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By: Joanne Dowdell (board member representative) and Fran Teplitz (staff member representative), co-chairs of Green America’s Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Team

Green America Staff Contributors: Brooke Bennett, Anya Crittenden, Emma Kriss

Black History Month February 2023

The national theme of this year’s Black History Month, Black Resistance, recognizes how Black communities have resisted oppression in the United States throughout history, to this very day. This special time of celebration was originally chosen by the historian Carter G. Woodson, because February includes the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Woodson, known as the “father of Black history” created “Negro History Week” that ultimately became Black History Month. The holiday brings Americans together to remember, honor, and be inspired by Black history and culture.

To help enhance your celebration with content you can use all year long, Green America is pleased to share Black History Month resources that highlight Black accomplishment and the racial justice still needed in society, the economy, and the environment. We do this as a reflection of our vision: “to work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the abundance of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.”

Together, let’s celebrate and recommit ourselves to building a just society.

Black History Month Resources:

Holiday Background & Social Justice:

Association for the Study of African American Life and History

Black History Month: HBCUBuzz (Historically Black Colleges & Universities)

National Museum of African American History & Culture

UNCF: Black History is Every Day Because Black Lives Matter Every Day

W.E.B. Dubois, Black History Month and the Importance of African American Studies

We are Teachers: Black History Month

Yes! Magazine: How Black History Paves the Way for a Just Black Future

2023 White House Proclamation

Economy:

AFL-CIO Black History Month: Union Leaders Profiles

Berkeley Economics, University of California: Black History Month/Economics

Green American Magazine Divided We Fall: Investigating the Costs of Racism to All of Us

Remaking the Economy: Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories  (webinar)

Environment:

Bridging the Gap: Black History Month: Black authors on environmental justice

Bullard Center for Environmental & Climate Justice: 2023 Black History Month

Celebrating Black Environmentalists During Black History Month

Green America: How Environmental Justice Can Work for Everyone

Earthshare: The Critical Role of Black Environmentalists Throughout History & Today

Virtual Black History Month Events:

African Symbols Decoded: An Online Black History Month Presentation (Donation)

Black History Month Paint Party (Free; virtual attendees must purchase their own supplies)

Black History Month - Press ON!!! (Free)

Black History Month Nia and Healing Arts Jam ($30)

Black History Every Month: The History of Black People in America 1619-2023 ($22)

BOPSers 18th Annual Black History Month Celebration (Free)

Black History Month Youth Panel Discussion: Our History, Our Future (Free)

Black History Month Panel: Breaking Barriers in the Legal Profession (Free)

Library of Congress Events (Free)

SBA Black History Month Event: How to Thrive as a Black Owned Business (Free)

Ways to Celebrate Black History Month 2023

Why Black History? ($20)

2023 Black History Month - Resistance to Restoration (Free)

Understanding Black history is crucial to understanding U.S. history and the present. Let’s keep learning and working for justice.

Title: Executive Co-Director: Culture, Planning & Green Business Development

Hours: Full Time (4-day workweek)

Salary: $100,000 - $120,000 depending on experience

Reports to: President & CEO

Benefits: Excellent benefits including health care, dental care, support for working virtually, generous leave policy, and flexible 32-hour work week.

Founded in 1982, Green America is a national nonprofit dedicated to creating a just and sustainable society by harnessing economic power. Our unique approach focuses on economic action and marketplace strategies, working with consumers and investors.

We seek an experienced, collaborative leader, with a passion for people and project management in service to our social justice and environmental mission.

Green America is a highly collaborative, vibrant workplace.  We have a participatory decision-making process among staff members that aims to build consensus within departments and teams on how we carry out our work. Goals to advance Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion are woven into all of our work.

The Executive Co-Director: Culture, Planning & Green Business Development will provide planning, direction, and oversight for Green America’s work regarding: 1) Culture: Lead (a) the continuing integration of Green America’s JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion) commitments into all facets of the organization’s work and culture, and (b) the evolving nature of team building in a virtual organization; 2) Planning: with the Executive Team, drive annual planning processes for Green America’s programmatic work and budget, 3) Green Business: with Green America’s Green Business Network of companies and entrepreneurs seeking to advance corporate social and environmental responsibility, help build the green business sector.

The Executive Co-Director of Culture, Planning & Green Business Development works closely with the Executive Co-Director: Consumer and Corporate Engagement to ensure that programs and processes are integrated across the organization, and both Executive Co-Directors will work closely with the President & CEO to ensure that the organization is on track to meet all of its programmatic, financial, and organizational goals.  Together, the Executive Co-Directors and the CEO form the Executive Team (E-team) for the organization.  Like the teams across the organization and the board, the E-team is highly collaborative.

This position supervises Green America’s Director of Development & Organizational Advancement, Finance Director, Green Business Network Director, Executive Associate (with the CEO), and HR Director (with the Executive Co-Director of Consumer and Corporate Engagement).

Leadership responsibilities include:

CULTURE

1. Deepening our Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) Work   

• Co-chair Green America’s staff and board member JEDI Team.
• Ensure Green America’s JEDI work and culture are integrated into all programs and new staff and board member orientations.

2. Creating a Strong Culture as a Newly Virtual Organization   

• Develop activities, programs, and processes that build relationships among staff members in a virtual context and oversee the planning of annual, in-person staff and board member gatherings.
• Oversee Green America Worker Membership, ensuring that volunteer roles are filled, agendas developed, and Worker Members are encouraged to take initiative to contribute to building a strong, positive Green America culture.

PLANNING & ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS

3. Executive Team (E-Team) and Cross-Organizational Integration

• Work with the executive team to ensure smooth functioning across the organization, and that the organization is on track with its financial and programmatic goals. 
• Lead processes to ensure timely and well-run staff meetings, operating plan meetings, budget meetings, the annual staff gathering, and retreats as needed.

4.  Development:  Oversight & Fundraising

• Work with the Director of Development & Organizational Advancement to continue building strong development strategies.
• Through major donor visits and other approaches, raise funds and cultivate donors.

5. Finance: Oversight

• Work with the Finance Director and CEO on organizational financial needs and fiscal management, including the timely development of budgets, financials statements, audits, and tax forms.
• Ensure that Green America funds are invested following our social and environmental screening criteria, including serving on the Green America Endowment Executive Committee.

6. Board

• Serve as the Executive Team Lead to the board.

GREEN BUSINESS NETWORK (GBN)

7.  GBN: Oversight and Development

• Oversee the Green Business Network Director to develop new programs and opportunities, ensure programmatic and fundraising goals are met. Monitor progress throughout the year.

Skills Required:

Experience doesn't always look the same – skills are transferable, and passion is important. Please tell us how your experience can lead to success in this position.

• Commitment to Green America’s mission and goals; strong commitment to both environmental sustainability and social justice.
• Experience in working effectively with people across lines of difference to ensure a respectful, healthy, and welcoming work environment.
• Experience leading Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion initiatives.
• Proven collaborative leadership and the ability to work in coalitions.
• Fifteen or more years of management experience, especially in the non-profit sector.
• Financial experience, including the ability to work with teams to create, manage and balance multimillion dollar operating plans and budgets.
• Strong communication skills.
• Adaptability and creativity – ability to help solve problems and to take advantage of new opportunities.
• Ability to implement and oversee multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to support and oversee business membership growth plans.

To Apply:

Please send your resume and a cover letter to executivehire@greenamerica.org by March 3, 2023.

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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. 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.

Kase Custom is a small team of artisans using fully handmade and sustainable practices to build a collection of heirloom quality reclaimed wood furniture.

Reclaimed wood is the foundation on which Kase Custom is built and has been a conscious choice from day one. By sourcing domestic reclaimed wood, we are keeping waste out of our landfills and giving it a new life as an heirloom quality piece of furniture. Our pieces are sturdy, practical and multi-functional by design, meant to last for generations to come.

Companies Improve on Renewable Energy But Need Major Improvement on Equity and Impacts on Underserved Communities. 

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 26, 2023 – The three major U.S. telecommunications companies are significantly underperforming when it comes to energy justice, according to a new report by Green America. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile each received C or D grades in the organization’s latest report, which investigates energy use in the sector and assesses the companies’ energy procurement on key principles of energy and environmental justice.  

Calling for a Just, Clean Transition, part two, found that while telecom companies have made several of the largest corporate clean energy purchases ever since Green America launched its Hang Up on Fossil Fuels Campaign in 2018, the industry still has a long way to go to reach 100% renewable energy. And all of the companies must do more to ensure that their energy purchases support energy justice. It is not enough to simply purchase renewable energy. Companies also need to ensure that energy purchases support energy justice by benefiting communities most harmed by fossil fuels and incorporating these communities and workers into the process of siting and construction decisions.  

The report includes a scorecard grading each company on renewable energy goals, renewable contracts, renewable use, and energy justice: 

An overview version of the report is also available. 

Dan Howells, climate campaigns director at Green America, said: “It is encouraging that the big telecoms are making progress in adopting renewable energy to protect the planet. Yet, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T all could be doing more to put new wind and solar power on the grid. And all three companies need to use their market power to advance energy justice and protect communities as well.” 

The report finds that companies can improve their energy justice scores by contracting for energy from companies that make improvements around the following RFP criteria:  

1. Decision-making power: Form Oversight Boards and Technical Advisory Groups that are composed of environmental justice communities and frontline leadership. Environmental and energy justice advocates consistently stress the importance of ensuring participation – an aspect of procedural justice – by impacted communities, with meaningful opportunities to influence decision-making. The ability (or inability) to influence processes by which decisions are made directly informs the extent to which siting, energy burdens, and economic opportunities create just (or unjust) outcomes.   

2. Sourcing and Siting: Commit to use only regenerative and non-extractive clean energy solutions that reduce pollution in environmental justice communities. Formally exclude waste-to-energy incineration and woody biomass power from what is considered renewable, even if these sources of energy meet state renewable performance standard guidelines. Energy sources that continue to burden environmental justice communities with on-site pollution are diametrically opposed to energy justice. Where siting of renewable energy (for example, hydropower) creates impacts to local, disadvantaged and/or environmentally overburdened communities, this should also be mitigated and where possible, avoided.  

3. Energy burdens: Ensure energy affordability and offer low-income energy assistance to under-served and environmental justice communities. This includes (but is not limited to) supporting rooftop solar on public and affordable housing; supporting community solar projects; and other actions to reduce the energy burden on lower- and middle-income households, ensuring accessibility to renewable energy. Energy burdens are one of the most tangible problems facing families in low-income and BIPOC communities, and energy companies providing residential energy are directly positioned to provide more equitable access through a variety of programs and investments.   

4. Economic opportunities (entrepreneurship): Strive for a minimum of 30% subcontracts within the next five years to be with minority-and women-owned or managed companies. Develop plans to increase the minimum threshold as minority-and women-owned or managed businesses in the sector increase. Report out publicly on progress in achieving this goal. The clean energy sector is advancing, while perpetuating existing inequities in economic opportunity. A commitment to energy sourcing that relies on increased business with minority and women-owned or managed vendors can foster progress toward energy equity. For publicly traded companies, this means incorporating minorities and women into positions of leadership, including in the C-suite and on boards.  

5. Economic opportunities (inclusive workplaces): Incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB) throughout its workforce and across leadership roles or must have stated goals to increase diversity and reform culture in the sector with measures for accountability. Energy companies should be advancing toward truly inclusive and equitable workplaces internally, including accountability measures, to support progress in a traditionally male and white-dominated industry. 

Elizabeth Silleck La Rue, report author and CEO of Silleck Consulting Services, LLC, said: “Systemic inequities won't reverse themselves; it will take genuine, intentional, and sustained effort to create a renewable energy industry that fairly distributes decision-making power, benefits and burdens. Where the fast-growing and increasingly critical telecommunications and renewable energy industries intersect, there's an opportunity to level the notoriously imbalanced power dynamics that plague the energy sector. Let's take it."  

Fossil fuel extraction, combustion, and waste disproportionately harm communities of color, leading to significant environment and health impacts. In the transition to renewables, it is also essential to ensure that jobs in wind and solar benefit impacted and underserved communities. Currently, women of all races, and Black, Latino, and Indigenous peoples are underrepresented in the clean energy workforce. When solar and wind facilities are built in or near vulnerable communities, those communities must have key roles in the process and obtain benefits from the installations. 

Part one of the report was released in 2022 and outlined the steps companies need to take to improve on energy justice. The report can be found at https://reports.greenamerica.org/energy-justice.  

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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  

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin for Green America, (703) 276-3255, or mkarlin@hastingsgroupmedia.com. 

It’s a new year—the Earth continues spinning, progress inches its way forward despite the deeply rooted challenges the world still faces, and it’s time to plan for the year ahead. For entrepreneurs, that means looking at business practices for as successful a new year as possible. One of the most important practices to pick up or strengthen is a commitment to sustainability and these green business resolutions can help your business make that a reality. 

1. Cut the Greenwashing 

Study after study is finding that consumers are prioritizing sustainable brands and products, even if it means they’ll pay more. 

A 2022 report from First Insight found 68% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products and 72% of consumers say sustainability is more important when deciding on a purchase than brand name, which is up from previous studies. 

With the increasing importance of sustainability and the public’s awareness of it, people may be more skeptical of generalized jargon on a product’s label, at best touting vague promises and at worst lying through greenwashing. 

Greenwashing is an actively harmful practice and it’s not going to fly anymore with consumers. Last year, when the British watchdog organization, the Competition and Markets Authority, announced it would be looking into several fashion companies’ sustainability claims, ASOS, the British retailer, conveniently deleted the sustainable category from its website. 

If you’re looking to dodge greenwashing claims, commit to the work and agree to independent third-party reviews. The Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides is a good place to start, as is the Green Business Network’s member program. Be on the look-out for our upcoming letter to the FTC, and information on how you can raise your own business voice, as they conduct the 2023 review of the Green Guides. 

Another practice to avoid is the newly labeled “greenhushing,” when a company claims sustainability efforts but then never communicates its goals or practices with stakeholders or the public for accountability or transparency. 

