Representative’s contact information.
Get Involved in Local Organizations
When we understand the scale of an issue, it’s only natural to become overwhelmed. But we can overcome those feelings by dealing with what’s in front of us. Plug into a grassroots organization near you that is addressing the issues you care about most. Facebook and Google are great places to start your search.
Be an Ambassador for Small and Green Businesses
Brand ambassadorships are a necessity for internet-savvy companies, but you don’t need a large following to be influential. Supporting neighborhood stores with purchases, online shout-outs, and spreading the word to family and friends can go a long way in helping businesses sustain through COVID-19 and beyond. Visit GreenPages.org to find certified green businesses who offer a wide selection of products.
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Local Groups Take Bold Climate Actions |
Above: Robin Rue Simmons at a press conference about equity in education in Evanston, Illinois. Photo by Heidi Randhava.
Over the past four years, the Trump administration has unraveled decades of progress in environmental protection: pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, weakening regulations on air pollution, and implementing rollbacks which favor fossil fuels and disproportionately harm communities of color.
In response, Green Americans across the country are taking up environmental and social justice policies as a local matter—pursuing reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans, working to pass local Green New Deals, and furthering their communities’ commitment to an equitable future for all.
Robin Rue Simmons is the alderman of Evanston, Illinois’ 5th Ward. In 2019, Simmons led the effort to establish a fund for reparations for Evanston’s Black residents.
Simmons says the power of local government—and community organizations—can play a key role in creating change outside of federal government.
“Local government is more nimble, we have more access to leadership and partners at a local level, we are more informed by our neighbors,” she says. “As a local government leader, I live next door to those that I serve. And I serve along them while managing life and many of the barriers that we all share.”
Evanston: A First in Racial Justice
In November 2019, Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, became the first city in the United States to establish a fund, with public tax dollars, allocated entirely to reparations for African Americans. Simmons’ proposal established a three percent sales tax on marijuana, which will then go to the reparation fund for Black residents. Marijuana was legalized in Illinois Jan. 1, 2020, and the funds became available on a municipal level in October.
Evanston’s first focus is affordable housing. Simmons says that once the housing policy is passed, it will provide Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969, and their direct descendants, up to $25,000 of direct assistance if they qualify for home purchase or need assistance sustaining their home purchase. The policy also applies to Black residents who can prove housing discrimination after 1969.
From 2000 to 2017, the Black population in Evanston decreased from 22.5 percent to 16.9 percent, according to US Census data.
“Black families are leaving Evanston at an unsettling rate because of [a] lack of access to affordable housing and having a sense of place and homeownership as a way to build wealth,” Simmons says.
Outside of reparations, Citizens’ Greener Evanston, a local nonprofit, has had an operating Environmental Justice Committee for five and a half years.
The committee, which recently put out an environmental justice resolution, has worked on a number of initiatives over the years, including advocating for the removal of a waste transfer station—a site where waste is temporarily held before transportation to a landfill—from a historic community of color. The committee even followed the fight to court, where it worked to ensure that the $1.2 million settlement was invested back into the neighborhood.
The committee secured the funds for an air quality study, and in a court battle over the waste transfer station, the committee worked to ensure that the $1.2 million in settlement money the city received was reinvested in the neighborhood.
Ithaca: The Easy Part is Done
In June 2019, the City of Ithaca, New York, passed a Green New Deal resolution, setting ambitious goals for the city to be carbon neutral by 2030. The Town of Ithaca—a separate municipality surrounding the city—passed a similar resolution, and in early 2021, a green building policy will be considered for adoption by both the Town and City of Ithaca. The policy will require new buildings to produce 40 percent fewer emissions than mandated by state code.
By 2021, policy addressing how existing buildings must meet emission standards will be enacted, and by 2030, a net-zero emissions policy for new construction will follow.
Local government is very important in climate protection, says Nick Goldsmith, sustainability coordinator for the town and city of Ithaca.
“The federal government is really focused on tearing down environmental regulations and reversing climate progress, but local governments have the authority to pass local laws, and that’s what we’re trying to take advantage of with our energy codes,” says Goldsmith.
For many communities, including Ithaca, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in the city plans to proceed with Green New Deal measures, a localized version of a congressional resolution to tackle climate change and inequity. The resolution, which was introduced in 2019, focuses on transitioning from fossil fuels while creating jobs in the renewable energy sector. With decreased funding, Goldsmith says progress on a local level has been slow.
However, as the world seems to be on hold, community organizers continue their work in ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table.
Marisa Lansing of Sustainable Tompkins and the Sunrise Movement, is a local organizer pushing for inclusive policies in Ithaca, NY.
Marisa Lansing is the Climate Fund Coordinator for Sustainable Tompkins, a local nonprofit, and is a leader in Ithaca’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led political movement which played a key role in pushing the agenda on Ithaca’s Green New Deal.
“In all of the big movements that we’ve had in our history, there’s just been such a strong youth presence, and that’s how we really get it done,” Lansing says. “Youth have such strong power.”
Lansing is also a part of the Ithaca Green New Deal Advisory Board, a joint task force of city officials and community members which makes recommendations to the city, and participates in a Green New Deal community engagement group through Building Bridges, a community-based initiative which works toward a socially just economy.
The community engagement group has been hiring members who hold marginalized identities to act as Community Educator Organizers, creating conversations about what their communities want to see in a local Green New Deal.
Lansing says a just transition to a green economy is what she wants to see in Ithaca’s official Green New Deal Action Plan.
“Fossil fuels are just another way that we just continue to enact white supremacy and racism,” Lansing says. “It’s kind of like a control mechanism over people, because if groups of people aren’t healthy, if they’re fighting for survival, how can they? How can they organize and rise up?”
What can you do to affect local policy?
Climate change and racial injustice can be overwhelming issues, but by starting where you are, you can help change your community for the better.
Communicate with Leaders
Show up to city council meetings—likely virtual now—and advocate for local Green New Deal plans and policies promoting racial justice. Many organizations, including Green America, also offer templates for reaching out to local government such as calling scripts, email templates, and sample social media posts.
Join a Community Organization
Many grassroots movements put pressure on local governments to implement progressive policies. Contributing your time and/or money to a community organization is a way to make a direct impact.
Vote in Local Elections
Our country has a history of low voter turnout in local elections, but local politics still matter. Electing leaders who prioritize the climate, and environmental justice, is a part of the battle to pass progressive policy.
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Follow the Worker-Leaders |
Above: RMG workers held a protest rally against the retrenchment and forced resignations of workers and firing of pregnant women caused by factory closures during COVID-19 pandemic in Dhaka on June 26, 2020. Photo by Mamunur Rashid.
Across the world, workers are standing up for their rights; speaking out against injustice; and fighting for democracy in their workplaces through organizing. Following workers’ leads may sound like a passive task, but it’s the opposite. Listening to workers requires community members to actively listen and respond.
“Consumer and investor pressure on Amazon’s climate emissions is working, with the company pledging to go carbon neutral by 2040,” says Green America executive co-director, Todd Larsen. “Now we need to ramp up the pressure and get Amazon to act on labor injustices in its warehouses and supply chains.”
Workers, like any other group, know and understand their own situation better than those outside it can. Factory workers, warehouse employees, farm workers, and other workers in the supply chain are those most impacted by problems and those most likely to come up with effective solutions. As a member of the global community, there are still many ways to support workers and empower companies you buy from to do the same.
Amazon’s US Impact
America’s largest employers are some of our worst, starting with retail behemoths Walmart and Amazon. Walmart’s poor record on labor—hourly wages so low its workers turn to food stamps, failure to promote women, and union busting—is so well known that many of us avoid shopping there.
After successfully pushing Amazon to adopt clean energy, Green America incorporated workers’ rights into our campaign advocating for Amazon to become greener, by not only taking less of a toll on the planet but also respecting workers.
Amazon is one of the most powerful and profitable companies in the US, where an estimated $1 out of every $2 spent online is spent. Amazon’s speedy deliveries rely on warehouse and delivery drivers working long hours in dangerous conditions. In the first six months of the pandemic, nearly 20,000 of Amazon’s over one million US employees contracted COVID-19, according to Amazon. By not taking worker safety seriously amid the pandemic, Amazon threatened the health and safety of local communities.
Amazon workers are pushing back—the worker-led Awood Center is organizing Amazon employees to fight for better and safer working conditions at a facility in Minnesota, in addition to creating community spaces for East African employees. The Awood Center is just one example of Amazon employees throughout the country and the world refusing to accept unjust power dynamics.
Amazon is customer-obsessed and due to its size and reach, even if you don’t online shop, you likely use services that are hosted on Amazon Web Services.
“If people care about the safety and security of workers, then they can pressure elected policymakers to pass legislation to guarantee worker protections,” stated Tyler Hamilton, Amazon worker in Minnesota. “But also they can be smart about what they buy. If you have to buy on Amazon, remember there are multiple human beings on the other end. Many of us in different parts of the process have to handle items like dog food or kitty litter, which exacerbate injured backs and knees. Buying your heavier and bulkier items yourself at the local level has direct impact on our working conditions.”