2. Take Advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act 

When Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, it promised big goals, like reducing the United States’ share of global greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40%, or 1 gigaton, by 2030. 

One of the ways the bill aims to achieve this is through various new incentives making resources and products like clean energy and energy efficient vehicles more accessible. 

Some of the incentives include tax credits, rebates on energy efficient appliances and vehicles, better healthcare for small business owners and employees, and more. 

To find out more about what benefits your business can claim, see The Inflation Reduction Act: Guide to Small Business Resources. 

3. Reuse, Recycle, Donate 

By now we all know about recycling, donating and thrifting, and generally minimizing our waste. But how thorough is your business when it comes to minimizing waste? Consider these steps and tips for becoming a truly waste-free enterprise: 

• Start tracking your business’ waste, including general trash, food waste, and e-waste. Note how things are disposed of and how often—this will make you better equipped for tackling the waste.  

• For specific waste, like food and electronics, Google “local composting” or “local electronics recycling” to find programs or organizations in your area that can help. 

• No more single-use plastic. None. 
• Learn how to really recycle. Every city and municipality is different, so check out How2Recycle to better understand what and how you can recycle. 
• Instead of throwing away appliances, office supplies, or anything else your business uses, consider donating them if they’re in good condition. Chances are, another small business, a school, someone working from home could use that old printer. Try checking your local Buy Nothing Project chapter, or Facebook Marketplace. 

4. Develop a “Takeback” Program 

On the topic of waste, consider starting a “takeback” program at your business. Depending on the products or services you sell and their lifespans, some businesses find it more useful for customers to return products once they’re finished with them. 

By taking over the entire lifecycle of a product, businesses can minimize waste and consumers’ responsibilities when they may not know as much about local waste or recycling regulations. 

Swedish academic Thomas Lindhqvist first defined this idea, or extended producer responsibility (EPR), in the 1990s. EPR is a strategy employed to identify and take responsibility for all environmental costs of a product’s lifecycle, from production to use and, finally, disposal. 

Some examples of current takeback programs: 

• Patagonia offers free repairs to its products and recycles or reuses products when they reach the end of their life. 

• At cosmetics retailer Lush, customers are incentivized to return the 100% post-consumer recycled pots in exchange for a free face mask. 
• MUD Jeans takes back any pair of jeans (96% or more cotton) and recycles them back into their own products. 

5. Encourage Flexibility for Employees 

The work from home (WFH) revolution has begun and for good reason. Mandatory stay-at-home orders in 2020 revealed the positives of a minimal commuter culture, from less emissions and cleaner air to a more equitable sharing of land for all living creatures by nature falling back into rhythm and wildlife having more space and freedom to thrive. For more on this, check out the 2021 documentary The Year the Earth Changed. 

For businesses where an office or commuting is necessary, there are ways to still prioritize less damage to our planet. 

The first way is to offer employees more flexibility, such as a hybrid WFH schedule or allowing employees the choice of when they commute (either specific days or time of day). Another option, if the workplace is local, is offering a subsidized bike, carpool, or public transportation scheme. 

For example, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers $20 monthly stipends for expenses incurred while commuting to work via bike. 

Finally, if travel is involved for your employees, consider buying carbon offsets for work travel when it’s financially feasible. 

6. Ensure an Ethical Supply Chain 

An important point to remember while running a business is that you don’t do it alone (most of the time). When it comes to the timeline of a business and its products or services, there are several steps involved even before a product lands on the shelf. 

To make your business sustainable from top to bottom, investigate the sustainability of every step of your business’ operations and ensure you’re working within an ethical supply chain. 

Research the suppliers you work with and see if they prioritize the same environmental and social concerns as you and what sustainable practices they utilize. You can also research the types of raw materials being used for your products in order to avoid harmful things like palm oil, lead, and plastic packaging. 

Another tip: Consider switching to local suppliers and vendors to limit your carbon footprint from travel. 

7. Foster a Just and Fair Workplace 

There’s no way to have a sustainable planet if it’s not also a just and equal planet—for every person and living thing. 

This year, survey your workplace to see how you can better the lives of your employees, from more flexible schedules, generous benefits, DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs, and more. 

Some practices to consider this year if you haven’t already, include open hiring and considering potential employees from a wider pool, like those experiencing homelessness or have experienced incarceration; an equitable 401(k) plan; DEI training; and becoming a more inclusive business for employees and customers alike. 

The first month of the year isn’t over yet—what can you do with your business to better serve the planet and its inhabitants in 2023? 

Join millions of Green Americas fighting for a better labor world, both in your business and personal life.

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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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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.

Includes advising clients, comparing properties to sell to clients, promoting properties, preparing documents and purchase agreements, soliciting potential clients, negotiating properties for clients

Company

Required:

• Business core purpose includes a “green” business function.
• Social and environmental mission and vision statement for your business on its website.

Preferred:

• Banking with a community development, minority, or socially & environmentally responsible bank or credit union.
• Protocols in place (e.g., trainings, HR policies, support group(s), statement of commitment, accountability mechanisms, etc.)  that advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) within the company.

Services

Required: 

• Ensures health and social equity 
  • Prioritize access and inclusivity of services (e.g., works with mixed-income communities) For example, many low-income communities are more prone to health issues due to water and air quality issues, like placing them closer to incinerators, etc. 
  • Create goals to improve equity issues related to real estate
  • Benefits the community (e.g., philanthropy, services) Improving the health of the overall community and its people 
  • Provides equitable financing recommendations for clients.
• Familiar with sustainability best practices and benefits  
  • Avoids selling “flipped” properties that do not include energy saving features such as eco-friendly insulation, energy efficient appliances, alternative power source, etc.
  • Energy and water efficient appliances (e.g., EnergyStar rated appliances, water saving fixtures) 
  • Practices in place to reduce stormwater runoff 
  • Landscaping done with sustainability in mind (irrigation, xeriscaping) 
  • Energy efficient lighting 
  • Buildings are properly insulated (e.g., energy efficient windows, insulation) 
  • HVAC system well-maintained 
  • Access to renewable energy; knows EPS (Energy Performance Score) or HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score 
  • Ensure resilience of buildings from natural disturbances 
  • Minimize exposure to toxins and pollutants (pest control, lawn maintenance) 
  • Location is near access to alternative transportation  
  • Informs potential homeowners or renters and sellers of sustainability initiatives and has this information on their website 
  • Offer virtual showings and meetings
  • Use of digital documents

Preferred: 

• Provides a list of recommended green businesses/contractors to potential buyer 
• Familiar with a variety of sustainable and high-performance building methods and certifications  
• Earned a Green Certification or completed a course in how to be a green realtor or real estate agent

Company Employment

Required:

• Employees have access to family friendly benefits including high-quality health insurance, sick days, paid parental leave and childcare help.
• Offer a flexible workplace culture that encourages work/life balance and makes reasonable accommodations for telecommuting and flex schedules.
• For employees that are not commissioned, pays a wage that ensures employees well-being.
• Has an established non-discrimination policy and procedure and ensures an inclusive workplace culture.
• Governs fairly and in a transparent manner. Is open to employee input. Has a whistle blower protection policy in place.

Preferred:

• For employees that are not commissioned, living wage is paid.
• Has an established program that invests in employee growth and development.

Education

Required:

• Use transparent and truthful marketing.
• Advocate for green business practices in your industry.
• Established program for receiving input from both internal and external stakeholders.
• Participation in continuing education such as Earth Advantage 
• Familiarity with Home Energy Score and the EPA’s Indoor airPlus .

Preferred:

• Actively seeks feedback from industry peers and participates in industry associations and mentor programs.
• Provide educational materials to clients on value of energy efficiency homes

Green Office/Facility

Required:

• HVAC system well-maintained, building well-insulated, and smart and efficient climate control employed.
• System in place for reducing electricity consumption from lighting and electronics.
•  Use of Energy Star rated appliances and CFL/LED light bulbs in office.
• Use of 100% post-consumer recycled, Chlorine Free paper in the office and in all envelopes, marketing, and print materials.
• Systems in place for reducing paper use such as electronic processes, printers set with double sided printing as the default, and more.
• Use of only non-toxic cleaning and pest control products.
• Maximum amount of waste is reused or recycled including paper, plastic, metals, glass, electronics, and printer ink cartridges.
• Action on clean energy such as purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or use of on-site clean energy.
• Compost all food waste.
• Landscaping done with sustainability in mind, especially considering runoff and stormwater management.
• Only fair trade and USDA certified organic coffee and tea served in the office.
• Use of green or local caterers for events.
• Use of a certified E-Steward for electronics recycling.
• Proper disposal of hazardous materials (e.g., batteries, paint, motor oil, etc).
• Knowledge of recycling/composting guidelines at your local recycling/composting facility.

The Green Business Network^® at Green America is home to both rising social and eco enterprises and to well-established green businesses, including landscaping, gardening, and farming businesses. We provide the resources to help business and entrepreneurs with strong social and environmental commitments thrive in today’s competitive green marketplace.

A key benefit of membership is our certification program. This guide provides an overview for achieving our certification for businesses in the Landscaping, Gardening, & Farming sector. If your business meets the criteria in this guide, we encourage to join the Green Business Network and apply for certification. If awarded, we will promote your business to the public and to Green America’s 250,000+ green consumers looking for businesses like yours! 

How To Get Started as a Green Business in the Landscaping, Gardening, & Farming Sector

Agriculture and landscaping are highly polluting industries because of the prevalent use of chemical and petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. These harmful chemicals deplete the soil; pollute water supplies; kill pollinators; lower nutritional content; degrade the health of surrounding communities; and harm workers’ health. Follow the guidelines below to get started on being a green business in this sector. At the Green Business Network, “green” always means social justice and environmental sustainability. 

Download Guide

Ready to get started? Fill out the form below, and we'll email you our How To Guide for landscaping, gardening, & farming businesses. You'll also receive occasional updates from Green America's Green Business Network. You can update your subscription preferences or unsubscribe anytime.

Climate the Top Sustainability Concern; Ending Workplace Discrimination Tops Shareholder Resolutions; Community Development Investments Soar

The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF) documents the assets involved in socially responsible investing strategies, also known as ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) investing along with other key developments in sustainable investing. The newest, biannual Report on U.S. Sustainable Investing Trends, released December 2022, tallies sustainable investing at $8.4 trillion.

The new report reflects a decrease in ESG investing for reasons that stand to benefit the continuing development of sustainable investing over time. First, the latest report applied a more stringent methodology to identify assets involved in ESG investing to ensure that specific ESG criteria are applied to all assets counted. This more detailed approach and level of disclosure is needed given the recent, rapid and sizeable increase in firms claiming to integrate ESG considerations.

Secondly, US SIF also attributes the decrease in their ESG-investing tally over that in the 2020 report to action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that mandates greater disclosure of funds’ ESG criteria. Both the change in report methodology and action by the SEC bode well for ensuring a more accurate count of the dollars involved in sustainable investing.

Highlights of the report include:

• Climate and carbon emissions are the top ESG concern of both asset managers and institutional asset owners; fossil fuel divestment ranked fourth among the ESG factors that asset managers address.
• Workplace fairness, especially focused on ending ethnic and sex discrimination, emerged as the top concern in shareholder resolutions.
• Community development investing, benefiting economically marginalized communities, continued to rise, reaching $458 billion; this is an increase of 72% since the last report in 2020 and a $600% increase over the last decade.
• After climate-related criteria, the top issues for asset managers focused on military/weapons; tobacco; and anti-corruption.
• After climate-related criteria, the top concerns for institutional investors focused on conflict risk (terrorism or repressive regimes), corporate board issues, sustainable resources/agriculture, and tobacco.

Green America has resources to keep you updated all year long on socially responsible investing, better banking, and shareholder action. Together, we can vote with our dollars to support people and the planet.

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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.

The Green Business Network^® at Green America is home to both rising social and eco enterprises and to well-established green businesses, including sustainable personal care brands. We provide the resources to help business and entrepreneurs with strong social and environmental commitments thrive in today’s competitive green marketplace.

A key benefit of membership is our certification program. This guide provides an overview for achieving our certification for businesses in the Body & Personal Care sector. If your business meets the criteria in this guide, we encourage to join the Green Business Network and apply for certification. If awarded, we will promote your business to the public and to Green America’s 250,000+ green consumers looking for businesses like yours! 

How To Get Started as a Green Business in the Sustainable Personal Care Sector

Personal care products are made with thousands of chemicals, some of which are known or suspected carcinogens. Federal regulation of this sector is highly inadequate to protect human and environmental health. Follow the guidelines below to get started on being a green business in this sector. At the Green Business Network, “green” always means social justice and environmental sustainability. 

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Global demand for chocolate, not least during the holiday season, has devoured tropical forests where cocoa trees grow.

Now, lawmakers in the European Union, the world’s largest cocoa buyer, have vowed to import only what doesn’t destroy or degrade forests. It’s part of a landmark legislative package to address deforestation risks in the supply chains of several commodities: cattle, timber, coffee, rubber, soy, cocoa and palm oil. (Palm oil is also used to make chocolate.)

Tips for raised beds, pest control, soil health, and more from Permaculture expert Nicky Schauder - www.greenamerica.org/climate-victory-garden-questions-answered

Title: Responsible Finance Campaign Director
Supervisor: Executive Co-Director, Consumer & Corporate Engagement
Position: Part-Time (20 hours/week); grant-track position
Salary: $43,000 - $49,000 depending on experience
Benefits: medical, dental, disability insurance, sick leave, vacation, virtual work

Green America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a just and sustainable society by harnessing economic power for positive change. Our unique approach involves working with consumers, investors, and businesses. Our workplace reflects our goal of creating a more cooperative, environmentally sound economy. We have a participatory decision-making process that aims to build consensus within our teams. Commitments to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion permeate our work.

The Responsible Finance Campaign Director is a new grant-based position, in Green America’s Corporate Responsibility Programs & Communications teams, that will work to educate and mobilize investors and consumers on the importance of ESG (environmental, social, corporate governance) investing. The position will focus on educating institutional and individual investors on the positive aspects of ESG-based investing and sustainable investing and involve them in initiatives that uphold investors’ ability to choose ESG-based investment options including those that address the climate crisis.

Duties and Responsibilities

Campaigns

• Plan and implement campaigns to mobilize investors, businesses, and asset managers in support of ESG-based investing and banking, including debunking anti-ESG propaganda.
• Plan and implement campaigns to mobilize employees at major companies to seek ESG-based options in their retirement plans, including those that address the climate crisis.
• Participate in coalitions to support ESG and sustainable investing, especially climate-focused investments; link climate issues to impacts on, and the leadership of, frontline and communities of color.
• Draft comments to regulatory agencies, provide comments on legislation and build support for governmental action to protect and advance ESG investing.
• Integrate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) impacts into communications and actions.
• Participate in departmental and other meetings as needed.
• Other campaign tasks as assigned.

Communications

• Coordinate with the Communications & Publications teams to create, update and optimize content on ESG investing and better banking.
• Work with the Web and Social Media Teams to ensure ESG investing and Responsible Finance content is well-suited for the web and social media, reaching a wide and diverse audience.
• Research and update/develop content (blogs, email, webpages, social posts, guides, digital and print articles and press releases) to educate investors and the public on ESG investing issues, including impacts on diverse communities.
• Speak on behalf of Green America at events and to the media on ESG-based investing and related topics.
• Participate in departmental and other meetings as needed.
• Other Communications duties as assigned.

We seek the following in qualified candidates:

• Support for Green America’s mission and to advancing our justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion commitments.
• 5+ years of campaign and communications experience.
• Strong research and writing skills; ability to synthesize information and develop clear and compelling messaging. Experience creating content for various audiences and for web, social media, and print.
• Ability to use social media creatively and effectively, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Demonstrated ability to formulate and implement online campaigns.
• Ability to manage multiple projects at once and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively in coalitions and with a diverse range of allies.
• Experience with advocacy for ESG/sustainable investing preferred.
• Willingness to publicly present Green America’s Responsible Finance program and respond to media inquiries.

To Apply: Please send cover letter and resume to hire@greenamerica.org  

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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.

From the most recent issue of our magazine, Green American, where we update readers on the progress we've made over the last quarter on climate, finance, food, labor, social justice, and more.

Green America's 2022 Victories (and a sneak peek at the work ahead in 2023)

Together, we accomplish the extraordinary. Here we take a moment to celebrate our 2022 victories that Green America members make possible and spotlight advances that will make our work even more powerful in 2023:

Thanks to our campaigns, Amazon, AT&T, and Verizon have gone from using no renewable energy to making some of the largest corporate commitments to clean energy ever.

We launched our Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI) Go-to-Market pilots. SCI provides the “how to” road maps, commitments, and third-party verification to help farms and companies transition to regenerative agriculture for soil and climate health. The pilot farmers, companies, and their networks represent over three million acres.

We reached a milestone of 15,000 registered Climate Victory Gardens that are sequestering carbon equivalent to driving 38 million miles and educated millions of people nationwide about the benefits of regenerative gardening through earned media, our website, and webinars.

Our Toxic Textiles campaign moved Carter’s, the kids clothing company, to commit that 100% of its cotton and polyester will be sustainable by 2030. The company has also committed that all 0-24-month baby clothes will be Oeko-Tex certified as non-hazardous by December 2022.

Our Clean Electronics Production Network collected chemical data from over 100 electronics manufacturing facilities to map the chemicals in use in the electronics industry. In 2022, smartphone maker Fairphone joined Apple, Dell, and HP in committing to eliminating high priority toxic chemicals and protecting workers from these chemicals. We are also working with these companies to substitute safer chemicals in electronics production to protect millions of workers from exposure to the most toxic chemicals in use.

Our Skip the Slip campaign got CVS to offer digital or no receipt options to all customers, saving 87 million yards of receipt paper, enough to circle the globe twice.

In 2023, we’ll build on these victories and our other progress on climate, regenerative agriculture, and protecting workers from toxic chemical for more extraordinary progress for people and the planet. Stay tuned!

Congress Passed the Inflation Reduction Act and Tabled a Dirty Side Deal

In 2022, Green America joined with allies in pushing for strong climate change and social justice provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law in August. That coalition also worked together to oppose fossil fuel handouts in the bill. Unfortunately, the subsidies for fossil fuels were incorporated in the final legislation. Still, the IRA is the most significant expansion of climate policy in US history and provides tax incentives and funding that will:

• Rapidly expand wind and solar power in the US.
• Help millions of Americans switch to electric appliances and vehicles.
• Provide billions of dollars in support to Green Banks nationwide to further state and local climate change efforts.
• Provide support to struggling farmers and fund conservation programs.
• Ramp up manufacturing and installation of clean energy technologies in the US to create millions of jobs.

We will use the passage of the IRA to accelerate corporate adoption of clean energy, and ensure federal agriculture funding supports regenerative farming. We’ll also help our members and the public learn how they can access the money that the IRA provides to go solar and switch to electric vehicles. And we’ll help our Green Business members learn how they can take advantage of the IRA to further green their businesses.

Green America also joined with environmental justice allies nationwide to successfully oppose the “Manchin side-deal” from getting included in a must-pass budget bill. This side deal would have accelerated permitting for fossil fuels projects in exchange for Senator Joe Manchin’s vote in favor of the IRA.

“Communities most harmed by fossil fuels would have once again been most hurt by speeding up permitting of fossil fuel pipelines and other infrastructure,” says Dan Howells, Green America’s climate campaigns director.

Green America mobilized our individual and business members and reached out directly to Congressional staffers to encourage their members to oppose. In a victory for people and the planet, the side deal legislation was removed from the budget bill. But it could come back up after the election, so we’ll be ready to mobilize opposition again.

Regenerative Agriculture Provides Healthier Foods for Consumers

The evidence is in. Not only is regenerative agriculture the solution to rebuilding soil health, restoring the climate and regenerating farm prosperity, but crops grown in regenerative fields are better for our health as well. Over the past several decades, conventional crops grown in tilled soils and doused in multiple chemicals produced food with decreasing nutritional benefits.

Not surprisingly, when farmers improve soil health and reduce chemicals, the food that is grown is healthier. Peer-reviewed research from a 2022 study published in the journal PeerJ shows that crops grown in regenerative fields are higher in phytonutrients, vitamins, and other nutrients.

Green America’s Soil Carbon Alliance, our network of farmers and food companies, recently launched the Nutrient Density Working Group to draw attention to the nutritional benefits of regenerative agriculture. Working with farmers and food companies, along with consumer advocates, nutritionists, the medical community, and grassroots groups working on food access, this initiative will help spur the demand for the transition to regenerative agriculture.

“The regenerative farmers we work with like to say ‘healthy soil grows healthy plants, to feed healthy people and communities,’” says Jessica Hulse Dillon, director of Green America’s Soil & Climate Alliance. “Connecting the impact of regenerative practices with nutrient density increases the impact of work in the climate, environmental, and food access spaces to transform our food system.”

“We shall come in drag, which means men wearing women’s costumes,” declared an 1870 party invitation printed in the UK’s Reynolds Newspaper.

It was the 19th century and drag as we understand it today—the exaggerated performance of gender—was being defined and shaped for the first time. Of course, drag existed long before, in the days of Ancient Rome, Shakespearean theater, and Japanese kabuki.

Despite dangerous critics threatening violence at drag events, drag performers nonetheless remain, wigs high and makeup bold, proud and resilient as Mother Earth herself. For some queens and kings, their ties to nature run deeper still in sustainable drag.

Three people, connected by the drag world but occupying separate roles—a performer, costume designer, and photographer—speak about how community fosters sustainable action and fulfillment.

You’re Born Naked and the Rest Is Drag

An Indigenous drag star, a photographer who grew up on a sustainable herb farm, a South Korean costume designer raised by activists. Their origins set the stage and the communities that followed, from drag to family and friends, shaped them.

Bohenne Arreaux is Diné (Navajo peoples) and Creole, from the Jena Band of Choctaw, and their Indigenous roots are not only a part of their drag persona, but the foundation. (Note: Bohenne Arreaux is Two-Spirit and uses all pronouns.)

“I was definitely a novelty in the beginning,” they say of being an Indigenous drag performer. “But I’m not doing my drag in a way that performs culture as much as I am sharing who I am with people.”

Cassidy DuHon, a DC-based photographer and amateur drag queen has had a deep love of nature cultivated by his parents, including his soil scientist mother, from birth.

“Our role as humans in nature is to go out and commune with larger spirits, commune with your friends through the act of removing yourself from [the distractions of] society,” he says.
Similar to Arreaux’s Indigenous community and DuHon’s parents, Hahnji (who prefers to go by their first name only) recalls their childhood in South Korea: activist elders put solar panels on the roof and visits to their thrift-loving grandmother in Michigan resulted in a return to South Korea sporting 70s lace bell bottoms from Goodwill.

Drag came from their gender identity: “I’m gender-fluid and I like to play with different silhouettes. I went through a high femme phase, with heels and skirts with petticoats, only to change into basketball shorts and a tank top when I got home. I was doing drag on the regular and didn’t know it.”

It made sense, then, to infuse their earliest lessons and values into their drag community, just as Arreaux and DuHon did.

Making Treasure from Trash—Together

Shangela, a drag queen who gained fame on RuPaul’s Drag Race and now co-hosts We’re Here on HBO Max, has called drag queens some of the most resourceful people. In a 2021 article in Wealthsimple, she praised how they use makeup to the very end and recycle costumes, all while relying largely on tips earned at shows—which they booked using their own talent for both entertainment and cultivating connections.

One of Arreaux’s most iconic looks was crucially made with the help of others, from friends to ancestors and creatures who lost their lives.

“I was in a competition, the theme was Monster Ball,” she recalls. “I knew there would be Frankensteins, vampires, zombies, and I wanted to do a creature from Indigenous mythology.”

She went as the Deer Woman, a fertility and love figure for everyone who shows respect to women and children, and a vengeful, murderous spirit to those who harm women and children, known to lure men to their deaths.

Creating the costume for Deer Woman stemmed directly from their Indigenous beliefs of respecting the land and not creating waste.

“The costume was actually made from a couch,” Arreaux explains. He stripped the leather from the couch, given to him by an old roommate, and Deer Woman’s creation began.

Wanting to honor the animal which lost its life for the couch, Arreaux gave the skin new purpose while sustainably upcycling and avoiding waste. It’s a rule they follow when creating anything, from a theatre prop to a new drag character: “You have to be really wise about making something that lasts.”

Wandering, But Not Lost

DuHon saw drag differently through understanding resourcefulness and seeing drag in nature amongst community.

In 2012, a friend invited DuHon to Beltane, the Gaelic May Day festival honoring the start of summer. His friend was a member of the Radical Faeries, a counterculture movement started by gay men in the 1970s seeking community and spirituality in nature.

“At first it was like, ‘Oh, this is this strange party in the woods.’ But then I really took to the deeper spiritual aspects of it,” DuHon says.

Everything changed for him then. He became a Radical Faerie, started the hashtag #dragofthewoods on Instagram, and began hosting his own sustainable drag events, like a queer camping trip. One of his friends made an entire ballgown and accessories from grocery bags upon realizing the bags customers return in the hopes they’ll be recycled often go straight in the trash. Another sparkled and dazzled with a flowing, golden cape made of salvaged honey packets.

“Doing drag in nature takes teamwork,” he says. “Limited electricity, no place to plug in that glue gun. You work together to craft a look from less. The woods remind us to get back to our communal nature.”

Living in this world, finding community and support can be transformative and life-giving.

Five Corporations in a Trench Coat

Hahnji sees community all around them.

It is the Mexican artist down the street in New York City they buy pieces from for a play by a Mexican American playwright, and then develop a friendship. It is the performer who wants to keep their costume made by Hahnji, giving the piece life again and again. It is the young queer people, lacking resources, who come to Hahnji for styling help.

“We live in a country of five corporations in a trench coat and they don’t want us to be a community,” they explain. “A lot of what I do is promote resources and give back.”

Hahnji’s approach to this is anti-capitalist, focusing on the green values of paying fair wages and reducing the use of non-renewable resources.

“I have to spend capital,” they say begrudgingly. “So my focus is where: ‘Can I refocus on labor? Can I refocus on valuing people?”

They encourage buying from BIPOC-(Black, Indigenous, People of Color)-owned businesses and re-thinking what capital can be, such as resources or education.

“Everything is super gatekept,” they explain, and doubly so for queens and kings who are members of communities of color, who are forced to fight uphill battles upon the intersection of racism and homophobia. It’s why they’re focused on aiding communities of color and gender-expansive communities, to give them the tools and aid purposely kept out of reach.

Eventually, they want to expand this sense of community even further: “A lot of these resources are focused in liberal areas like New York, but I want to take them to the Midwest and beyond.”

Drag exists everywhere, as do communities of color, queer, and marginalized people. Beyond New York City and Los Angeles, there are countless people pursuing their identity, their art, their look, dreaming of more, if only someone offered a hand.

Don’t Be a Drag, Just Be a Queen

As DuHon puts it, drag is the “great equalizer.” It is a powerful, unifying force, especially for queer people and reinforcing their community. It examines gender and privilege, and it cannot be done alone.

As drag queens and kings rely on their resourcefulness and resilience, their cheering section of friends at brunch, their mentors and ancestors, to thrive together in the face of protesters calling for their banishment, there is much to learn from them.

Sustainability in drag shows us that we can thrift clothes, make things using recycled materials from services like FABSCRAP, support small, LGBTQ+, BIPOC-owned businesses, and above all else: find community, ask for help. Green America’s Vote with Your Dollar toolkit also provides first steps to adopt a money-saving, community-building lifestyle at greenamerica.org/votewithyourdollar.