Former Amazon employee Chris Smalls at a may day protest in front of the Amazon JFK8 Distribution Center in Staten Island, New York. Photo by Luigi Morris.
Take action because this company cares what you think!
Individual action: Amazon can be a great tool for finding the products you need. Then buy them directly from the sellers, instead of from Amazon. Take a look at these alternatives: greenamerica.org/sustainable-alternatives-amazon.
Community action: Shop from local businesses. When you shop local, $68 out of every 100 dollars goes back to local communities, according to the nonprofit Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. You can uplift your neighborhood, instead of CEO’s bank accounts.
Corporate Action: Sign Green America’s petition to demand that Amazon use clean energy and treat its workers fairly: greenamerica.org/amazon-build-cleaner-cloud. Contact Amazon directly (see our sample corporate letter) and share your concerns about how workers are treated. When worker and consumer voices come together, our collective power and impact is amplified.
Beyond Amazon
Millions of workers throughout the US are earning a minimum wage, often in dangerous and difficult jobs. The minimum wage has not kept up with inflation for decades, and is far below a living wage in many parts of the country. Join Green America and our Green Business Network in taking action with the Fight for $15 campaign (fightfor15.org), in a nationwide effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 state by state.
Supporting International Workers
For decades, Green America has helped our members take action to oppose labor abuses in apparel, cocoa, and electronics industries—pushing companies to respect workers in their supply chains.
As we highlight in our Toxic Textiles Campaign, the apparel industry is bad for people and the planet. In addition to textile manufacturing accounting for 20 percent of industrial water pollution, workers in apparel supply chains can experience dangerous working conditions, union busting, wages that keep people in poverty, and chemical exposure that can cause lasting health impacts.
The pandemic has exacerbated injustice in apparel supply chains. Multi-billion-dollar brands cancelled orders, knowing there would be lessened demand. Then, suppliers that operate on small margins were not able to pay employees for the hours that had already been worked. Workers were and are being pushed to the point of starvation. But thanks to consumers signing petitions, taking action, and reaching out to brands, over 20 brands that cancelled orders have now paid up on those orders.
Take action to support workers
Individual action:
- Buy less clothing and shop secondhand! This is the most sustainable action you can take when voting with your dollar.
- Check out our Toxic Textiles Scorecard and find out more about the companies you buy from.
- If you must shop new, choose brands that are prioritizing issues you care about. Find a wide variety of products that are union-made.
Community action
- Word of mouth is a powerful way to create change. Talk to your friends and family about labor abuses in supply chains, the unfair power dynamics that so many industries are built upon.
- Share our Toxic Textiles report.
Corporate Action
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Banking and Investing for Change |
No matter how much or little money you are able to save, if you use a bank, credit union or 401(k) plan, you can be a socially responsible investor.
There are different names for this approach to saving and investing, such as socially responsible investing (SRI); environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing; impact investing; and sustainable investing. Whatever the name, the key point is that investments have not just financial returns but social and environmental benefits and costs as well. Investing with a broad definition of “returns” will deliver the best outcomes over the long term for the investor, company, communities, and the environment.
What Is Socially Responsible Investing?
There are several strategies for SRI: screening investments in or out based on specific criteria; shareholder action; community development investing to support economically marginalized populations; and divestment when one no longer wants to hold investments because of their impacts on people or the planet.
Probably the best-known example of investor activism was the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa, in which individual and institutional investors withdrew assets from companies doing business in South Africa so as not to support the apartheid regime.
Investors have also screened out, or divested from, industries such as for-profit prisons, the weapons industry, and increasingly, fossil fuels. Academic, faith-based, philanthropic, and other institutions world-wide have screened out or divested from fossil fuels, representing more than $14 trillion. In 2019, corporate accountability organizations and shareholders successfully pressured the big banking industry to stop issuing loans to CoreCivic and GEO Group, the nation’s two largest private prison operators.
Shareholder action, including filing resolutions at corporations, aims to improve companies’ conduct. Shareholder pressure has resulted in progress on issues including increased attention to human and animal rights, CEO compensation, and disclosure of corporate climate impacts, and other issues.
Sustainable Investing Is Under Attack
Over the decades, SRI has become more sophisticated in its approaches and widespread in its successes. Sustainable investing assets have expanded to $17.1 trillion in the US, up 42 percent from $12.0 trillion in 2018. As a result, SRI is now facing its greatest attacks from those who have yet to accept its long-term value for portfolios, people, and the planet.
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have joined the Trump administration’s agenda to decrease corporate accountability by weakening the shareholder resolution process.
“This is an anti-democratic strategy. It’s a strike against the ability of shareholders to improve the companies in which they invest, by limiting the resolutions put before corporate management, limiting who can file resolutions, and discouraging fiduciaries from performing all their duties,” said Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director for business, investing & policy.
Ten thousand Green Americans signed a petition to the SEC in opposition to its rule to weaken the shareholder resolution process. On September 23, 2020, the SEC officially approved restrictions on who can file resolutions and the level of required support for re-filing resolutions. We also sent over 12,000 messages in opposition to the DOL’s two rules against SRI strategies.
Weeks before the 2020 general election, the DOL approved a rule that undermines the ability of 401(k) plans and pensions to include socially responsible investments. The rule that undercuts shareholder action by 401(k) plans is expected before the inauguration in January 2021.
“Recent rules proposed by the Department of Labor and enforced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission constitute an assault on shareholder rights and sustainable investing,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century Capital Management{GBN}.“The new SEC rule, pushed by corporations and their front groups, is a straightforward attempt to muzzle the voice of shareholders for the benefit of tone-deaf corporate executives who do not believe in corporate accountability.”
Individual actions
If you own company stocks, make your voice heard by voting your proxies every year. Find information on shareholder resolutions at ProxyPreview.com
Make sure your own investment portfolios are fossil fuel free and invest in initiatives to bring clean energy to scale by working with an SRI-dedicated advisor. You can find them at greenamerica.org/green-businesses-products-service.
Government action
Pressure your local leaders and demand that your city divest from harmful industries like fossil fuels and private prisons. At prisondivest.com, you can find divestment strategy tool-kits for cities, universities, unions, and faith groups.
Community Banks Step Up
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are financial organizations that strengthen local communities by offering loans for individual borrowers and small businesses, financial literacy programs, and other crucial services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CDFIs supplied emergency funds and helped small businesses and nonprofits access Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans to avert shutting down.
In the spring of 2020, Oakland based CDFI Beneficial State Bank{GBN} worked with the Small Business Administration to provide over 1,300 PPP loans to small businesses and organizations hit by the pandemic, ensuring a paycheck to over 18,000 workers. One of the organizations that received a PPP loan is Green Plate Special, a Seattle nonprofit that teaches environmental science and agricultural skills to young students, largely from families of color and lower-income households. A megabank would have been unlikely to have provided the support the Green Plate kids needed.
As the conventional banking sector is confronted about its role in perpetuating racial and economic injustice, CDFIs are reflecting on their own histories and steps.
“In collaboration with our partners, we have to ask ourselves what an anti-racist bank looks like; how do they measure themselves, hire, and promote, how do they communicate to and serve their communities, and define that criteria,” says Lynn Marie Auzene, chief marketing officer of Beneficial State Bank{GBN}. “I think that’s our calling and opportunity at this time.”
Individual action
Move your money to a better bank. Our Get A Better Bank searchable map is updated with more better banking options. Find one at greenamerica.org/get-a-better-bank.
Government action
Tell your senator to support the HEROES Act and allocate $1 billion to the CDFI Fund.
Corporate action
Green America thanks all of our members who joined our campaign calling on JP Morgan Chase to divest from the fossil fuel industry. In 2020, JP Morgan Chase announced several climate commitments, but it is still the largest financier of fossil fuels in the world. Tell Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to divest today: jamie.dimon@jpmchase.com
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Getting to 100% Clean Energy, Equitably |
Communities worldwide are facing relentless wildfires, powerful hurricanes, and devastating flooding — the climate crisis is here, and it will worsen unless we act. Fossil fuels combustion is heating global temperatures and energy use causes 73 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting emissions is possible as we urgently transition from fossil fuel industries to socially just, renewable, clean energy and transportation systems.
Fossil fuels disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities inundated with power plants, oil wells, and other polluting facilities. Transitioning to renewables is critical for the climate and communities, and we need to look deeply at how energy is produced, consumed—and who benefits.
Plug into Clean Energy
In 2019, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that over 11 percent of energy in the United States came from renewable sources, including wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower. Solar and wind have seen major growth in the past decade and renewable energy consumption has surpassed coal for the first time in over 130 years (burning wood and using hydropower were surpassed in the 1850s)—but we still have work to do.