You are never alone, and you certainly can’t get that two-foot thrifted Dolly Parton wig on your head yourself.

When it comes to green business, caring for the earth is a given. But Yamacu and Velasquez Family Coffee surpass this mission as they forge worldwide connection through cuisine. Salimata Bangoura, CEO of Yamacu (and Green America board member), sells West African food and drink to support her community in Mali. Cathy and Guillermo Velasquez, founders of Velasquez Family Coffee, sell the Honduran coffee beans that Guillermo’s father, siblings, and neighbors hand-pick and sun-dry. When supporting these companies, you’re not just purchasing tasty cold-pressed ginger drinks or your morning coffee, you are joining an international network of community and culture, by tasting flavors from around the world that have been brought stateside with purpose.

Yamacu

Food brings us together—the labor of love creating a dish and then sharing it with others, explaining its history and significance.

Growing up in Ferkessédougou, [a city in Ivory Coast,] “the melting pot of West Africa,” Salimata Bangoura discovered this early on in life.

“I ate food from all different West African countries,” recalls Bangoura. “I like to focus on things that bring us closer, remind us we come from the same threads, and create a bridge. Food is the most powerful medium to do that.”

Bangoura runs Yamacu, a company that food and beverage company specializing in Malian cuisine and flavors. Inspired by her mother, Rokia Diarra, and Diarra’s original ginger drinks, the business offers seasonal prepared meals for catering purposes as well as take out, and is currently fundraising for a café.

Diarra began making ginger drinks, an anti-inflammatory and digestive aid, in 1995 in the Bronx after emigrating from Mali. As a child, Bangoura helped her mother make and deliver the beverages in the NYC borough, where there was a large concentration of African immigrants familiar with the flavors.

“You blend the ginger with things like pineapple and lemons and water,” Bangoura explains.“Some people make it really strong, like my mom.”

Eventually, when her mother got older, Bangoura took over the company and merged it with her own West African-inspired company, a meal delivery service called Dugu.

Creating a product that is good for people, shares her culture, and directly benefits West Africa are Bangoura’s main goals. While the business is not yet profitable, Bangoura says once it is, “all profits” will go towards supporting the people of Mali, where her mother has returned.

“Hunger leaves room for no other thought, trying to alleviate it is the number one goal, and that’s why we help support the people my mom feeds and cares for,” Bangoura says. “She helps young people from the villages looking for domestic work in the city. People come to her home, and she finds them employment and negotiates better pay.”

Bangoura further explains that her mother’s impact and reach has created a network in which Malian villages refer one another to her aid.

“By supporting Yamacu, you’re directly aiding this mission,” says Bangoura. “The absolute best way you can help is with funding, to support what women like my mother are doing, which helps us create and maintain sustainable communities.”

Velasquez Family Coffee

Some thirty years ago, a man helped his neighbor start her lawnmower. Guillermo Velasquez, a recent emigrant from Honduras, had just met his future wife, Cathy Eberhart.

Guillermo and Cathy Velasquez sound like the perfect pair to run a sustainable coffee business: he studied animal and plant systems and works in crop research at the University of Minnesota; she has a master’s in public affairs and worked with an organization that aids sustainable farmers with direct marketing. But the roots of Velasquez Family Coffee run so much deeper.

Guillermo grew up helping his father on his coffee farm in the Rio Negro community located in the mountainous rainforest of Comayagua, Honduras. In 2001, when the global market price of coffee sank, Guillermo’s father worried that to harvest and sell to his standard exporter would in fact lose him money.

That’s when Cathy and Guillermo asked themselves a life-changing question: Why don’t we bring this coffee home to Minnesota to sell at a fair price?

“We didn’t start out intending to have a business,” says Cathy. “Frankly we were just trying to help our family.” So, with the humble ambition of bringing coffee to St. Paul family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, what started out as 400 pounds of coffee brought to the United States in suitcases has transformed 20 years later into the import of 20-30,000 pounds of coffee per year. Velasquez Family Coffee ships around the country or is hand-delivered one Friday a month in the Twin Cities by Cathy or Guillermo themselves, one of their children or, on occasion, their kids’ friends.

“We’ve gone beyond delivering to friends and family, but it feels like a big family, a big group of friends,” says Cathy.

The Velasquez’s coffee beans are grown beneath the rainforest’s canopy, where the forest minimizes erosion and preserves the surrounding habitat. The beans are then hand-picked for ripeness and sun-dried to seal in natural sugars and flavors.

“Honduras before had a bad reputation about coffee,” says Guillermo. “But right now, Honduras has one of the best coffees in the world.”

Cathy says simply, it’s good coffee with a good story, and it directly supports Guillermo’s brothers, father (who is now 97 years old), and the broader Honduran community.

“That inter-cultural connection and our bi-cultural family is really what I love being able to share with others,” says Cathy. “This is a lot more than just selling coffee.”

Take Action:

Green businesses that care for people and the planet allow us to connect with cultures around the world, support diversity, and make our dollars count.

Almost two billion people worldwide partake in the culinary delight of bugs. In Thailand, fried caterpillars are common treats at street markets. In Mexico, cooked grasshoppers are bar snacks and taco fillings. And in Uganda, flying African termites, which have more protein than vertebrate meat, are eaten à la carte.

Yet many Americans are revolted by the idea of bugs for dinner. In a warming world, insect cuisine may become commonplace— to fight climate change, and because it’s tasty.

Katydid Cakes, Anyone?

The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 25-50% of Native American tribes had traditions around entomophagy (the practice of eating insects) before the 18th century. The Cherokee would enjoy fried cicadas, the Kitanemuk would eat red harvester ants as a hallucinogenic, and the Ute near Great Salt Lake shared katydid cakes with Mormon settlers during icy winters.

Dr. Cortni Borgerson, a Montclair State University professor researching insect-eating as a means of wildlife conservation, explains that American settler hesitance with entomophagy has to do with exposure. If people saw bugs as part of a regular meal, like French fries accompanying a burger, or in the meat aisle alongside pork and chicken, it would be normal.

“Most things that we like to try are introduced to us by family and friends,” says Borgerson. Without that, we are cautious to try something new.

Additionally, there is a geographic piece to the cultural puzzle. In northern latitudes, bugs die off for half the year, whereas cultures around the equator see bugs year-round, establishing ample time to experiment with entomophagy.

“When we do encounter insects, we’re not encountering them on our plates, but we are encountering them as taking our food away through spoilage or pests in our home—as opposed to this exciting new source of incredible food,” says Borgerson.

Protein Shake with a Side of Sustainability

Mounting concern over global food insecurity and the climate crisis are causing Americans to reconsider their protein sources. While highly processed plant-based meats are grabbing headlines as climate friendly options, one-third of Americans are receptive to a different protein: cricket-based foods.

Crickets have a much better environmental footprint than livestock. Insects get most of their moisture needs from food, using 95% less water than conventional animal agriculture. They are 20 times more resource-efficient than cows, producing 80% less methane, and release far less ammonia than pigs, which can pollute waterways and soil.

Industrial soy agriculture—a high-protein plant option—is better than livestock when it comes to resource management, but soy production is connected to deforestation and biodiversity loss in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest, as well as high pesticide use and genetic engineering. Comparatively, crickets can be grown indoors in sealed facilities and stacking habitat enclosures to be even more space-efficient. Indoor growing promotes food security in cities affected by climate change-related transport disruptions.

Sarah Schlafly started the food company Mighty Cricket with these points in mind, offering protein powders, flour, and oatmeal made from ground crickets. Schlafly notes that outdoor fitness enthusiasts gravitate to her products.

“Mountain bikers, rock climbers, trail runners—they’re already in nature,” says Schlafly. “Bugs don’t really ick them out because they’re always getting them in their face anyway, and they’re very passionate about preserving their ‘playground.’ I think it’s a combination of the [high protein content] they can get from the products with that sustainability piece.”

Crickets seem to be a palatable option for Americans because they are not associated with spoilage in the same way other bugs are. Crickets are reminders of delicate chirping on calm evenings and cute cartoon sidekicks in Disney movies. Many of Schlafly’s customers don’t just buy the products because of the environmental benefits, but because they like the taste, she says.

A New Take on Taco Tuesday

It’s hard to predict when insects will become a regular part of the American diet, says Schlafly, but change is happening. Restaurants across the country are offering Americanized takes on cultural dishes. Los Angeles is home to many chapulin restaurants (derived from the Nahuatl word chapolin for grasshopper) such as Guelaguetza and Expresion Oaxaqueña, and New York City’s The Black Ant, a modern Oaxacan-style restaurant, serves black ants on guacamole and espresso martinis.

“Those are actually what I recommend when someone’s like, ‘Oh, I want to try a bug for the first time,’” says Borgerson. “Get a chapulines taco, get some black ant guacamole because you get a citrusy profile versus a chicken profile with a nutty edge.”

While protein powder is one way to integrate insects into your diet, Borgerson hopes more people try insects in plated dishes. Seeing bugs served next to chips or on a taco helps to normalize it as food.

“If you think of things like sushi, tacos, and pizza, we’re constantly turning any neat, exciting food in the world around, and then finding what it means to be American in that place,” says Dr. Borgerson.

Americanizing entomophagy has already started. Salt & Straw, the Pacific Northwest ice cream-favorite served chocolate-covered crickets and toffee-brittle mealworms in one of its seasonal Halloween ice creams. The company takes inspiration and sources its bugs from Monica Martinez, who is on a mission to share the joy of entomophagy with Americans by selling bugs grown on her urban farm, Don Bugitos, in Oakland, California.

For most Americans, the world of insect cuisine is a new frontier. But giving a bite a try is a chance to explore exciting new flavors and advance environmental sustainability in a warming world. Look for restaurants serving bugs near you, try a cricket protein shake or ice cream, and if you like it, share it with your family and friends.

Not ready for bugs yet, or practicing veganism? Like insects, plant-based proteins are climate-friendly alternatives to meats like beef, chicken, and pork. Tofu, tempeh, seitan, lentils, beans, and nutritional yeast are great contributions to a tasty meal.

The United States is a country of dichotomies. Few things illustrate this better than access to healthy food. Take for example the affluent city of Beverly Hills, which boasts nine supermarkets that serve its 32,000 residents. By contrast, 30,000 residents of Detroit, Michigan, lack access to even one grocery store with fresh food. Instead, heavily processed, pesticide-laden foods line the shelves of neighborhood convenience stores.

Because politicians have historically done little to address this disparity, community organizers invest their time and money, and have an army of volunteers to provide their communities (mostly of color) organic food at affordable prices. But what is access to fresh produce without an understanding of good nutrition? One Denver native figured out a clever way to use music to explain what healthy eating looks like.

Ietef Vita was raised in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver. Before the gentrification of the last decade, Five Points was home to mostly lower-income Black families.

“We didn’t have the Boy Scouts, we had gangs, so I became a gang-banging Crip,” Vita explains. “A lot of my friends ended up in the youth penitentiary, which was two blocks from my high school. Five Points was a prison town kind of vibe.”

How Vita went from a processed-food eating gang banger to becoming a yoga-loving, meditating vegan, rapping about greens and organic farming is simple.

“I owe it all to my mother,” he says.

Two things happened during Vita’s adolescence that served as the inspiration behind his lyrics about healthy eating. While working as a curator for the Denver Film Festival, his mother put herself in debt to pay for Vita and his brother to visit Burkina Faso for the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou.

“As I walked through the port at Gorée Island in Senegal, I thought I was something special in my gang colors. Back then, I didn’t understand this was the largest slave-trading post back in the day,” recalls Vita. “Seeing where my people originated and the brutality they faced there and once they arrived in the new world, forced me to examine my life and the contributions I wanted to give humanity. I felt called upon to make a difference.”

Upon his return from West Africa, his mother gave him a package of tofu. While this may not seem out of the ordinary to those with limitless food options, for a gang banger from the “hood” without access to a supermarket, for Vita, it was more evidence to answer the call.

“At first I was the only tofu-eating, vegan gang banger, which provided the punchline for many jokes, but for me it was about self-reflection. Did I want to be part of the problem or provide a solution?”

Vita not only quit gang life, but he began studying Indigenous agronomy and permaculture, and started writing.

Using Eco Hip-Hop to Promote Healthy Eating

Vita, known professionally as DJ Cavem Moetavation, created a subgenre of rap he calls Eco Hip-Hop.

“My songs are about sustainable agriculture, but there’s more to my lyrics. Apart from police brutality, the Black community has multiple issues that aren’t being addressed in Hip-Hop.

“The same way Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, N.W.A., and other prominent Old School rappers brought this consciousness to the mainstream, my mission is to expose the health crisis people of color face everyday. My albums have seeds with growing instructions. I got the USDA to certify them, enabling me to get them into schools. I’m also working with the WIC program. My songs provide context for all of this.”

Vita’s wife, Alkemia Earth, is a certified master energy healer who appears in most of his videos. “It may seem corny to tell people that you write rhymes about vegetables, but absent the lyrics, his music is modern-day rap,” known as Trap. “Nothing makes his day more than to hear a kid rapping about broccoli, collard greens, and kale,” she says.

Roger James, of Aurora, Colorado, is one of those young people. James is a recording engineer with Atlantic Records.

“I met Ietef when I was in middle school in Five Points. He came to our school and organized rehearsals, taught us about healthy eating, and provided venues for me to perform and get comfortable presenting my art to the world,” James says. “He definitely impacted my life a great deal when it comes to music and growing organic food.”

Ten years after their first meeting, James returned the favor by arranging and producing Vita’s latest album. Koncrete Garden is an EP with eight songs that sprinkle in issues that impact the Black community with more rhymes about vegetables. In the song “I’m on the Move” Vita describes a day in the life at Mo' Betta Green Marketplace, the farmers market where he serves on the board.

7 am at the market
Washing that kale and I park it
I got that cabbage on low
I got that spinach on low
I got tomatoes on low
I got that garlic on roast

About Vita’s influence on young people, Shane Wright, the development director of the Denver nonprofit organization Lincoln Hills Cares, concurs.