Electricity generation causes the bulk of emissions from the energy sector and over 62 percent of our electricity comes from fossil fuels. Nuclear energy generates 20 percent and renewables produce nearly 18 percent. COVID-19 has slowed supply chains and new installations for renewables, but demand has held strong and the EIA estimates that renewables are the fastest-growing source of electricity in 2020.
Residential solar grew by over 50 percent between 2010 and 2016, but not across all communities. Racist housing policies have resulted in insufficient public infrastructure for many Black and Latin American communities and rooftop solar access is another extension of that historic injustice.
Community solar projects provide an alternative to rooftop—in this option participants buy shares in a solar facility and receive credits to lower their bills (based on how much that facility sends to the grid), but some areas have enrollment costs which can present barriers for low-income residents. Access to solar can be a benefit particularly for residents who face disproportionately high energy burden—meaning their energy bills cost more than five percent of their income.
Individual Actions
Going green at home can save 1.5 tons of CO2 per year. You can find a database of incentives for installing solar panels and a calculator to estimate your home’s potential savings at dsireusa.org. Green America Business Members CleanChoice Energy and Arcadia Power are both great clean energy provider options that don’t require installations or changes to your utility. Switching to an electric vehicle saves over two tons of carbon emissions per year and going car free can save can save three tons—the equivalent to the carbon sequestered by four acres of forest per year.
Community Actions
Support community solar, where solar panels are concentrated at one location and members each get a share of the clean power produced. Community solar allows for equal access to solar power at a cost that is often discounted from the standard utility rate. Get involved with groups like Solar United Neighbors and Vote Solar to advocate for community solar nationwide.
Advocate for Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), which means municipalities are allowed to purchase power on behalf of all their residents and businesses. This allows for purchasing renewable energy for the entire community at a reduced cost . If you live in the states where it is already allowed (NY, MA, RI, NJ, OH, IL, and CA) you can encourage your area to purchase renewable energy for everyone. In other states, you can join with advocates pushing for CCA.
Fight Dirty Energy and So-Called “Clean” Energy
While wind and solar are the fastest growing energy sources in the US, we’re still one of the world’s leading producers of petroleum and natural gas. Communities are being devastated by fracking and pipelines nationwide. And the Trump administration has rolled back crucial environmental protection regulations subjecting frontline communities to greater risks from methane and coal ash leaks and the impacts of fossil fuel drilling and transportation.
Unfortunately, there are some dirty industries pretending to be renewable. In particular, biomass and waste-to-energy plants often get included in states’ renewable portfolio standards, even though these forms of energy are far from green.
Biomass power, or burning wood or other organic material for energy, is touted as “renewable,” because new trees can be planted. But the clearcutting of hardwood forests in the Southeast destroys ecosystems, and releases huge amounts of carbon. Reforested areas may take decades to sequester the same amount of carbon and turning whole trees into wood pellets for fuel emits CO2 and particulate pollutants, which unjustly burdens nearby frontline communities with noise and air pollution, and threatens the economic sovereignty of local communities.
Waste-to-energy means burning solid waste (trash) to generate energy. It’s classified as “renewable” by twenty-three states, yet the expensive facilities pollute communities, release greenhouse gases, and destroy materials that could be recycled, conflicting with zero-waste efforts. Eighty percent of incinerators are placed in low-income and/or communities of color.
Fighting Dirty Energy Means Joining Your Voice with Individuals Nationwide
Take action with Green America and our allies to oppose pipelines, methane emissions from fracking, and regulatory rollbacks. The Biden-Harris administration will work to reinstate regulations of pollutants and will need strong public support to succeed.
Tell elected officials to adopt 100 percent clean energy commitments, support policies that build local ownership of utilities, and prevent companies from charging customers for fossil fuel infrastructure. See “A Beginner’s Guide to Activism” for tips on how to talk to your elected officials and local candidates.
Power in Numbers: Join local chapters of groups like 350.org , Moms Clean Air Force, Dogwood Alliance, Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, or local groups fighting fracking, incinerators, or biomass power. These organizations coach their members on how to take part in public hearings, rally support in their communities, and take other actions.
Economic Action: Tell Companies to Use Clean Energy
The four major US telecoms companies–AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile–collectively use more than 30 million MWh of electric power each year—enough to power all the households in New York City! Since we launched our Hang Up on Fossil Fuels campaign in 2017, telecoms have gone from using less than two percent renewables to nearly 50 percent in clean energy contracts and commitments.
As Green America pushes these companies to reach 100 percent renewables, we will advocate for solutions that push for truly clean energy, and diversity and inclusion in clean energy jobs.
Sign our Hang Up on Fossil Fuels petition and our Cleaner Cloud petition.
Writer letters to companies in any sector and tell them to adopt truly clean energy.
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Grow Climate Solutions for a Better Food System |
Our current agricultural system relies on toxic chemicals and practices that endanger the health of ecosystems, farmers, farmworkers, and our climate. No matter who you are or where you live in the US, this broken system impacts your life, but there’s a better way.
Regenerative agriculture is the answer to the dual crises of a global climate and a food system that are both becoming increasingly unstable. It’s all about rebuilding soil to capture carbon and, in return, grow healthier food and protect ecosystems.
Through Green America’s work with consumers and stakeholders from the entire food supply chain, huge amounts of land have been converted to regenerative acreage—and the work is just beginning. Regenerative agriculture points the way forward to a truly green food system that reduces pesticides, increases yields, and supports those working to feed us all.
Individual Actions
Meaningful action starts with you. These small changes combined have the potential for global impact.
1. Reduce food waste
Those moldy leftovers in the back of your fridge have major environmental impacts. Eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste, and in high-income countries like the US, consumers waste over one third of their food. That’s billions of pounds of food—not to mention the packaging, transportation, land, and other resources going to waste. Cutting global food waste in half by 2050 would reduce greenhouse gas emissions the same as running 17 million wind turbines for a year! Buying only what you need and eliminating food waste from your kitchen can save $1,500 for a family of four a year, according to the USDA.
How can I reduce my food waste?
- Plan your meals ahead of time to avoid overbuying and impulse purchases.
- Have go-to “clean out the fridge” recipes and make use of your freezer for items you may not be able to eat in time.
- Over 50 percent of what we throw away is compostable. Composting captures carbon, filters out stormwater pollutants, and gives scraps a second life feeding the soil rather than contributing to methane emissions in the landfill. Either start your own compost or use a composting service to support green jobs. You can find the how-to knowledge to make your own compost at greenamerica.org/green-living/how-and-what-compost.
2. Grow a Climate Victory Garden
It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or seasoned expert, whether you have a giant yard to grow in or just a few pots on a sunny windowsill—everyone can garden for the climate. During the WWII era, American gardens grew 40 percent of the country’s fresh fruits and vegetables. We can harness that power of collective action again, this time for the climate. Join over 4,000 gardens already at it, capturing 11,000 tons of carbon and offsetting emissions equivalent to driving 90 million miles. Register Your Climate Victory Garden on our website.
How can I garden in a way that’s good for the planet?
- Grow ultra-local food in your garden to offset the fossil fuels associated with food from grocery stores that travels an average of 1,500 miles. Growing your own food can save you money too, around $600 per year depending on what you plant.
- Cover and protect soils with mulch to decrease water use, curb erosion, and capture carbon.
- Create DIY solutions with household products instead of toxic pesticides.
- Instead of nitrogen-based fertilizers, opt for compost. These practices ensure your safety and could save you around $115/year (on average homeowners, spent on fertilizer, weed killer, and insecticides).
- Encourage biodiversity by choosing plants for pollinators. Giving bees and butterflies refuge in your garden will benefit your crops and support these important species.
3. Eliminate Your Lawn
Turf grass is our country’s largest irrigated crop—covering an area larger than the state of New York and demanding millions of tons of toxic fertilizers and pesticides each year. This manicured and over-managed land is devoid of diversity and a major source of water pollution and climate emissions. Just one hour of using a gasoline lawn mower is equal to greenhouse gas emissions of driving 300 miles.
How to Change Lawns Into Something Better
Plant a low-maintenance meadow instead, which provides pollinator habitat, encourages biodiversity, and captures carbon. Plus, you could save time—the average American spends 70 hours a year maintaining their lawn. Landscape with trees and perennial plants that don’t have to be replanted each year.
4. Buy organic, non-GMO, and regenerative
It matters how our food is grown. When you buy from producers that replenish and restore their lands and surrounding ecosystems, you’re sending a clear message in support of these practices. Organic, non-GMO, and regenerative products are better for the environment, but they’re also better for workers across the food system and the loved ones you’re cooking for. A 2019 study from University of California showed that eating organic food for just a week can reduce the levels of pesticides in the body by 60 percent on average.
How Purchases Can Create A Better Food System
- Buy less: Reduce your consumption of animal products from concentrated animal feed lots that wreak havoc on local to global ecosystems. Livestock-raising operations account for nearly 15 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions each year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
- Buy better: Use Regeneration International’s Regenerative Farm Map to help you find meats and dairy products (which have the greatest climate impact) from local regenerative sources.
- Buy local: Buy from local food co-ops, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), farmers markets, and local food hubs. Talk to your farmers about their practices and how they care for their soil, asking what actions they take to mitigate their climate impact. Buying local food isn’t just good for your carbon footprint, it significantly boosts the local economy, as $68 out of every $100 stays in the community when spent at a local business.
Actions to Take in Your Neighborhood and Community
Every community is unique. Use these suggestions as a springboard to inspire actions you can take beyond your immediate surroundings to grow climate solutions and a better food system.
Start a community, school, or other publicly-accessible garden to increase local food access and green space. Ask your local grocery stores to carry more organic, non-GMO, and regenerative options. Show your receipts to show that you’re a regular customer. Encourage friends to do the same.
Engage with local government and green groups that work on issues that could increase your community’s impact like starting a curbside compost program.
Actions to Reach Beyond Your Community
Grassroots action is critical for change, but a healthy climate and food system also depends upon high-level laws, regulations, and corporate compliance.
- Understand soil health legislation in your state: Around 20 states have existing or proposed soil health legislation that addresses soil’s role in the climate crisis. Look up your state’s status on NerdsForEarth.com and contact your representatives to let them know you support healthy soils legislation.
- Write a letter to a company: Love the regenerative practices behind Annie’s Organic Mac & Cheese or Patagonia’s cotton tees? Or, have a favorite brand that you think could do better? Let them know!
- Contact your representative about national-scale bills: There are numerous bills for national-level climate action that need support in all 435 Congressional Districts, and many of these focus on food issues, like the H.R.5861—Agriculture Resilience Act. Find this bill and more at ClimateCrisisPolicy.org.
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How We Can All Make a Difference From Where We Are |
The intensity of the 2020 general election exposed the frustration so many Americans feel when our needs go unheard by government and corporations. It also showed the disillusionment we often feel with our political system, as many Americans wondered whether a new presidential administration would truly make a difference when it comes to long-battled systemic issues. Though we are often pitted against each other, many Americans are concerned about the same issues, and there is widespread agreement on the solutions. In 2019, roughly 70 percent of Americans said the country should focus more on wind energy and over 80 percent said the same for solar, according to a survey by the consulting company Gallup. Another Gallup poll taken in June 2020 showed that 65 percent of Americans supported protests against racial injustice and 61 percent of adults say that economic inequality ought to be a top priority for the government, according to the Pew Research Center.
Our 35 years of experience in fighting for our fragile planet and all its people tells us that no matter who is in political office, economic action is always crucial. Our work together is to get the entire economy behind powerful climate solutions, protecting workers, and working for real racial justice. By taking action together in our daily lives, as consumers, investors, and community members, we can make a huge difference in the world.
Major social change movements including Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives, the Women’s March, and Me Too were all started by average Americans who were outraged by social injustices. The leaders profiled in our summer 2020 Green American magazine issue, Communities on the Frontline of the Climate Crisis, are people who saw environmental injustice in their communities and decided to take action to fight fossil fuel companies, food insecurity, government lagging on a Green New Deal, and voter suppression.
As more and more consumers raise concerns around climate impacts, worker abuses, and the use of toxic chemicals by corporations—and shift their spending to greener products and services—more companies are responding to that pressure by improving their social and environmental records. That progress has a ripple effect on the entire planet.
Taking Individual Action by Voting With Your Dollar
In an age of declining brand loyalty, large corporations are attuned to shifts in consumer preferences and it’s these shifts that are driving more non-GMO and organic foods, electric vehicles, non-toxic household and personal care products, and clothing with fewer toxic chemicals and more recycled fibers. This is why one of the biggest individual actions we can take for a truly just and sustainable world is targeting our purchases and investments to green enterprises. That often means not buying things we don’t really need, and when there is something we need, finding a way to get it that can support a local small business, green business, and/or entrepreneurs of color, instead of supporting a big box store or Amazon’s monopoly.
Growing consumer concern from these campaigns causes companies to fear that their brands will be damaged and will lead to a loss in sales. That’s why companies like Carter’s, Amazon, AT&T, and Verizon take action when consumers call on them to change their operations to address the climate crisis and their use of toxic chemicals. When you join your voices with others, you multiply your impact and though one small signature may not feel like a lot, it shows that a growing number of people are concerned.
You can also change where you bank and invest. Whether you have a simple checking or savings account at a bank or own stock, have a retirement fund, or other investment accounts, you can make sure that your money is working for the Earth, not against it. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are places you can put your money that invests back into local communities unlike big commercial banks (like Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, etc), which fund fossil fuel expansion and other dirty industries. However, there are signs that big banks are starting to hear investors and customers. This year, after much pressure from campaigns like Fossil Banks, No Thanks, a coalition action that Green America is a part of, JPMorgan Chase agreed to end new financing of coal and arctic drilling, and to phase out existing financing for coal mining by 2024. Read more about how to use your money to make change on page 8.
Taking Action in Your Community
Opening your door (or your laptop) and getting “out there” in your community can make a big difference. We all have a place we can make a difference. Start with organizations or places where you spend the most time or find the most joy—whether that’s a school group, church, block of your neighborhood, book club, office, riverfront, you name it. There will always be ways to make those spaces greener, more equitable, and more just. There are so many ways to make a difference—you could work on environmental issues like water conservation, clean energy use, recycling programs, or composting. You could also work on making your group more socially conscious, just, and equitable by switching banks, making a space or event more accessible, signing a petition together, attending a protest, or otherwise working on a social justice topic that is important to you. Community action does not have to be big to make a big difference, and we can find examples of it across the country. In Detroit, the faith-based environmental organization Hazon started growing “relief gardens” to help those struggling with food insecurity amid COVID-19. By bringing people fertilizers, vegetable seeds, and some basic how-to gardening knowledge, volunteers are putting being a good neighbor into practice. The Climate Victory Gardens sprouting nationwide are also inspiring examples of community climate action that is helping draw-down carbon from the atmosphere and increase access to fresh, quality produce.
Pressuring Corporations and Governments
The people who take part in Green America’s campaigns and those of our allies, make a huge difference, and time and time again, Green America’s economic strategy of amplifying consumer voices proves to be effective. Through our Cool It campaign, 100,000 consumers got Walmart to pledge to phase out HFCs by 2040. That’s progress, but not fast enough, so we’ll be keeping up the pressure on Walmart and urging other grocery stores that are failing on refrigerants to take action too—beginning with a campaign focused on Trader Joe’s launching this December. Additionally, we’re telling Carters to protect factory workers, consumers, and our planet from toxic textiles by adopting a stronger Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL), calling on the telecoms industry to transition to renewables and recruit more diverse talent into clean energy projects, and as always, continuing to demand that Amazon treat its workers and the planet better. You can learn more about our people-powered green economy campaigns by visiting Our Campaigns.
Advocating for green local and federal policies is also crucial. In January 2020, Richmond, Virginia’s 4th Circuit of Appeals unanimously denied a permit for the Atlantic Coast pipeline, a project that threatened to slash through natural spaces and harm Indigenous and Black communities in North Carolina and Virginia. Green America and hundreds of other environmental groups supported this effort by amplifying local demands through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) against Dominion Energy. In the 2020 general election, Florida passed an amendment to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15. We are proud to have joined forces with the Fight for $15 coalition to help bring about this victory and look forward to securing more in 2021 with the help of our members, supporters, and allies.
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Shareholders on Mute: Inequity in Virtual Meetings |
The pandemic has reshaped many of the ways our society works, from public gatherings to workplace settings. For shareholders, the annual meeting season came at the start of the pandemic, causing last-minute transitions to online formats for public safety—and in this scramble, some companies dodged shareholders by literally muting them.
Shareholders are partial owners of a company through stocks, which gives them a voice in the direction of a company—this can include ensuring social and environmental responsibility alongside company growth and stability. In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released guidance for virtual shareholder meetings.
A new paper by Dr. Miriam Schwartz of Hebrew University of Jerusalem demonstrates how companies took advantage of the virtual format to minimize shareholders’ collective power. The paper, “How Shifting from In-Person to Virtual Shareholder Meetings Affects Shareholders’ Voice,” examines how companies may be stifling shareholders by limiting the types of questions that can be asked, keeping shareholders muted during online meetings, only offering short time windows for questions, and taking advantage of online communication barriers.
Dr. Schwartz’s paper compared the 2019 shareholder meeting season to the 2020 virtual season using transcripts and audio recordings from 94 firms in the S&P 500. The research consistently demonstrates that virtual shareholder meetings were significantly shorter than in-person meetings and management spent less time addressing shareholder concerns.