“Vita is a fixture, father figure, and feature in Denver’s community-based environmental movement. Not only does his music represent Denver, but he shows up for the youth. When he’s not touring, you can find him juicing greens from his own garden at the farmers market.”

Respect for the Founder of Eco Hip-Hop

Today the gang-banger-turned-musician has garnered respect from the music industry. Chuck D, front man for Public Enemy (known for their politically-charged songs like “Fight the Power” and “Can’t Truss It”), is Vita’s mentor. “DJ Cavem’s music will propel us as humans. Spirit energy and fuel define his mantra. He is a gift from beyond to listen, watch, feel and emulate for generations to follow.”

Todd Thomas, known professionally as Speech, is a founding member of the group Arrested Development. He calls Vita, “Always dope, always authentic and a “back-to-earth visionary.”

It’s a Koncrete Garden Out There

Disparities in food access—to quality affordable foods in grocery stores—affects 11.8% of the US population, according to 2020 data from Feeding America, but doesn’t consider the pandemic, which increased food insecurity. People of color are likelier to live in those food insecure areas, which is part of the reason why Vita finds it so important to educate those in his community about growing foods, provide food access through community gardens and events, and teach about how healthy food, when it is accessible, can be fun and tasty.

Vita brings it all full circle. “As good health continues to elude most Americans, I will continue writing music to bring back ancient wisdom to address current problems. And I owe it all to my mother.”

Sarah Ratliff is the co-author of Being Biracial: Where Our Secret Worlds Collide, an anthology of essays exploring mixed-race identity. Her main topics of interest are Puerto Rico, cannabis, natural healing, race and gender, politics, STEM, and sustainable agriculture.

Industrial agriculture has changed our relationship with the land—instead of picking a tomato by hand, many Americans pick it out of a lineup on the grocery shelf. But cultivating the land is a fundamental practice of humanity, stretching back millennia. Many traditional gardening methods from around the world maintained a natural balance between the soil, the climate, and community food needs, in their own unique ways. The modern regenerative gardening/agriculture movement is informed by these ancient and ongoing traditions—and it’s helping people understand that we are part of maintaining the balance of the natural world as stewards of the land.

Shepherds of the Land

In Ortonville, Michigan, Tamarack Camps is helping Jewish children connect with their roots and the joys of tending the land. Farber Farm is an educational program at Tamarack Camps, where campers may grow and harvest peppers, kale, beans, broccoli, zucchini, and much more—the produce is served in the cafeteria, so the campers can experience the food from seed to table.

Alex Rosenberg, the Farber Farm manager, explains that while cultivating the land is not something typically associated with Judaism today, it is a foundational part of the religion.

“Our ancestors were shepherds of the land. All our holidays are woven into an agricultural calendar,” she says. “Just being on the farm and getting your hands in the soil is the absolute most Jewish thing you can do.”

One of the oldest Jewish traditions, shmita, is about nurturing natural balance—every seven years, cultivated land is to be left alone to rewild. As many ancient Jews were animal shepherds, this process protects the land from overgrazing. The belief is that, if the land is allowed to rest, then the following years will be bountiful. It’s a reflection of the seven-day week with one day of rest.

During the most recent shmita, which occurred from September 2021 to September 2022, Rosenberg hoped to inspire the campers to think bigger than just their summer camp experience.

“How do we bring [shmita] forward into soil conservation practices that we can be doing year after year after year, rather than taking just a sabbatical?” Rosenberg asked. “How do we extend that and still be able to work within an agricultural framework where we are producing enough food in efficient ways to feed our communities?”

It’s food for thought that the regenerative movement is already working on. Shmita, interpreted for modern day farming, is rotational grazing—where animals are kept together to graze a short time and then moved to new fields, leaving the field where they grazed and fertilized to rest, for the diverse grass species to grow to support soil health, and sequester carbon.

For Farber Farm, the idea of shmita is a tool to teach campers about stewarding the land. The land requires rest and restoration much like humans do. It’s part of a curriculum that includes regenerative growing practices using methods like no till, cover crops, and composting to improve soil health. The lesson is that, with patience, nurturing the well-being of the land means caring for ourselves.

It’s also a lesson central to the Zuni tribe of the American southwest.

Bounty in Scarcity

Indigenous communities across the Americas have rich agricultural histories with holistic ecosystem management, many of which have informed the modern understanding of regenerative growing practices.

Venturing into the dry and hot environment of New Mexico, the Zuni tribe has practiced waffle gardening (heko:we in the Zuni language) in the desert for centuries. From above, the ground looks like a waffle, with little depressions in the soil to hold water for plants. A waffle garden can be sustained with limited water resources, making it extremely efficient in arid environments. This mindfulness towards limited resources is central to regenerative growing practices, which is conscious of waste.

Culturally, food sovereignty (the belief that people have the right to determine what and how they grow and eat) is woven into the Zuni way of life. As expert desert farmers, the Zuni people would grow food like maize, squash, and beans, historically. But in 1908, the Zuni River—what sustained gardens in the Zuni pueblo (village)—was dammed to form the Black Rock Reservoir. Since then, grocery stores proliferated, and gardening became scarce.

Kenzi Bowekaty is the food sovereignty leader at Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (ZYEP) in Zuni, New Mexico, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting Zuni children and families with their traditions. Bowekaty says that during the pandemic, waffle gardens began to reappear.

“ZYEP decided to give out garden kits because we couldn’t continue our regular programming the way we would have,” says Bowekaty. “I feel like it’s really growing back again, because of people wanting their own food.”

Just as the waffle-shaped depressions in the ground are home for the plants, homes in the Zuni pueblo are parsed out in a grid. That reflection is just one of many for the Zuni and the plants they nurture.

“We really believe that the plants resemble us as people in the stages of life,” Bowekaty adds. A planted seed is like an embryo in a mother’s womb, that eventually emerges in the sun. When harvest time comes, and the heavy corn stalks slump over, which Bowekaty relates to how a person would hunch as they aged.

Like how taking care of each other in a family builds a strong unit, taking care of our plant family results in food we can eat. When it comes to regenerative growing practices, the belief that humans are akin to plants keeps us mindful of how to treat and maintain the land.

Take Action

• Learn more about the cultural roots of regenerative growing in Native Growers Decolonize Regenerative Agriculture from the summer 2021 Green American.
• Read Healing Grounds by Liz Carlisle, which shares the stories of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American farmers reviving traditional methods of growing food.
• Start your own regenerative garden! Visit our resources for Climate Victory Gardeners to get started.

The Earth is a place of incredible resources: powerful winds, rich soils, strong currents, and resilient life. When it comes to fighting climate change or investing in a greener future, our most crucial asset may be each other. For every harmful policy or practice, there’s a green strategy or innovation to make our society better and heal our planet. This issue celebrates those solutions that abound from across cultures and around the world. This issue chooses hope.

For a more just and sustainable world, we have looked around the globe for innovation and inspiration, to expand the conversation, and learn from our neighbors near and far. We hope you will find inspiration from creative thinkers and activists across the continents and know that we are in this together. We will find our way into a green future, together.

South Korean Music Brings Fans Together for Climate

Devotees of Korean pop music are excited about making change in the world. Supporters of the mega-group BTS raised over $1 million for Black Lives Matter in June 2020, matching BTS’ own donation. K-pop enthusiasts globally have come together for numerous social justice and political causes, and climate change is no exception.

KPop4Planet is a group of supporters seeking to raise awareness about the climate crisis, with its biggest campaign, No K-Pop on a Dead Planet, speaking directly to music labels. They’re demanding green album purchase options, low-emissions concerts, songs about the climate crisis, and artists themselves encouraging climate action. The campaign has collected over 10,000 signatures so far and hosted an in-person action about sustainable album releases, including CDs, in front of music company headquarters, according to Dayeon Lee, a Korean university student and leader of the campaign. In August 2022, JYP Entertainment became the first K-pop music production company to release an ESG report, thanks to supporter pressure.

“It’s not only that fans are showing interest in social issues. They’re concerned about political movements in the name of K-pop fans, such as raising money for Black Lives Matter and the Save Papua forest campaign [an important land to Indigenous people of Indonesia], which are all fan-driven campaigns,” Lee says.

She also points to Blackpink, a K-pop group with 23 million monthly listeners on Spotify, being appointed goodwill ambassadors for the COP26 summit in 2021 as “an example of how idols have encouraged K-pop fans to become engaged in taking climate action.” —Eleanor Greene

Protecting Land Is Protecting Culture in Puerto Rico

In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated human and natural communities in Puerto Rico, including sand dunes, which are important natural barriers to weather and for archaeological sites, where important cultural artifacts have been found and continue to be threatened.

In the DUNAS project (Descendants United for Nature, Adaptation, and Sustainability), local communities in Puerto Rico have been using their knowledge of the environment to help bring back ecosystems and heritage sites.

With Para la Naturaleza, a Puerto Rican environmental organization, the project is incorporating citizen science and engaging community members on climate change and conservation techniques, like staying on trails. Isabel Rivera-Collazo, assistant professor at the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography, says protecting cultural identities by preserving Indigenous languages, passing information down, and recording the knowledge, are important steps in protecting local ecosystems.

“The idea of the project is to recover cultural heritage and use that link to the land to stimulate climate action and to support restoration of damaged ecosystems,” she says.

The project also included creating 3D images of pottery and artifacts found in archaeological sites in the dunes, which can be viewed online and printed with a 3D printer. Museums can more easily create exhibits this way and the actual artifact gets to remain with its original community. DUNAS printed these artifacts and gave them to elders in the community whose ancestors may have created the original pieces. —Aja Hannah

Clean Cars, Even in the Oil Country of Norway

Norway’s biggest industry is petroleum exports, but it’s also the country that has the highest percent of electric vehicles in use in the world (23%). The country even has a 2025 target for 100% of vehicle sales being electric. One way it does that is through tax savings—instead of offering rebates, Norway taxes electric cars at 4% (or 12.5% if the car is over $95,000 USD), compared to a 25% tax for non-electric vehicles. Along with monthly savings, electric vehicles end up being cheaper than gasoline-powered for many consumers.

“Tax incentives work. And once people drive an electric vehicle, most of them like it,” says Auke Hoekstra, founder of ZEnMo Simulations and senior advisor of smart mobility at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, another country with very strong electric vehicle policy and usage.

“Norway is the biggest supplier of fossil fuels in Europe, but in-house, it’s almost 100% clean energy,” says Hoekstra, noting the country is not part of the European Union and relies on petroleum as a national source of income. Experts call the country’s reliance on oil as it strives to become a climate leader a paradox, and many activists and climate experts are striving to align policy with ambitions to lead on climate.

Besides creating tax incentives, Hoekstra says governments must provide good infrastructure, like charging stations that are easy to find and connect with most vehicle types. Governments can also make data available to citizens that help them make choices clearly—he looks to the US’ fueleconomy.gov, which helps car-buyers to compare vehicles side-by-side with prices and fuel economy, including all cars, not just EVs. —Eleanor Greene

Australia Is Fighting Fire with Fire

Fighting fire with fire sounds counter-intuitive, but for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia, it’s a way of caring for and protecting the land. For over 60,000 years, cultural burnings have been practiced by First Peoples as an essential part of life, livelihood and wellbeing.

These intentional and controlled burnings help wildlife thrive—key in Australia, where 30 species have gone extinct since European colonization, more than anywhere else in the world—by providing various vegetation patches in different stages of regrowth, which increase the variety of habitats. According to The Nature Conservancy, they also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating dry brush that can worsen wildfires later in the season.

“Following the principle of ‘Right Fire, Right Time,’ fire is applied to specific places at times of the year to heal Country. This is an obligation and an active and empowering way of responding to climate change,” Rodney Carter, CEO of Dja Dja Wurrung Group says. As part of the Dja Dja Wurrung Country Plan through 2034, Dja Dja Wurrung people would be contracted and compensated to practice cultural burning.

“It puts First Peoples’ knowledge at the forefront, creates economic opportunities for First Peoples, and builds community resilience.” —Anya Crittenton

In Switzerland, Residents Rule Recycling

In the last 50 years, the volume of Swiss household trash has doubled, with the average person producing roughly 1,550 pounds of waste per year, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This is just 150 pounds less than the average American, according to the 2019 Verisk Maplecroft report, and yet in Switzerland, where recycling is mandatory, half of that waste will be recycled, according to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), compared to less than a third of American waste.

Swiss recycling depends on the everyday citizen. In Switzerland, there is an elaborate yet clear sorting system, separating paper from cardboard, PET bottles from plastic, even green, blue, and purple glass from brown and clear. Drop-off sites are detailed online, and door-to-door collection is available for the majority of recyclable materials in certified, color-coded garbage bags. Recycling etiquette is enforced through fines and “garbage detectives”—municipal workers who check garbage bags for rule violations.

“Like Santa Claus, they check who was naughty and who was good, at least on their home turf,” says Dardan Shehu, a writer for Study in Switzerland, who explains how foreigners and visitors may be scolded, lectured, or reported by neighbors when discarding waste in “un-Swiss” fashion.

Swiss consumers recycled 94% of their cans and glass bottles in 2018, according to the SBC. In the US, aluminum cans were recycled at a rate of 50%, with glass bottles resting just under 40%, according to 2018 EPA data.

Whether this success rate is due to higher social and community expectations, more intense accountability systems, a diversity of resources, or all of the above, American recycling has room to grow by comparison. —Olivia Liang

Argentina Toasts the Planet with Eco-Wines

A glass of malbec, a taste of chardonnay—they all taste better when they’re made ethically. Wineries straddle numerous industries, from agriculture to cuisine and tourism to communications. The vastness of viticulture leaves plenty of room for waste and mistakes.

However, in Argentina, the world’s seventh largest producer of wine, sustainability in the vintner’s world has been a priority for many years.