Typically, during the Q&A portion of in-person meetings, shareholders line up behind a mic to ask their questions. These questions may go over the allotted time frame or may not be relevant to the discussion at hand; regardless, when a person is physically present, it is difficult to ignore their concerns, regardless of relevancy or time limits. In the virtual arena, firms have more power in how a meeting will run, allowing them to evade shareholder concerns and thus, accountability.
“Overall, what we can see here, is that there is a decrease in the amount of time spent on sharing information with shareholders,” said Dr. Schwartz in a virtual seminar on the paper.
Dr. Schwartz noted there are several tactics companies used to impose limitations on questions during online shareholder meetings of the 2020 season.
Muting Shareholders, Literally
The study analyzed questions submitted by two shareholders, John Chevedden and James McRitchie, in conjunction with the transcripts to determine how many submitted questions were answered; out of all the questions submitted to firms, only 36 percent were answered. While companies typically dodge shareholder questions, what is concerning here is the company’s ability to silence participants.
Additionally, Dr. Schwartz found that companies would misleadingly portray a lack of additional questions during online meetings by stating, “we have addressed all the questions,” or “at this point, it seems there are no further questions, therefore we will conclude the meeting.” When these statements were compared with the number of questions submitted by shareholders to the company, it is clear that company management chose to not answer shareholder questions. Traditionally, in-person meetings make it possible for shareholders to object; however, in the online arena, shareholders are literally muted.
“[In virtual settings,] the firm has more power in presenting the picture that is convenient for them,” says Dr. Schwartz.
Additionally, companies would state, without prior notice, that only questions related to the proposals would be addressed, essentially eliminating questions regarding anything else. Eleven companies in the study used this tactic—10 out of 11 did not address any questions during the meeting.
“[Shareholder meetings are] the one opportunity shareholders have each year to engage in-person with other shareholders and with company representatives,” writes McRitchie in his blog at CorpGov.net. “Virtual-only meetings remove these opportunities. They don’t have to.”
Democratizing Virtual Meetings
Virtual meetings have the potential to improve participation from shareholders by eliminating conflicts, taking less time, and allowing people to tune in from the comfort of their homes—in fact, Dr. Schwartz’s study noted that shareholder attendance increased overall in the online format. However, the key to a democratic process online is allowing shareholders to communicate with each other.
Not all companies in the study used the virtual format to minimize shareholder voices. One company used a platform called Slido for their meeting, which allowed shareholder questions to be viewed among all participants, not just management.
“Shareholders could upvote and downvote the questions,” says Dr. Schwartz. “[Firms] could actually see which questions were very interesting for shareholders and which were not.”
Unlike scenarios where shareholders can ask only send questions in advance or can ask only questions related to proposals, a live polling platform like Slido allowed for a democratic process to understanding shareholder concerns.
McRitchie believes that chat rooms are the essential function missing from shareholder meetings. Chat rooms would allow shareholders to have genuine conversations with each other, as well as clarify resolutions and company decisions among themselves. Additionally, the company management would gain insight into what shareholders care about.
“If virtual meetings are to be considered shareholder, instead of incumbent meetings, chat room functions are needed,” states McRitchie. “The discourse between attendees is of critical importance.”
The virtual format is far from perfect—shareholders may also experience issues like lack of access to high speed internet and computer illiteracy. While virtual meetings have a great deal to improve on before they can support shareholders in the same capacity as in-person meetings, the paper recommends that companies should make audio recordings and transcripts public to allow transparency around the information shared during meetings.
Additionally, disclosing the number of questions submitted, as well as the content of those questions, can help shareholders identify if there is simply a lack of concerns or if the company is purposefully withholding information.
For the 2021 season, some company guidelines may choose to return to in-person meetings which follow CDC recommendations and some may continue virtually. It is also likely that most companies will adopt a hybrid model, where shareholders can attend in-person or virtually.
Every year, Green America encourages many shareholders to vote on resolutions that advance social, environmental, and sustainable governance. We are co-sponsors of As You Sow’s 2020 Proxy Preview, a publication that provides samples of key resolutions facing corporate America. Stay tuned for 2021’s Proxy Preview and learn more about investing with your values at our Guide to Socially Responsible Investing and Better Banking at greenamerica.org/gsri.
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6 Reasons to Support Black-Owned Businesses |
Small businesses across the US were hit hard by the coronavirus, but Black-owned businesses felt it the most. Black-owned businesses shut down at a rate more than double of white-owned businesses, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The pandemic exposed all sorts of inequities in our society, but the connections between physical and economic health may be one of the most profound. Structural racism in the US extends beyond policing and facilitates economic deficiencies through racist laws like redlining and hiring discrimination.
In the same way we cannot shop our way into environmental health, we cannot shop our way into racial justice. But we can use our collective power to show corporations what our values are. So here are six reasons, beyond the damage of the pandemic, to buy from Black-owned businesses—your purchasing power will help:
1. Close the Racial Wealth Gap
Beyond enslavement, we can trace the origins of today’s racial wealth gap to Jim Crow-era practices like redlining, job discrimination, and exclusionary legislation, which segregated Black Americans from higher paying jobs and home ownership opportunities that ultimately prevented wealth building. For example, while the 1935 Social Security Act is heralded as one of the nation’s first social safety nets, it largely left out Black citizens, as it didn’t cover domestic and agricultural workers, nor menial low-wage or off-the-books jobs without payroll information.
As of 2020, African American families held 4% of the country's household wealth, compared to white families holding 84% of that wealth, and one in five Black households have zero or negative net worth according to the Federal Reserve. If current trends continue, $0 will be the median wealth for Black families by 2053, according to a 2017 report by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs have always been wealth builders in our society. By supporting Black-owned businesses, Green Americans can create more opportunities for meaningful savings, property ownership, credit building, and generational wealth.
2. Strengthen Local Economies
When small businesses flourish, so do their communities. A 2017 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that banks were twice as likely to provide business loans to white applicants than Black ones. This makes it harder for Black Americans and other entrepreneurs of color to start businesses or get them off the ground.
Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of US economic growth, so imagine what directing some of that spending power to Black-owned businesses across the country can do. When compared to national chain stores, local businesses circulate three times as much money back into the local economy, according to the nonprofit Project Equity. Successful businesses can also attract community investors which may provide banking services, loans, and promote financial literacy—all things that build economic strength.
3. Foster Job Creation
While unemployment skyrocketed for nearly all sectors in the US economy at the start of the pandemic, by April, more than half of the adult Black population was unemployed. Black-owned businesses are geographically concentrated in their communities; therefore, when public health crises affect the community, small businesses are deeply affected too. However, during economic recovery, Black-owned business owners are essential to financial stability, as they are likely to hire and provide job opportunities within their communities.
Many Black American business owners self-fund their businesses as a result of the lack of loan opportunities and to avoid racist, predatory lending practices. This makes it hard for Black entrepreneurs to grow and expand their companies beyond their communities.
4. Bring Access to Communities
Some Black-owned businesses are created to service specific needs that are often overlooked by mainstream retailers, whether they be for haircare, apparel, or toys. Green companies like the cosmetic manufacturer SMB Essentials {GBN} provide make up products for people of all skin tones. When you support Black-owned businesses, you get products that promote this kind of accessibility. Plus, you avoid spending money at companies that may exploit Black culture for profit, which brings us to another point:
Lake Louise is the founder and CEO of SMB Essentials.
5. Hold other Companies Accountable
During the summer of 2020, companies across sectors issued statements in support of Black communities. Many of these statements were meaningless recognitions of the struggle of Black Americans and companies’ so-called commitments to Black Lives Matter without addressing the company’s own racist policies, practices, or business models.
For example, Jeff Bezos wrote an Instagram post in support of Black communities, yet Amazon has partnered with more than a thousand police departments across the country through its Ring Doorbell Initiative. This initiative has created a widespread surveillance network across the country, which disproportionately misidentifies Black Americans.
Companies publicly “supporting” minorities yet keeping systems of injustice intact suppresses the structural change that the Black Lives Matter movement demands. Whether it’s Gucci’s sweater design resembling blackface or Facebook’s hiring diversity problem, African Americans and other minorities often bear the brunt of corporate discrimination.
When you choose a Black-owned business over problematic companies, you vote with your dollar to hold companies accountable. Further down the road, you empower successful minority-owned businesses to implement equitable policies.
6. Visibility and Representation in the Green Economy
The prosperity of a green economy depends on embracing true diversity. The green movement has historically and presently wrestled with a lack of diversity in its activism and representation, but Green Americans can change this.
Bringing attention to Black- and minority-owned businesses demonstrates that the green movement is everybody’s movement. When minority-owned businesses have a financial platform to stand on, they inspire more people to join the green economy.
How to Support Black-Owned Businesses
You can find minority-owned businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible on Greenpages.org, our database of certified members of the Green Business Network®. At officialblackwallstreet.com/directory, you can also search for businesses by city, state, and product category and WeBuyBlack.com is an online store that offers a wide selection of products, all sourced from Black vendors.
Beyond buying, writing positive product reviews and spotlighting businesses using your social media accounts can also give them a major boost. If you know a business owner, make sure they know about grant opportunities through organizations like the Minority Business Development Agency and Foundation for Business Equity.
To learn more about ways to take economic action in support of Black communities, visit greenamerica.org/blog/7-actions-support-black-communities-spending-and-investing.
Updated February 2023.
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Project Administrator, Climate Safe Lending Network |
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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.
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Managing Director, Climate Safe Lending Network |
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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.
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Executive Director, Climate Safe Lending Network |
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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.
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Make a Difference from Where You Are |
The intensity of the 2020 general election exposed the frustration so many Americans feel when our needs go unheard by government and corporations. It also showed the disillusionment we often feel with our political system, as many Americans wondered whether a new presidential administration would truly make a difference. Though we are often pitted against each other, many Americans are concerned about the same issues, and there is widespread agreement on the solutions. Our 35 years of experience in fighting for our fragile planet and all its people tells us that no matter who is in political office, economic action is always crucial. By taking action together in our daily lives, as consumers, investors, and community members, we can make a huge difference in the world, from wherever we are.
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Cheap Gardening is Great for Your Wallet and Our Planet |
Around the world, people garden for food, fun, and their wellbeing. But this pastime can be pricey. Plus, buying a lot of gardening supplies generates more climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions and causes other negative environmental impacts. Luckily, with a little planning and creativity, you can grow veggies, fruits, and other plants without breaking the bank or burdening the Earth.
Use free seeds
The easiest place to get seeds without paying a cent is likely your kitchen. Simply eat the produce you want to plant and collect the seeds, whether that’s tomatoes from your fridge or coriander from your spice cabinet. Spread them apart to dry and regularly turn them in a non-plastic container with good air circulation. You can also save seeds from the garden for next year.
Connect with local and virtual groups that promote seed sharing, such as seed libraries or the Great American Seed Swap/Trade Project. You can even request seeds as presents to make gift shopping straightforward for friends and family! Just ask for organic seeds in paper packets from local companies.
Save on soil
Soil is often one of the largest gardening expenses, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you have access to soil in a yard, use that and supplement with compost or sheet mulching to boost organic matter. Otherwise, ask local garden clubs or farms for ideas.
If you must buy, choose organic and avoid peat because of its climate impacts. Many garden stores sell soil by the cubic yard, which is cheaper and more ecofriendly than plastic bags of soil. If you can’t transport that much by yourself, some garden centers and landscaping businesses will deliver.
Transform trash into planters
The great thing about container gardening is that it works well even in spaces as tiny as a Manhattan studio, and it can be cheap. All you need to begin are durable reusable containers to plant in, preferably ones that have drainage holes or those you can add drainage holes to with a drill or pair of scissors.
Scavenge your recycling bin for small containers to fill with soil and start seeds. Look around your home for buckets, kitchenware, old wooden drawers, or even rainboots that could take on a second life in the garden. Check if anyone you know is getting rid of items that could function as planters and watch out for promising discarded stuff like pallets on the streets. Search your local thrift shop, Freecycle, or Craigslist. Who knows, one day you might even chance upon actual terracotta pots or garden planters!
Take advantage of rain and efficient watering
Harvest rainwater to care for your plants, keep your utility bill down, and conserve water. Plants prefer rainwater, which contains less chlorine, provides more nutrients, and has an ideal pH compared to tap water, which could all mean fewer costly inputs. Be aware of what your roof is made of before using this water on edible plants as certain materials could contaminate the water.
Place a barrel or anything big and sturdy under a gutter to store the rainwater, even a trashcan or cooler. Then either dip into the barrel with your watering can or build a simple DIY barrel with hose for larger vessels. Create a soaker hose by poking holes in a regular old garden hose. It takes just a few minutes and delivers water directly to your plant, saving time and water.
Limit spending on tools
Forget the fancy tools and stick to the gardening basics. All you really need is a rake and a small shovel or garden fork. Consider purchasing them used or repurpose kitchen and other household items.
Alternatively, pool funds with pals, relatives, neighbors, or gardening club members to acquire shared equipment—even during COVID, you can safely share tools if you clean them before use. A government agency or nonprofit near you might loan out tools, too. For instance, Berkeley, CA and Washington, DC both lend at no charge to residents. Find a tool lending library in your area, or start one.
Compost organic waste
Composting is a key method of regenerative agriculture and Climate Victory Gardening that turns seemingly useless organic matter into food for your plants and soil. This enables you to replace store-bought fertilizers, reduce landfill methane emissions, and draw down carbon into the soil.
Start an effortless compost pile by heaping kitchen and yard scraps outside your house and leaving them to decompose. Throw in paper, cardboard, grass clippings, leaves, fruit and vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds. If you prefer something that’s a bit prettier and generates compost faster, you can build a holding bin out of recycled wood or old pallets. If you don’t have a yard, you can still compost via municipal programs that, in some areas, can even lower your waste collection bill.
These steps will set you on the right track to produce your own food, foster healthier soils, sequester carbon, and protect the environment — all for practically no cost!
Make sure your frugal garden is on the Climate Victory Gardens map!
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We are calling on Trader Joe’s to... |
Climate & Refrigerants:
- Submit annual greenhouse gas emission data, including hydrofluorocarbon emissions, to the Carbon Disclosure Project and share science-based targets to reach carbon neutral operations.
- Commit to a companywide average refrigerant leak rate of below 10 percent and report annual progress on a public platform.
- Commit to phase out HFCs from all operations and facilities by 2030 and publish progress towards goal each year.
- Commit to only using HFC-free systems in all new stores or facilities and use only zero or near-zero GWP refrigerants.
- Issue a detailed annual sustainability report listing progress on the above goals and other methods to increase energy efficiency of Trader Joe’s refrigeration systems.
Labor & Cocoa:
- Increased transparency; publicly disclose the first and second tiers of its chocolate supply chain.
- Require all cocoa suppliers sourcing out of West Africa to be using a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS).
- Issue an annual sustainability report (not a blog post), describing how it is supporting a sustainable chocolate industry and what indicators are used to measure success of their efforts.
- Increase compensation for cocoa farmers and disclose how Trader Joe’s is supporting efforts to pay cocoa farmers a living income.
- Support the call for US and EU mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence regulation.
- Commit to no deforestation by 2022 throughout the entire supply chain and develop a robust agroforestry policy, particularly for those areas deforested due to industry practices, including where cocoa is grown in West Africa.
- Respect all workers’ rights from those in your stores to those at the end of the supply chain. This includes stopping any anti-union behavior or union busting. Ensure all workers in the supply chain have proper PPE, hazard pay, and paid sick leave in the time of COVID-19 and thereafter.
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WCP 2020 Dec 2 |
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Companies Demand Facebook Stop Hate for Profit |
In July, multiple businesses signed onto the Stop Hate for Profit Campaign to take a stand against hate and bigotry on social media platforms. The campaign targeted Facebook, which has a history of failing to effectively stop the spread of misinformation, fake news, and hate speech.
The Stop Hate for Profit coalition is led by prominent civil rights groups including Color of Change, NAACP, Common Sense, ADL, Free Press, Mozilla, LULAC, Sleeping Giants, and National Hispanic Media Center. During the July ad pause, over 1,200 advertisers pledged not to spend ad dollars on the platform throughout the month of July, from Coca-Cola to Patagonia and Unilever. The boycott would not sink Facebook, but it certainly caught the attention of the company which makes the bulk of its revenue from advertising. Last year alone, Facebook made nearly $70 billion from ad revenue.
“What we have done differently this time is to go directly to big advertisers who also have not been able to get changes from the platform: advertisers who see their ads on Facebook showing up next to white supremacist and white nationalist content and who have watched as Mark Zuckerberg has seen himself too powerful to have to listen,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, in an interview with the Guardian.
Green America’s Green Business Network took part in the July ad pause on behalf of our community of small businesses. At our core, Green America believes in harnessing the economic power of consumers, investors, and businesses to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. Just as we vote with our dollars for companies we trust, we withhold our dollars from bad actors to demand accountability. As a part of the coalition of businesses, nonprofits, and consumers that comprise the Stop Hate for Profit coalition, we continue to strive for civil rights and environmental sustainability for all people.
As a result of the July ad pause, Facebook conceded to several long-standing demands from civil rights groups: the company announced the creation of a senior role to oversee civil rights; it established a dedicated team to analyze racial bias in the algorithm; it publicly released a civil rights audit that informed policy decisions that were “setbacks for civil rights” and committed to a new independent audit, and it has begun to take long-overdue action against hateful movements on the platform. These concessions are important steps forward but are not nearly enough.
While Facebook fell short of the demands, other social media platforms stepped up their anti-racism efforts. Twitter took strong action against conspiracy theories that have led to real-life violence; Reddit removed over two thousand hate-filled subreddits, and YouTube took action against white supremacists on their platform. These social media companies are continuing to sit at the table with the Stop Hate for Profit campaign to actively address misinformation, hate, and harassment, as well as protect democracy and the civil rights of its users.