In 2010, the Bodegas de Argentina, the business chamber for wineries in the country, established its Sustainability Commission, aimed at providing wineries and the larger Argentine wine industry with education, tools, and resources that encourage successful sustainability, resulting in certification. This helped set the benchmark for the world, with Argentina leading the way. In its second year, the Commission co-created the Sustainability Self Assessment Protocol, which outlines goals for wineries and tools to achieve them.

Many wineries in Argentina have already received certification from the Sustainability Commission with successes spanning all areas of business.

For Bodega Argento, a winery in Mendoza, now a global leader in organic winemaking, agricultural progress is vital.

“Soil health is reviewed and assessed annually,” Bodega Argento sustainability leader Andrés Valero says. “We utilize agronomic management and throughout the crop cycle, cover crops are maintained which, in addition to having a role in promoting surface and underground biodiversity, helps keep the soil alive and protects it from erosion.” —Anya Crittenton

Ghana Is Fashion Forward

Toxic chemicals, water contamination, miles upon miles of waste—the fashion industry is rife with sustainability and labor problems. In Ghana, people in the fashion industry and those concerned about climate change are dedicated to revolutionizing fashion. This is especially crucial as US exports of used clothing to Africa decimated several African countries’ apparel sectors.

Over a year ago, the World Sustainability Organization (WSO) partnered with Ghanaian media personality, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and model Natalie Fort, to increase sustainability awareness and offer certifications across the country. Fort runs a firm, Fort Group, which is dedicated to improving the lives of Ghanaians from healthcare to financial aid. Since 2019, she has been the Patron of the Ghana Philanthropy Forum, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening CSOs, NGOs, community foundations, and other third sector networks in Ghana.

This partnership directly impacts Ghana through two areas of focus within the fashion industry: production of clothing and treatment of models.

WSO offers the Friend of the Earth Sustainable Fashion certification, which looks at prolonging the life cycle of materials, reducing the amount of waste, and reducing harm to the environment. In order to receive the certification, Friend of the Earth standards for Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Farming, and Sustainable Textile Processing must be met. Some of these standards include keeping an inventory of vulnerable wildlife and flora, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and more.

“Africa and Ghana’s fashion brands represent an important potential added value for clothing’s export, as well as work opportunities for local communities,” WSO founder and director Paolo Bray says. “WSO’s task is to highlight those sustainable African clothing brands and help them enter new markets, which are always more demanding for environmentally friendly products.” —Anya Crittenton

Japan Is Making Sustainable Development Goals Fun

In 2015, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, aimed at enacting a plan for people, planet, and prosperity. As part of this plan, the UN created the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 goals for each country to achieve, addressing things like poverty, hunger, clean energy, and more.

Every country in the UN is pursuing the 17 SDGs in their own way. In Japan, it’s become a nationwide trend, with SDGs playgrounds appearing, as well as SDGs trips offered by travel agencies and an SDGs Center at the popular amusement park, KidZania.

For one Japanese company, Imacocollabo, the SDGs presented an idea: a brand-new multiplayer, in-person, card-based game, the 2030 SDGs Game. Takeo Inamura of Imacocollabo explains the inception of the game on its website (2030sdgsgame.com): “The SDGs are ambitious and can seem overwhelming … While dramatic in their potential impact on the world, approaching them can be daunting.”

The 2030 SDGs Game is meant to give people practical and accessible ideas for helping create a sustainable world.

After gameplay, players engage in a facilitated dialogue, called kizuki, a uniquely Japanese term indicating a transformation to awareness.

“Participants share and examine their discoveries and observations, personal and collective, about assumptions, cultural lenses and biases, and how these influence the world that was created,” Aya Matsuyama, also of Imacocollabo, says.

The game is taking off globally and Inamura and his team have created an English version. On the game’s website, you can read past case studies of facilitated events, find worldwide online events, and even become a facilitator or host yourself. —Anya Crittenton

Attacks on a socially responsible investing strategy called ESG (that considers environmental, social, and governance criteria) are being used—like accusations of widespread voter fraud or teaching critical race theory—as a wedge to divide and mislead Americans and halt social and environmental progress.

Lawmakers in 10 states, including Florida and Texas, have recently passed policies that prohibit considering ESG when making investing decisions with state money, and seven more states have introduced similar bans or have pending bans, according to tracking by Morgan Lewis law firm. The laws prohibit state investors or the banks they use from considering ESG criteria, even when it is the smartest financial decision. The supposed point of these rules is to protect industries that are important to state economies, but so far that has only included fossil fuels and firearms—and the way the rules are written, even financial experts and banks don’t understand them.

“Republican lawmakers are using this attack on what they call ‘woke capitalism’ as part of their anti-climate, pro-gun strategy,” says Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director for business, investing and policy. “With Republicans in control of the House again after the midterms, they will likely use committee hearings to further attack ESG.”

Anti-ESG policies are already having a chilling effect on companies, by walking back climate commitments in order to keep doing business with these states.

“Whether it’s a moral argument, financial argument, or risk-hedge argument, it’s a very dangerous position, to say ‘we’re going to double down on fossil fuels,’” says Stephanie Cohn Rupp, CEO of Veris Wealth Partners.

What is ESG?

ESG means taking into consideration environmental, social, and governance decisions of a company, alongside traditional financial analysis, when deciding whether to invest in it.

ESG commitments are booming from banks and big businesses, which are using ESG data like climate risk (environmental), labor issues (social), and board effectiveness (governance) to see both how resilient and profitable their portfolios will be in the future.

ESG is already deeply embedded in investing practices, with global sustainable investing surpassing $35 trillion by 2020 and projected to reach $50 trillion by 2025, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Attacks on ESG & Their Impacts

Two 2021 Texas Senate bills prohibit local jurisdictions from working with banks that had adopted ESG policies “against” the oil and gas or firearms industries. After implementing the policies, Texas jurisdictions stopped working with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Fidelity for their municipal bonds ostensibly because of their ESG commitments.

Making that switch meant having to renegotiate terms of many bonds with different banks, which cost taxpayers up to an estimated $532 million in the first eight months of the policy, according to a 2022 study.

Ironically, those megabanks are not boycotting the fossil fuel industry—in fact, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America are in the global top four banks funding fossil fuels, according to the Rainforest Action Network’s Banking on Climate Chaos Report. Those three banks have provided $899 billion combined in fossil fuel lending since 2016.

It’s a very dangerous position, to say ‘We’re going to double down on fossil fuels.’

— Stephanie Cohn Rupp, Veris Wealth Partners

Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investing firm, had issued a letter saying the company would “confront the global threat of climate change more forcefully.” But another executive at the company also issued a letter saying it would “continue to invest in and support fossil fuel companies, including Texas fossil fuel companies.” Companies going back on their climate statements is the exact chilling effect that politicians who introduce these laws are aiming for.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis passed a resolution that prohibits the managers for the state’s $186 billion pension fund from considering ESG factors and requires managers to “only consider maximizing returns.” This fails to account for the ability of ESG criteria to contribute to maximizing returns, proving these attacks are being used as a culture war strategy rather than as investment strategy.

Why ESG Will Continue to Grow

Dan Garrett, the assistant professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania who co-authored the study about Texas bonds, explained that most investment companies and investors are trying to get oil and gas off their balance sheets in the next 20 years, as the industry is declining and most agree it will continue to do so. Though oil and gas companies are currently seeing record profits partially because of the war in Ukraine, as renewable energy increases, the sector’s revenues will decline, and face stranded assets—creating long-term risk. But in Texas, Garrett says, the industry directly generates 10.6% of the state GDP.

“So, [policymakers’] incentive is ‘we would like to stop this capital from flowing out of our state,’” says Garrett. “Did this sort of policy slow that capital moving out of oil and gas? Maybe not.”

DeSantis’ position is that, “we are protecting Floridians from woke capital.” Most finance experts disagree with DeSantis and would say that considering ESG and maximizing returns are not in conflict.

In fact, a New York University report examining over 1,000 studies between 2015-2020 showed that sustainability initiatives at corporations drive better financial performance due to improved risk management and innovation.

What Green America Is Doing and What You Can Do

For decades, Green America has been working to help people align their investments with their values. Green America is now working to maintain momentum for ESG and combat misinformation from the radical right among investors, institutional investors, financial advisors, and funds. An immediate focus is on public messaging especially through social media—check out and share our posts at facebook.com/green-america. There are also steps investors and concerned citizens can take to protect ESG investing. Folks who have their pensions in state retirement programs can be especially effective advocates.

“Pensioners are the ideal spokespeople, as investors, because they worked hard and want their money to be there to sustain them in their retirement,” says Rachel Kahn-Troster, executive vice president at ICCR {GBN}. “They want the people managing their money to ensure the money is there and be assured that our planet and society are there in the future.”

Kahn-Troster adds that concerned citizens should call their local and state representatives, no matter what color their state swings. Investors can speak with their investment managers to express that using ESG as a lens to navigate investments and mitigate risks is important to them. Investing that considers ESG criteria alongside financial analysis is a prudent investment approach to build wealth. ESG investing is financially competitive, helps improve companies, and generates better outcomes for workers, communities, and the environment.

While the attacks on ESG are dangerous, fortunately there is widespread recognition among investment professionals and many regulators that ESG is legitimate and generates positive outcomes for all stakeholders. By doing a better job of identifying investment risk and opportunity, sustainable investing is expected to continue to grow.

Former vice president Al Gore and David Blood, co-founder of Generation Investment Management, co-authored a Wall Street Journal op-ed in November, strongly defending ESG: “The investment community is adapting for the next chapter of capitalism, in which sustainable investing is mainstream. This is the only way the planet, its people, and their investments can thrive.”

Your ambitions for the new year might be big or small, but lifestyle changes of any kind take some work to practice and perfect. Indeed, 80% of all New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by the end of January. That’s why, instead of New Year’s resolutions, we’ve come up with five green goals to strive for in the new year that you can try, tweak, and restart as the year unfolds.

Buy and Read Banned Books

Many of the books we now value as literary classics were once challenged or banned: Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. These books, and many more, were once removed from reading lists and classrooms throughout US history for their “anti-white” sentiments or inclusion of homosexuality, profanity, or blasphemy.

The fight against censorship continues today, as books that celebrate diversity are at risk in public schools and libraries. To join the national conversation about inclusivity, solidarity, and education, read these books that are currently under attack:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017)—This young adult novel about 16-year-old Starr Carter who balances her poor neighborhood with elite suburban prep school has been banned and challenged because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and social agenda.
• Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison (2018)—This semi-autobiographical novel tells the coming-of-age story of Mexican American Mike Muñoz and has been banned and challenged because of LGBTQ+ content.
• Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (2000)—This graphic memoir depicts Satrapi’s childhood and early adult years in Iran and Austria during and after the Islamic Revolution, and was challenged for graphic language and images.

Take action to defend everyone’s First Amendment right to read by reporting any censorship to The American Library Association and continuing this conversation at school boards, PTA meetings, and public hearings.

Spring Clean with Reuse in Mind

Sometimes “less is more,” but cleaning for cleaning’s sake is not as great or green as it sounds, especially when items end up in landfills. So, before you spring clean, consider these questions:

Think of the next five years: Before you pitch any furniture or tchotchkes, consider when they might come in handy. Will you have a family member going off to college in need of a desk? You don’t want that Dutch oven, but your Julia Child-obsessed niece or nephew might!

Is this salvageable? Sew a stitch, patch a rip, repaint that old bookcase. Before you discard clothes or furniture, brainstorm how your items can be re-imagined for a second (or third!) life.

Throw away or give away? When parting with items, consider where they will be most useful. Call consignment and secondhand stores, or even houses of worship and local nonprofits, to learn where your items will be most beneficial. You can also post pictures on local online marketplaces to ensure your items will be used and loved, or list on your local BuyNothing group or Freecycle.

Spend Time Outdoors by Growing a Garden

If you want to spend more time in nature this year, grow your green thumb and start (or expand) your garden to help combat carbon emissions. Join the Climate Victory Garden community to add your garden to our map, get tips from tens of thousands of climate gardeners, and learn about gardening to fight climate change.

Start Small: Whether you live in a one-window apartment or have a low-success rate with plants, your home garden can start as small as you want. Re-grow scallions in a mason jar or pot herbs to garnish every meal and cocktail.

Think Big: When expanding your garden, the most important thing to consider is what you actually enjoy seeing and eating! Plant bee- and butterfly-friendly flowers or grow peppers to spice up your life.

Cook with International Flavors

Experimenting with flavor combinations from around the world is a fantastic way to travel the globe and learn about other cultures while supporting local, ethnic grocery stores.

Expand your palate and refine your cooking skills with these 2022 international cookbooks:

• Mabu Mabu: An Australian Kitchen Cookbook by Nornie Bero
• Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick Martínez
• The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family by Bill, Judy, Sarah & Kaitlin Leung
• Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric Kim
• Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island by Emily Meggett. The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans who labored on coastal plantations in the American south. This geographic isolation allowed for Indigenous African traditions to survive, including food, art, spirituality, and language.
• Rice is Life by Lotus Foods founders Caryl Levine and Ken Lee. This new cookbook shares rice recipes from around the world that feature “the world’s most important staple food.”

Get Finances in Order and Make Your Money Green

Initiating financial change can always feel like a challenge, but Green America has resources to help get you started.

Examine your shopping habits. When buying soap, candles, clothing, or coffee, explore Green America's certified businesses to shop from sustainable businesses and vote with your dollars.

Break up with your megabank. Join thousands of others who have switched to a community development bank or credit union to keep your money in your community and fund projects you can be proud of.

Consider a new credit card. Many credit cards are tied to major banks and support fossil-fuel investment. Switch to a green credit card (including Green America’s!) that supports social and environmental justice.

Here’s to your New Year's green goals: For you, the planet and all people. You’ve got this!

Updated Nov 2023

Inspiring green solutions from communities around the world.

The EPA has a legal and moral obligation to protect farmworkers, children and communities. We are going to do everything in our power to hold them accountable. Join us in continuing the fight by telling the EPA to ban organophosphates.

Higher prices, rather than bigger crops, are crucial to help lift cocoa farmers out of poverty as inflation spirals, according to a report from non-governmental organizations.

Pressure has been mounting to tackle child labor on cocoa farms and ensure growers earn a living income. That’s spurred cocoa companies to launch sustainability programs aimed at boosting production in West Africa, where the bulk of the world’s output is...

Environmental and social problems in global cocoa supply chains are likely to continue unless companies pay farmers substantially more for their beans, according to a major report on cocoa sustainability published on Wednesday.

The Cocoa Barometer, produced by the VOICE Network group of civil society organisations, found farmers in many cocoa-producing countries remain poverty stricken and unable to reduce levels of child labour and deforestation.

Wooden Element is a small Illinois based artisan company with a passion for fashion, creativity, and preserving nature. Our small family business is run by a husband-and-wife duo (Natalie & David Akerele), working closely with talent in our local community. We also collaborate with a few artisans.

We handcraft wooden jewelry & accessories for ladies and gentlemen. We believe in social impact and a portion of our sales support Easter Seals, Best Buddies International (IL Chapter), and Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) - Egbe Revitalization Project West Africa. We also support Aletheia School (Peoria, IL).

We also believe in sustainable fashion. In terms of environmental responsibility, we use Eco-friendly resins, ethically sourced and/or recycled natural wood, repurposed wood, and biodegradable materials whenever possible. 

We are proud to offer FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified sourced wood. We specialize in making Recycled Plastic and Biodegradable Cellulose Acetate sunglass frames. We also offer FDA and CE Certified Sunglasses. 

Our earrings feature a hypoallergenic Copper Alloy, and are Lead Free, Nickel Free, and Cadmium Free. We also hand make PETA Approved Vegan cork jewelry & accessories. We utilize shipping/packing materials made from recycled paper. Wooden Element started in Wicker Park, Chicago, and eventually migrated to Central IL. We are now based in Peoria, IL. We aim to reinterpret classical fashion accessories and give them a modern wooden edge.

Food is one of the great equalizers, allowing one to not only experience, but taste, culture and flavors from around the world, as far as another continent and as close as a local farm. This passion for food—fresh and pesticide-free—laces Kit Wood’s every word as she explains the origins and tenets of her company, Green Plate Catering. 

It’s also apparent in the company’s menus, boasting dishes like mushroom tartlets in winter and slow roasted salmon with sun dried tomato pesto in summer. 

“I grew up in the middle of Ohio, surrounded by fresh produce,” Wood reflects. Her love of food and access to local farms led to the beginning of Green Plate Catering, whether she knew it or not.  

She began packing lunches for her husband, excited about the seasonal flavors she could incorporate. Eventually, her lunch-making skills gained the attention of friends and colleagues, and she expanded beyond the four walls of her own home. 

Green Plate Catering Begins

Fast-forward and a catering company is born, dedicated to “all the green things before they were popular.” Twelve years ago, Wood connected with Jessica L. Weiss, founder and executive director of growingSOUL, an organization committed to teaching and advocating a zero-waste food cycle. 

“She taught me all about [composting],” says Wood. “We hired them for service and as we got bigger, we switched to Veteran Compost, a local company that employs veterans and their family.” 

Despite the company’s exciting growth, Wood remained committed to staying local.

“We buy foods that aren’t sprayed, grown in healthy soil, and we get to know our farmers,” she explains, praising the importance of community. “Over the years, you learn and you hear and you pay attention. Eventually, you can tell the difference in the tastes of the product.” 

But Wood acknowledges she never would have gotten here without the help, knowledge, and expertise of other people. Her biggest mistake at the beginning was thinking she could do it all on her own. With help from the likes of Weiss and hiring a larger, passionate staff, Wood saw Green Plate Catering bloom like never before. 

For all her efforts, Green Plate Catering successfully earned the Green Business Network’s gold certification, which Wood describes as exciting: “It’s the gold standard of meeting green practices. And then Montgomery Country [in Maryland] has a green initiative, so we’re certified in our county, too.” 

The certifications are well earned, with sustainability touching nearly every part of the business, from the composting and seasonal, local food to biodegradable boxes and tableware. 

She recalls an event three years ago at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD: “There were probably 350 people there—and I walked out with half a bag of trash. I was so proud of us. So proud. And it was a challenge; it was a lot of people, but it was truly green event.” 

Green Your Own Kitchen

Wood may have the power and support of a staffed company, but she believes anyone can make sustainable efforts in their kitchen, especially when it comes to prolonging the life of food. There are several guides online about storing food properly—consider starting with the winter 2016 Green American, “Tackling Food Waste.” 

Learn what you can make with food on the brink, like turning mealy apples into applesauce or putting overripe bananas in a smoothie. With leftovers, Wood encourages turning to your community: “Share your food. Offer a snack to the neighborhood kid when he comes from school or take a meal to the grandmother down the street. At Green Plate, we keep food in the back called ‘clean food’ and we donate it to our county shelter.” 

This act of returning to community, relying on and learning from one another, is not only how Green Plate Catering thrives, but how Wood finds hope for the future. 

“I’m excited that this younger generation seems more engaged. People make claims about them, how they’re all about technology and stuff, but so many are more engaged with the Earth and connection than we give them credit for.” 

It's seen in her own son, Ryan Devine, who will inherit Green Plate Catering in the future.

Though she concedes while everyone, younger generations and beyond, must “do their part,” those in power at every level can do more to support sustainable development. 

Green America, our members, and allies all secured a victory for investors nationwide.

Green America actively opposed Trump-era rulings that undercut the ability of retirement plans to include investment options that consider environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria and that made it difficult for retirement plan fiduciaries to vote on ESG-related shareholder resolutions.

On November 22, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) reversed these rulings with a final rule, Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights, that allows ESG criteria to be applied in employer-sponsored retirement investments and in the voting of shareholder ballots. In particular, the ability to consider climate impacts is a top concern of many investors and can now remain a consideration in 401(k) investments as the climate crisis escalates.

Green America supports the new rule. Decades of investment experience globally has shown that including environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria in the investment process provides competitive  returns, which the Trump administration and right-wing pundits now claim. To the contrary, taking ESG factors into account means investors have a greater understanding of risk and opportunity and can invest more wisely to maximize their returns. The Department of Labor recognizes the value of investor choice and the benefits of ESG criteria as it works to protect the retirement assets of millions of American workers and their families. Globally, $35 trillion is invested using an ESG framework.

In addition, the ability of retirement plan fiduciaries to vote shareholder resolutions on issues such as climate, labor protections, human rights, corporate political contributions, and more plays a key role in improving corporate conduct. Green America and our allies urged the DOL to remove regulatory barriers to voting which the DOL has done.

Green America recognizes the importance of the new DOL rule and believes that ultimately all investing should be socially and environmentally responsible.

Going green is good for business. Consumers are often willing to pay more for eco-friendly products than other comparable products on the market, according to market research. 

But not all environmental claims are created equally. “Greenwashing” is a form of misinformation often used to entice an aspiring green consumer. Companies promising to be sustainable, biodegradable, or environmentally conscious sometimes fail to meet the promises they make to consumers. 

All natural, Eco-friendly, Earth-safe…

What do all these words have in common?

They don’t mean anything! These marketing buzzwords are meant to grab your attention, but none prove the sustainability of the product or the company.

People are more interested in sustainable products than ever—65% of consumers believe brands have as much responsibility as governments to create positive environmental change, according to Havas Group Worldwide—and some companies are looking to make a pretty penny off those good intentions.

Greenwashing is a marketing tactic designed to make customers believe that a company has made an eco-friendly product or is an eco-friendly company, when that's not really the case, or the company has just done the bare minimum. It often involves making false or misleading claims, or even using green-colored packaging or similarly nature-inspired marketing to fool customers into buying the product and/or paying more for it.

The rule of three T’s can help you sniff out greenwashing:

Trustworthy Certifications

Certifications are the easiest and quickest way to determine if a company is sustainable. To earn certification, a company’s operations and supply chains are vetted by an external party.

Companies that have earned certification will put the label on their products and website, making it simple for shoppers. Green America’s Green Business Seal, the Non-GMO Project, EWG Verified, USDA Organic, Leaping Bunny, Climate Neutral Certified are all examples of trustworthy certifications. To be a conscious buyer, getting to know these certifications will make it easier to spot a green business in the wild. EcoLabelIndex.com can help you determine which labels are fake and which are legitimate.

For Green America staff, certifications are the number one way to check for sustainability:

“When I'm researching a company, seeing a trusted third-party certification is key.” —Anya Crittenton, editorial and Green Business Network communication associate.

“I look for logos on packages like Non GMO, Fair Trade Certified, and Rain Forest Alliance. For example, I saw the term “grown respectfully” on Nestle coffee packaging—but it had no further qualifiers and I have no way of knowing what it means. The Target store brand coffee I buy has the fair trade logo on the side of the package and since the mark is there I can look up those standards.” —Molly Bouffard-Briglia, senior operations and special projects manager, Center for Sustainability Solutions.

Transparency

While a third-party verification is a great way to tell if a company is sustainable, small businesses cannot always afford the steep cost of certification.*

That doesn’t mean the business is greenwashing, however. If a company is truly sustainable, it won’t have anything to hide. It is much easier to contact the owner of a small business than a large corporation, so take advantage of this to ask them questions! Ask about its sourcing, production, ingredients, and more. Inquiring lets the company know that this is what its buyers care about. Small businesses tend to adapt quickly, making them more likely to listen to buyer concerns.

Sometimes, this information is listed on the company website. Associations such as US SIF and Fair Trade Federation can help verify these claims.

Timeliness

Many companies are setting green goals, such as “eliminating all paper by 2024” or “going carbon-neutral by 2030.” But a goal is meaningless without a plan. How the company is going to achieve its sustainability goals is as important as what the goal is. Additionally, the plan should be appropriate for the size of the company.

If you think a company can do better, write a letter or tag the company on a social media post. Companies are at the whim of their consumer base; an effective letter can help sway them in the right direction. Learn how to write an effective letter at greenamerica.org/companyletter and visit our website to join thousands of conscious consumers like you demanding better of Walmart, Amazon, and more on climate, labor, and racial justice.

Determining if a business is sustanable requires a little bit of research, but as an informed buyer, you have the power to choose companies that support your values. Vote with your dollars for a cause that you care about, such as sustainability, racial justice, and climate action.

*Green America’s Green Business certification is designed for small and mid-sized companies with certifications tailored for nearly 40 different industries. The Network is home to 2,000 socially responsible eco-enterprises. Find certified green businesses at GreenPages.org and view the certification standards at GreenBusinessNetwork.org.

Perhaps you’ve already taken steps to ensure your finances are green by switching to a community development bank, but check your wallet—do you own a socially responsible credit card?

Is your bank funding the fossil fuel industry? How can you best protect your credit score? Is there a credit card better matched to your values and needs out there? These are all questions to consider when developing your credit card literacy, and Green America is here to help.

Bankrolling the Climate Crisis

The world’s 60 largest banks have financed fossil fuels with USD $4.6 trillion since the 2015 Paris Agreement. That means your credit cards might have ties to financial institutions that are actively fueling the fire of climate injustice. Vote with your dollars by learning about the real-world impact of your credit card company, and consider a socially and environmentally responsible credit card instead. Credit cards are a high-profit product for banks, so when a lot of people switch from a mega-bank, it hurts their bottom lines.

• Amalgamated Bank offers several credit cards and is powered by 100% renewable energy with a fossil fuel-free policy, while also supporting immigrants, affordable housing, and worker rights.
• Green America Visa from TCM Bank means your transactions support our work to advance clean energy and regenerative agriculture and promote fair labor practices and green business.

Protect Yourself with Credit Card Literacy

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 2021 Card Report, fewer than half of all credit card agreements are simply written enough to be clearly understood by a high school graduate, creating ripe opportunities for abuse of their customers. But Consumer Action, a financial nonprofit fighting for strong consumer rights, puts it best: “When you know the rules you hold all the cards.”

With that goal in mind, here’s a guide to the basic concepts to know when evaluating a credit card:

Fees

“Credit cards are often marketed to consumers on rewards offers and other promotions that can obscure the real cost of the card in interest and fees,” says Wei Zhang, credit cards program manager at the CFPB.

From late payment to foreign transaction fees, it’s critical to evaluate your habits as a consumer. If you tend to carry a balance, for example, transfer to a lower rate card with a 0% balance transfer fee. Also, beware of cash advance and over-the-limit fees—they get pricey when invoked.

Interest Rates

If you pay your credit card balance in full and on time each month, interest rates won’t apply to you because they are the interest added to the amount held in your account—and the main way credit card issuers make money. Before the Credit CARD (Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure) Act passed in 2009, issuers could raise a cardholder’s interest rate if their bills were paid even hours late. Now your payment is considered on time if it arrives before 5pm on the due date, and card issuers maintain your annual percentage rate (APR) for the first year, provided it is not a “teaser rate” and you did not pay your balance more than 60 days late.

Credit Lines

Keep your credit lines open, even when rarely used.

“A third of your credit score is based on how much available credit you have and how much of it you use,” says Ruth Susswein, Consumer Action’s deputy director of consumer protection. “The longer you have a card open and the less of the credit line you use, the more attractive you are to other lenders.”

Avoid simultaneously applying for multiple cards, as requesting too much credit at once may appear desperate. And to avoid damaging your credit score, make sure to stop using your card and pay off your balance in full before canceling.

Complaints

The CFPB's public complaint database is a great resource when evaluating a current or future bank or credit card company.

Search your bank or issuer to see what complaints consumers have shared and reported, though keep in mind that the CFPB only has authority over banks and credit unions with assets over $10 billion.

Being a credit card user can be daunting, but with the tools and resources to hold your bank—big or small—accountable, you have the ability realign your money with your values. To learn more about credit card use and abuse, consider these resources: CFPB, Consumer Action, Financial Health Network, and the Banking on Climate Chaos Report.