The Stop Hate for Profit campaign is ongoing and continues to pressure Facebook and other social media platforms. The list of recommended next steps includes actions on accountability, decency, and support for users. You can take action with us by reading the full list of demands and signing the petition to tell Facebook to stop hate for profit.
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Cocoa Barometer 2020: No Meaningful Progress Made in 20 Years of Business Model That Ensures Poverty For Farmers, Communities |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – December XX, 2020 -- After two decades of failed interventions across the cocoa sector, cocoa farming communities are still battling the effects of poverty, child labor and deforestation. That is the key finding of the 2020 Cocoa Barometer report published today.
The report finds that the industry continues to rely on vague rhetoric and voluntary programs that fall far short of the mark, and is a rallying cry for civil society organizations (CSOs) and governments to move into legal measures and mandatory compliance for industry.
Antonie C. Fountain, Cocoa Barometer co-author said “As a biennial review of sustainability in the cocoa sector, the 2020 Cocoa Barometer report provides stark details of how little positive impact current and past interventions are having for the farmers at the beginning of the supply chain. Twenty years into rhetoric, the challenges on the ground remain as large as ever. Poverty is still the daily reality for virtually all West African cocoa farmer families, child labor remains rife and old growth forests continue to be cleared to make way for cocoa production.”
Now is an important window of opportunity to move towards justice, as momentum for change is gathering across different stakeholders. Thanks to campaigning by CSOs, the last two years have seen an increasing number of chocolate companies asking for regulation; significant global actors like the EU are committed to putting legislation in place; and the world’s two largest producers of cocoa, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, have formed a cartel to drive up the price for cocoa farmers.
“Coming out on the day that the legal case against Cargill and Nestle for child slavery in their supply chains is being heard at the US Supreme Court, the severity of ongoing problems described in the Barometer remains dire, as does the need for solutions outlined in the report,” said Todd Larsen, Executive Co-Director of Green America.
The report finds that the last two decades of interventions have failed for three main reasons.
- Regulatory efforts have only been voluntary, not mandatory, meaning that across the sector, actors are failing to do what they need to. Within the multitude of government-driven covenants, national multi-stakeholder platforms and sector-wide collaborations, there are no penalties for non-compliance nor enforcement to meet targets. Ironically, however, those at the bottom – cocoa farmers often living below the poverty line – do lose their sustainable cocoa certification if they do not comply. Whilst we’ve seen a significant increase in regulatory processes and commitments to due diligence, they are limited without accountability, transparency and equitable enforcement.
- The underlying problems that exacerbate extreme poverty – including low cocoa prices, lack of infrastructure, and no transparency and accountability as you move higher in the supply chain – remain unchallenged and unsolved. There needs to be recognition that in its current form, the business model for high yields of cocoa means poverty for farmers and excessive profit for chocolate manufacturers. It’s time this changed.
- Efforts to solve complex issues of injustice and unsustainability in the cocoa sector have not given farmers and CSO a seat at the table. Instead of inviting farmers and civic society to take a respected seat at the decision-making table, problems have been assessed using a top-down industry-based approach. This serves the interests of industry and government, rather than the producer farmers and their communities.
The report makes three key recommendations:
- Regulation that regulates companies, rather than penalizing the farmers. Recognizing that bad farming is not the problem, but rather a symptom of a deeply unfair system, the report advocates for systems change and regulation that creates an enabling environment. Current forms of certification and farm-based standards increase pressure on farmers: instead, we need laws that hold the powerful accountable, rather than laws which demand that farmers change. Compliance criteria are imbalanced and need restructuring so that companies are held accountable to due diligence systems.
- Effective partnerships between producer and consumer countries. If the answer is creating an enabling environment, we need partnership agreements between producer and consumer countries that facilitate and finance this. Processes that set partnerships in motion should be inclusive and deliberative, ensuring that civil society and farmer groups have a respected voice at decision-making tables.
- Deliver on a fair price for farmers. The single biggest positive impact for farmers and incentive for farming sustainably is delivering a fair price for the cocoa they produce. Cocoa and chocolate companies must find ways to redistribute value along the supply chain so that farmers are guaranteed a living income.
Sandra Sarkwah, Coordinator for the Ghana Civil-Society Cocoa Platform (GCCP), supports the publication of the Cocoa Barometer 2020 and said, “Efforts of sector players to change the story of farmers keep on beating about the bush when evidence presents to us the plight of farmers: low income from their hard work is a major threat to cocoa sustainability” she said. “Processors, chocolate manufacturing companies and retailers who earn a large chunk from the value chain must be fair to farmers by paying a living income and this must reach the farmer”. As recommended in the report, Sarkwah confirms “this will require the efforts of various actors, including civil society organisations in both producing and consuming countries, as well as strong farmer cooperatives to demand transparency and accountability for effective delivery of pricing policies for better farm gate prices for farmers”.
The full 2020 Cocoa Barometer report can be read here: www.cocoabarometer.org
ABOUT THE BAROMETER
The Cocoa Barometer is published biennially by a global consortium of civil society actors; ABVV/Horval, Be Slavery Free, European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), Fair World Project, Fern, Green America, Hivos, INKOTA-netzwerk, International Labor Rights Forum, Mighty Earth, Oxfam America, Oxfam-Wereldwinkels, Rikolto, Solidaridad, Südwind Institut, Tropenbos International.
Editor’s note only:
The 2020 Cocoa Barometer, an Executive Summary, an FAQ, separate infographics and photographs of cocoa production can be found at https://www.voicenetwork.eu/press/
Media contact:
Antonie Fountain
antonie@voicenetwork.eu
Mob:(+31)06 242 765 17
In the US, Max Karlin
mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com
(703) 276-3255
Editor’s note only:
The 2020 Cocoa Barometer, an Executive Summary, an FAQ, separate infographics and photographs of cocoa production can be found at https://www.voicenetwork.eu/press/
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Socially Responsible Investing on the Rise |
The numbers are in! Professionally managed assets in the U.S. using socially responsible investing (SRI) strategies continue to grow rapidly. According to the US SIF Foundation’s newly released 2020 Report on Sustainable and Responsible Investing Trends, SRI assets now total $17 trillion – a 42% increase since 2018.
This means that one third of all professionally managed investments are now involved in SRI.
In 1995, the first year of the biennial Trends Report, SRI assets totaled only $639 billion.
What is socially responsible investing?
SRI investments take into account the social and environmental impacts of companies and include issues like climate impacts, gender and racial equality, human rights, and labor issues. SRI investing works to create greater corporate responsibility, which can also lead to competitive returns.
Sustainable Investing in the United States
Despite recent attacks on socially responsible investing by the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Department of Labor, individual and institutional investors are increasingly seeking to align their investment decisions with their values or missions while meeting their financial goals.
In tracking the growth of SRI, the report examines the integration of environmental, social and corporate governance criteria in investment decision-making; the assets involved in the filing of shareholder resolutions; and community development investments that support economic uplift in marginalized regions.
Highlights of the report include:
- The top 5 issues of concern to institutional investors (such as pension funds, foundations, hospitals, faith-based institutions, insurance companies, and educational institutions) are:
- Terrorism/Repressive Regimes
- Climate Change
- Tobacco
- Board of Director Issues
- Sustainable Natural Resources & Agriculture
- The top 5 issues of concern to money managers are:
- Climate Change
- Anti-Corruption
- Board of Director Issues
- Sustainable Natural Resources & Agriculture
- Executive Compensation
- The highest number of shareholder resolutions filed between 2018-2020 addressed corporate political activity – both political contributions and lobbying. Shareholder resolutions allow all investors in a company to cast votes that encourage management to take action on a specific issue.
- The next most popular shareholder issues were fair labor practices and equal employment opportunity and climate change issues.
- Community investing assets rose to $266 billion, growing 44% between 2018 -2020. This includes community development banks, credit unions, and loan funds. Assets in community development credit unions are the largest part of the community investing field.
Leading ESG Issues 2018-2020, by number of Shareholder Proposals Filed
Investors are also responding to major current events. Investors surveyed on the impacts of COVID-19 and SRI trends going forward felt that SRI would continue to grow and that the current pandemic may increase interest in investment strategies that take environmental, social, and corporate governance issues into account. Investors also predicted increased attention to racial and gender equity issues and to the climate crisis.
Investors will likely continue to respond to the police murder of George Floyd and to the broader injustices it has made more visible. Through public statements, support for Black views and insights in corporate engagements, the inclusion of racial justice issues in the investment process, investing in under-served communities, and other actions, socially responsible investors will continue to use the power of their assets to build a better world.
Green America has many resources on socially responsible investing and better banking.
Use the power of your dollar for people and the planet today! Visit:
If you have enough money to open a bank account, you can become a social investor today!