J.P Morgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America have accounted for a quarter of all fossil fuel financing over the last six years, according to the 2022 Banking on Climate Chaos report. But their abuse doesn’t end there. Just as we encourage you to submit your complaints to the CFPB complaint database to keep credit lenders in line, see how the Big 5 Mega-Banks failed in their treatment of both people and planet in the last year.

As they grow, children take their cues from adults. Parents and guardians exercise particular power in shaping perceptions about food.

“Kids are a vulnerable population,” shares Dr. Vanita Rahman, a physician, nutritionist, and clinic director with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “They eat what adults offer them and…don’t have much control” over what lands on their plates.

It’s important to give youth the resources they need to grow and build a healthy relationship with food—which can help green the planet, too. Use the following tips as a starting point.

Serve more plant-based meals and snacks.

According to The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, ditching meat and dairy for “low-fat, plant-based” food is safe and beneficial for people of all ages—kids included. In fact, nourishing plant-based eats can lessen children’s “risk for heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and other conditions.”

Plus, forgoing animal products can reduce your family’s climate impact. Discuss how eating more plants minimizes deforestation, wildlife loss, and greenhouse-gas emissions. University of Oxford research from 2018 indicates Americans could cut food-related emissions up to 73% with plant-based diets, depending on where you live. A study by Animal Charity Evaluators estimates each vegan saves an annual total of 105 vertebrates.

Find plant-based options in person at natural-food stores like Martindale's Natural Market, or shop online at Northwest Wild Foods.

Plate new flavors and incorporate choice.

No one can enjoy foods they’ve never tried. “There are very few tastes…we just take to,” says Rahman. “Most of them are acquired.” Early Childhood Education Professor Jennifer Paris recommends inviting kids to experiment by offering a range of tasty, nourishing options.

Pushing unfamiliar foods, though, can be tricky. Rahman proposes remixing well-loved recipes by subtly folding in new flavors. Her example? Black beans. A skeptic might warm to them once they’re added to a classic meal, like tacos.

Cultivate a fascination with freshness.

Kids are curious, and gardening offers an excellent space for wonder to take root. The Harvard Graduate School of Education highlights the “emotional connections to food” youth can foster in this setting: “They feel proud of and connected to [their food]—which is key to trying new dishes with an open mind.” Try starting a family garden or, if that’s not feasible, potting some seedlings.

Licensed dietitian and integrative nutrition provider Debra Garzon suggests visiting farmers markets regularly, if you can. The experience gives “kids the chance to pick up produce, exploring its texture and fresh aroma,” and stubborn eaters may even enjoy meeting growers and snagging samples.

Emphasize collaboration and creativity in the kitchen.

Bring out the whisks and oven mitts: It’s time to get cooking as a family! Research from the University of Central Florida supports a positive correlation between engaging kids in the kitchen and “increased consumption of fruits and vegetables,” contributing to healthier diets. Cooking with kids can also strengthen their self-assurance and build skill for future use.

Playing with imaginative plating is another way to keep children engaged. Dress up plain celery sticks as “ants on a log” with nut butter and raisins. Or put a healthy twist on an indulgent favorite. Rahman recommends pizza—maybe replacing pepperoni with cherry tomatoes or broccoli. For an extra layer of fun, “ask the kids, ‘What do you want to decorate it with? Let’s make it into a rainbow.’”

Start Composting.

According to the National Resources Defense Council, landfills are the third-biggest contributor of people-produced methane in the US. When organic-food scraps hit landfills, much of that waste decomposes anaerobically, generating greenhouse gases. But your family can help disrupt this harmful cycle. Share which foods—like produce peels—are compostable, start a system at home, and prep kids for lifelong impact.

Learn about labels.

Teach older kids how to read ingredients labels. For example, point out “good fats”—monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Keep your eyes peeled for non-ecofriendly hidden ingredients like palm oil, whose industry infamously propels (illegal) deforestation.

Look into plant-based products, too. 2020 research out of the University of Paris homes in on ultra-processed foods (UPFs), including dairy substitutes and plant-based meats. “Not all vegetarian diets are necessarily healthy,” the conclusion reads, as “the consumption of UPFs [can] decrease both nutritional quality and healthiness of the diet.” To reap the health benefits of vegan eating, plate more natural foods than manmade ones.

Model green living.

A 2015 study from La Trobe University in Australia underscores the role parents’ behavior can have on kids’ eating habits and body-image development. In particular, children are more likely to consume nourishing foods when guardians themselves eat them. Positive reinforcement also has sway; recognizing when kids make healthy picks may encourage them to repeat the action.

Children lead with compassion and wonder. And when it comes to picking foods that benefit their bodies and the planet, Rahman thinks many kids are interested.

“They’re very conscious of the climate, they know plant food can help [curb] climate change, and kids just genuinely love animals,” Rahman says. She credits their curiosity. “If we can introduce [healthy and cruelty-free food] to them, they're likely to try it.”

Eating healthy, climate-friendly food with kids is an achievable feat, and the next generation’s open-mindedness can—and will—help green the world.

On any given day, a child will have innumerable questions about anything and everything, from global events to soccer practice. Kids are smart—they know when something’s going on.

Learning is a crucial part of growing up, but it can also be hard, especially with densely complex topics that are hard and emotionally taxing to teach, like climate change or racial justice.

Speaking separately to Dr. Ross Thompson, a distinguished professor of psychology at UC Davis, and Emily Neer, a PhD candidate in UCLA’s Developmental Psychology program, the experts offered insights and tips for parents and other adults broaching this territory.

Meet Them Where They Are

Both Thompson and Neer have the same answer when asked about “appropriate ages” and that is: “Meet the child where they are.”

A more honest conversation with a teenager, which aids in developing processing skills, would not be “developmentally appropriate” for a younger child, says Thompson.

“Follow your child's lead and engage with them in whatever they are engaged in,” Neer says. “Do they like being outside? Go for a hike and talk about what you see.”

All Feelings Are Valid

No matter the child’s age, their feelings are valid and must be acknowledged.

This can be hard, warns Neer, because as parents it is “easy to dominate the conversation, especially if the topic is complex” or bringing up negative emotions. That’s why letting the child lead the conversation is key, as it prioritizes their feelings and questions.

To do this, Neer suggests asking the child questions or encouraging them to share related memories and feelings as a way of directing the conversation.

“The last thing a parent wants to do is inflict an awareness on the child of that age that the world is changing in bad ways,” Thompson says. “The general guideline is to be reassuring, but honest and realistic, so you don’t leave a child without a means of coping with their own thoughts and questions.”

Encourage Media Literacy

We get information from everywhere – the internet, school or work, social media, friends, and family members, media. It’s important to make sure the information we’re taking in and sharing is accurate, especially with more upsetting topics.

“When children read or see information, they assume it must be true,” says Thompson.

That’s why it’s crucial as an adult to help children develop discernment and media literacy in order to independently engage with a story’s accuracy, credibility, or bias.

Neer recommends researching answers together, as a way of modeling to children that it’s okay not to have every answer and how to ask the right questions. In fact, Dr. Candice Mills found in her study “Why Do Dogs Pant?” about parental explanations that “the more frequently parents referred to looking things up, the more likely they were to acknowledge the limits of their own knowledge… and the less likely they were to provide inaccurate information.” Mills concluded this helps with children’s long-term learning.

If a child comes to you with misinformation, go back to the reassuring guideline. Criticizing or expressing shock at the child’s information may result in feelings of embarrassment and humiliation.

Together, try these three tips from the News Literacy Project:

• Research the source—and the sources quoted in the piece you’re looking at to make sure they’re credible
• Ask yourselves: What is the slant of the article and what is it trying to accomplish? Is it meant simply to inform, or to persuade?
• Do a web search to see if other credible sources are reporting the same thing.

You May Need Help, Too

They say it takes a village for a reason.

Many topics related to current events are not only upsetting to children, but adults as well, and can darkly affect anyone’s mental health. It is important in holding space for these conversations that the adult is taking care of themselves first. As the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Both Thompson and Neer support adults seeking individual therapy or medication for themselves, if need be, as well as other stress relievers like exercise, fresh air, meditation, and more.

In addition, make sure you have an open line of communication with the other adults in a child’s life like their teachers, relatives, and caregivers, as different people may be more comfortable being the person to tackle different topics. For neurodivergent children and children with disabilities, it is especially important to rely on your pediatrician for help.

Address the Child’s Needs

Finally, before you venture forth into helping a child learn and understand big ideas, you need to make sure their needs are met.

Thompson sheds light on a tool for this purpose: the reflective function. Practicing your reflective function means becoming “aware of yourself at the same time that you’re aware of what’s going on with the child,” he explains.

If a child is upset, what is motivating those negative emotions and what do they need to combat them? How does the child’s distress make you feel, and is this affecting your response to them? Understanding a child’s feelings and needs as well as the adult’s own feelings in the moment helps adults calibrate their responses to the child more thoughtfully. They can respond with greater insight into the child’s feelings as well as their own, and often be more helpful.

If it’s information or answers, practicing media literacy together will help. Or maybe more tangible action and hands-on learning can quell nerves, so go out and compost together or clean up a beach. Or a break and a snack.

Ultimately, talking to kids about complex ideas is easiest when you’re on the same team. By researching together, listening, and validating a kid’s vast emotional range, they will be better equipped to process ideas that are potentially frightening or complicated.

When it comes to taking care of your little one’s bum, we understand that clean might be a higher priority than “green,” but at Green America, we field many questions about the best ways to make diapering more eco-friendly. From recommended products to cleaning hacks—whether you opt for cloth or disposable—here is an all-in-one green guide for your diaper routine.

Cloth or Disposable? Dealer's Choice

To cloth diaper or not to cloth diaper—that is the question for many environmentalists, especially when newborns can go through almost 3,000 diaper changes in their first year.

The Great Diaper Debate has long made claims about which diapers are best for planet and people. Financially, cloth diapers aren’t money-saving miracles; they require higher upfront investment that will only save money after the first year, but could be compounded if re-used for another child. As for the environmental impact, from manufacturing to disposal, there appears to be a negligible difference between cloth and disposable diapers—and pros and cons to both.

Disposable diapers have that magical “be gone!” quality that everyone—from 12-year-old babysitters to sleep deprived parents—can appreciate, but the gift of their one-time use is also materially wasteful as they’re carted away to landfills. Organic cotton cloth diapers, on the other hand, can be cleaned and re-used to cut down on material waste, but in the process demand higher water and electricity use at home, plus extra care.

Therefore, it all comes down to personal preference, but remember, “It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing,” says Dana Christianson, director of membership marketing and operations and one of the many green parents here at Green America. “People feel like, ‘I have to do this or not do this.’ No! You can make it up as you go.”

Cloth diapers with disposable liners, disposable diapers just for nighttime, travel, or daycare—no matter what you choose or how you might mix and match, the choice is yours.

Diapering Eco-Tips

When it comes to living green, what works for one parent might not work for another. That’s why, regardless of diaper type, there are always ways to make your routine more eco-friendly.

Look at the ingredients: When buying any baby products, a general rule of thumb is to look at the components—the more pronounceable they are, the better. Manufacturers are not required to publicly disclose their diaper “ingredients”—an option that big brands like Pampers and Huggies take advantage of—so trust in brands that prioritize transparency. Naty by Nature Babycare and Honest {GBN} diapers are good places to start with their fully disclosed plant-based materials.

Think natural: From foods to mattress pads, choosing organic will ensure fewer pesticides for planet and baby. Artificial fragrances are high in toxicity, and Environmental Working Group warns that “fragrance” should simply be read as “hidden chemicals.” According to the Children’s Environmental Health Network, many synthetic chemicals in fragrances are petroleum-based and include carcinogens and phthalates, which are endocrine disruptors, so choose products that are fragrance free or use essential oils.

Proper care: “The biggest misconception we combat is that cloth diapers are hard to care for,” says Kathleen Merrill, director of operations for Thirsties, Inc., a USA-made cloth diaper company. “Once you get your wash routine down, it’s really a slight addition to your normal laundry.”

Care for cotton diapers is easiest with newborns, when soiled diapers can be placed directly into the wash. However, when babies start eating solid foods at six months, the solid waste will add just a few additional steps to your regular laundry. To cut down on your environmental impact, line drying, and investing in high-efficiency appliances.

Proper disposal: While products like Diaper Genies might be helpful, sealing dirty diapers in multiple layers of plastic supports fossil fuel use and slows decomposition, so try to limit your trash bags. Biodegradable diapers are a great way to mitigate waste, but remember that throwing compostable diapers in the regular trash defeats their purpose. Not all community composting programs are equipped to properly process diapers, but search online for diaper composting programs near you. Also, avoid flushable wipes as they do not break down in sewage systems. Try reusable cotton wipes for cleaning up #1 messes.

Look for ways to save energy: If you use diaper warmers, noise machines, or other products that require electricity, unplug them when not in use.

From products to habits, there are many ways to make your diapering routine more eco-friendly, so choose what works for you and your little one.

Have You Heard of the Diaper Tax?

One in three US families experience diaper need, and as of August 2022, 29 states charge sales tax on diapers, ranging from 1.5% in Virginia to 7% in Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. But with additional city and county taxes, diapers can be taxed as high as 11%, as they are in Oklahoma.

“We know that sales taxes are regressive and disproportionately harm low-wage families,” says Joanne Samuel Goldblum, CEO and Founder of the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN). “In order to thrive, families need a sufficient supply of diapers to keep children healthy and to enable parents to go to work and school.”

According to the NDBN, the average child requires around 50 diaper changes per week, and families that cannot sufficiently afford diapers face related challenges, like not being accepted to daycares and facing potential health risks, like hepatitis A, viral meningitis, and bacterial diarrhea.

“Sales taxes on these material basic necessities, whether disposable or cloth diapers, makes it harder on families to purchase the essential items they require,” says Goldblum. Reducing or eliminating state diaper taxes will make these basic necessities more affordable and help families avoid unnecessary challenges.