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Sustainable Business Decent Exposures, Inc. Pivots during COVID-19 |
Guest blog by Green Business Network member Decent Exposures, Inc.
Background: In 1986, sustainable business Decent Exposures® began manufacturing the Original Un-Bra, designed by women, for women, with your comfort in mind. Since then, we’ve been successfully fitting women of all sizes, from 30AA to 60L, and every size in between. Over the years, we have expanded our product line to include front closure bras, nursing bras, swimwear, every day and activewear clothing, as well as baby items and accessories, all made from the same high-quality fabrics we use to make our bras and underwear.
Social responsibility is important to us. We use recycled materials for packaging whenever possible, limit our use of plastic, and pass on large fabric scraps to be re-purposed or recycled. We buy organic fabric whenever possible, all of which is made in the USA. In 2016 we were one of 10 finalists for Green America’s People and Planet Award for ethical apparel supply chains. All our products are made in our Seattle office, where most of our employees have been with us for over 20 years. They are paid well above minimum wage, with excellent benefits, and are truly valued for the excellent work they do. We have never bought or sold our mailing lists, as we know quality products and customer satisfaction are the best ways to generate business.
Making the Pivot: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, our production crew used disposable face masks to keep them from breathing in fabric dust. When we needed to order more in early March, there was such a limited supply that we decided to design our own reusable/washable, organic cotton, latex-free masks. Within a week, we had created 2 styles: a pleated style, similar to the disposable masks, as well as a more deluxe, fitted version, with extra room around the nose. Guess it's true - necessity IS the mother of invention!
As a small manufacturer in Seattle, WA, we were able to quickly respond to what was needed and now offer for sale publicly:
- Pleated masks, pleated masks with a slit at the top for a filter, and the more fitted, deluxe style
- Kids sizes in each style – just smaller versions for kids under 10 years old
- Fabric ear loops instead of elastic ear loops, for those with elastic sensitivities
- Behind the Head elastic option which works well for those with hearing aids
We had never considered making face masks but pivoting quickly helped our company stay open when our governor issued a Stay Home, Stay Safe mandate in April and all non-essential businesses were closed. As facemasks were and are definitely essential, we were able to remain busy the whole month of April exclusively making facemasks. We have sold over 10,000 masks and have donated over 3500 masks to local food banks and other essential workers.
Our facemasks are available in over 20 organic cotton colors and are a wonderful way for us to use up some fabric scraps created while we make our usual products.
Good News: It’s been fulfilling being able to help with the pandemic in some way, and we’re grateful to our customers who recommended us to their friends and families as the need for face masks became clear.
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Don't Discount Our Future, Trader Joe's |
Trader Joe’s Practices Harm People and the Planet
Trader Joe's has a bad history of leaking dangerous climate pollutants and not disclosing the labor practices in its chocolate supply chains. And the company doesn’t even report how it plans to address these serious issues.
That’s why Green America and the Environmental Investigation Agency have teamed up to hold Trader Joe’s accountable.
We’re telling Trader Joe’s to stop emitting climate-damaging refrigerant gases in all stores and to support efforts to end child labor in its Trader Joe's chocolate.
And we’re urging the company to up its transparency across the board.
Tell Trader Joe's: Don't Discount Our Future!
Trader Joe's Damage to the Climate
Trader Joe’s refrigeration is leaking super-pollutant gases that accelerate the climate crisis. It received the lowest score on the Environmental Investigation Agency’s Climate-Friendly Supermarket Scorecard.
In 2016, Trader Joe’s settled with the US EPA and DOJ for violating the Clean Air Act by leaking refrigerants. But there’s no sign that Trader Joe’s has made progress to reduce leak rates or adopt sustainable, climate-friendly refrigerants.
Refrigerants are a major source of climate-damaging emissions. Refrigerant leaks from US supermarkets alone emit 45 million tons of greenhouse gases every year - the equivalent of 9.5 million cars on the road.
Is there Child Labor in Trader Joe's Chocolate?
As for labor, Trader Joe’s received one of the worst scores on Green America’s retailer chocolate scorecard; the company shares very little about what it’s doing to address child labor in its supply chains or rampant deforestation that is caused by the chocolate it profits off.
There are over one million children in West Africa experiencing child labor in cocoa growing; 24% of child laborers are exposed to harmful pesticides that jeopardize their health and the environment; cocoa farmers make less than $1 per day.
It is unacceptable for any company profiting off chocolate to not have a publicly available plan to end child labor and injustices in the chocolate supply chain!
Holding Trader Joe's Accountable
While refrigerants and cocoa sourcing are quite different issues, Trader Joe's inaction on both shows an inexcusable and troubling disregard for people and the planet.
Most companies are becoming MORE transparent, but Trader Joe’s shares next to no information with the public about its sourcing and operations.
Some of the largest and smallest supermarkets provide greater disclosure than Trader Joe’s – leaving no excuse for Trader Joe’s lack of transparency.
Climate & Refrigerants:
- Submit annual greenhouse gas emission data, including hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions, to the Carbon Disclosure Project & share science-based targets to reach carbon neutral operations.
- Commit to achieving a companywide average refrigerant leak rate below 10%and report annual progress on a public platform.
- Commit to phase out HFCs from all operations & facilities by 2030 & set measurable interim targets to achieve this goal.
- Commit to installing only HFC-free systems in all new stores, facilities, or major retrofits using only ultra-low GWP refrigerants.
- Issue a detailed annual sustainability report listing progress on the above goals & other methods to increase energy efficiency and reduce the overall climate impact of Trader Joe’s refrigeration systems
Labor & Cocoa:
- Increased transparency; publicly disclose the first and second tiers of its chocolate supply chain.
- Require all cocoa suppliers sourcing out of West Africa to be using a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS).
- Issue an annual sustainability report (not a blog post), describing how it is supporting a sustainable chocolate industry and what indicators are used to measure success of their efforts.
- Increase compensation for cocoa farmers and disclose how Trader Joe’s is supporting efforts to pay cocoa farmers a living income.
- Support the call for US and EU mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence regulation.
- Commit to no deforestation by 2022 throughout the entire supply chain and develop a robust agroforestry policy, particularly for those areas deforested due to industry practices, including where cocoa is grown in West Africa.
- Respect all workers’ rights from those in your stores to those at the end of the supply chain. This includes stopping any anti-union behavior or union busting. Ensure all workers in the supply chain have proper PPE, hazard pay, and paid sick leave in the time of COVID-19 and thereafter.
A typical supermarket consumes 4,000 pounds of refrigerants each year, with one quarter of these greenhouse gases leaking out of the massive and often faulty systems.
These gases, called hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, have thousands of times the global warming power of CO2. Refrigerant leaks from US supermarkets emit 45 million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year – the equivalent of 9.5 million cars on the road. On top of that, supermarkets use a lot of energy, up to 60 percent of which comes from their cooling and heating systems which when leaking refrigerants are even less efficient.
In 2016, Trader Joe’s entered a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding violations of the Clean Air Act for emitting high global warming potential (GWP) and ozone-depleting refrigerants. The company was tasked with reducing its emissions, creating a better process to repair refrigerant leaks, and using refrigerants with an ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) in several stores.
More recently, Trader Joe’s received the lowest score on EIA’s Climate-Friendly Supermarket Scorecard, which assessed the company on its actions (or lack thereof!) to reduce the use and emission of HFCs.
Still, there’s no sign of Trader Joe’s progress to reduce leak rates or adopt sustainable, climate-friendly refrigerants. Trader Joe's doesn't publicly report its climate emissions, as many other large companies do to show progress towards commitments.
We need to hold companies accountable for their emissions that drive the climate crisis. Rising global temperatures and the devastation of communities by more powerful storms and fires around the world show that there’s no time to wait – companies like Trader Joe’s must eliminate their use of dangerous greenhouse gases.
Retailers make millions of dollars on chocolate sales, while cocoa farmers make less $1 day. The unfair division of chocolate profits must change. Farmers need to be paid more, or we have no hope of ending child labor in the cocoa industry.
Children deserve the opportunity to enjoy their childhood and attend school. Putting profits over the well-being of children, regardless of where they live, is unacceptable!
Trader Joe's needs to demonstrate that it is taking action to protect the people impacted by their products, including helping end child labor in the chocolate industry.
One result of consumer, civil society, and government pressure on the chocolate industry is that big chocolate brands have developed sustainability initiatives. This pressure has led to greater transparency about what chocolate brands are doing to address social and environmental harms, including child labor and deforestation. However, Trader Joe’s is far behind on transparency – disclosing next to no information about how it’s addressing child labor in the chocolate from which the company profits.
Our Chocolate Retailer Scorecard ranks the leading US grocery stores and pharmacies on efforts to address child labor in cocoa.
Check out our End Child Labor in Cocoa Campaign to learn more!
Take Action
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Financial Statements and Auditor Report, 2020 |
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