The EU is formalizing the process of its new rules on greenwashing.  The Council adopted the Green Claims Directive on 17 June 2024.

Key language is as follows:

• Explicit environmental claims would need to be verified under certification schemes – before being made publicly available or displayed. More specifically, an independent third-party accredited conformity assessment body which is not engaged in any activity that may conflict with their judgement or integrity – would need to verify the claim.

Canada has a new law (C-59) which says the same thing.

Expect the rest of the world to follow this format as it is common sense.

If your company is making environmental, or eco, or green, or sustainable claims, or if you have them as part of a mark or logo, either become certified+verified, or risk being exposed for greenwashing.

If you want to get right with compliance, do good for the environment, and also get ahead of your competitors, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

As we have reported, reducing meat consumption is the #1 thing you can do to help improve the environment and reduce global warming, pollution and food shortage.

As we have also reported, processed meat is a Group 1 carcinogen.  Processed red meats such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs and deli meats often contain higher levels of sodium, nitrates and saturated fat. Eating higher amounts of these meats has been strongly linked to the development of colon and other cancers, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease and stroke.

Now, let’s turn our attention to mental acuity.  If you would like to lower your chances of mental acuity (dementia, Alzheimer’s, brain fog, long covid, et cetera) problems, reduce your meat, especially your processed meat, intake.  The risk of dementia drops 20% when people replace meat with nuts and legumes.

If you know someone already suffering from mental acuity problems, try to get them into a facility like Gym For The Brain, that offers contrast oxygen plus other synergistic technologies.

Be smart before you lack the ability to be smart.

A new and powerful wave of “greenwashing” bans will sweep the European Union (EU) shortly.

The EU’s Green Claims Directive and Greenwashing Directive (together, the Green Directives) are key legislative tools being introduced in the EU as part of the European Green Deal, focused on combatting misleading claims regarding products’ environmental friendliness or social consciousness.

“Environmental claims” are defined very broadly in the Greenwashing Directive as: “any message or representation which is not mandatory under Union or national law, in any form, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, such as labels, brand names, company names or product names,…and which states or implies that a product, product category, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products.”

If you are not in the EU, why should you care?

• It is not stopping in the EU. Canada just passed a stronger law than the EU has and prosecutors and courts around the world are well ahead of compliance laws.  Wherever you are, this is coming to you.

• However, this is not a risk discussion; it is an opportunity discussion. Environment/Climate is already the #1 thing on the minds of people.  Toss in greenwashing and it makes consumers even angrier, as they see they are being lied to and taken advantage of. 

• This presents an opportunity for those wise enough to see it.

• For those organizations that can show they are certified/verified as environmentally sustainable, they are welcomed and rewarded by consumers.

If you see this is something that is not impacting your business, ignore this.

If you see the opportunity this presents, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

On July 1, 2024, Vermont became the first US state to create a climate recovery superfund.

The law will require fossil fuel extractors and refiners, who account for significant greenhouse gases, to pay for their share of the climate change clean-up incurred by the State.

The money received by the State will be used for climate change projects.

Similar laws are pending in New York, California, Maryland and Massachusetts.

The New York law has passed the house and senate and is waiting for signature by the governor.  If approved, it will seek a $3 billion per year recovery from the fossil fuel industry, just for that one state.

Massachusetts has the same $3 billion per year target and Maryland is targeting $360 million per year.

If these laws get put in place, other states, who do not have climate superfunds, but paying more for fossil fuel because of these state superfunds, might rush to pass their own.

Think about where your business sits on this debate.  Are you a follower, waiting to see what happens and what others in your sector do; or do you want to get ahead of this and be seen as a business that is leading the charge?

If you prefer to lead rather than follow, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

The record heat we are having is damaging fruit and vegetable crops.  This will drive prices up.

Next time you do a double-take when you see the price at the store, remember, you have control over how much carbon you put into the atmosphere and you can choose to be part of the solution.

If you decide you want to be part of the solution, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy that holds businesses responsible for their products’ environmental impact throughout their lifecycle. EPR is a business response to climate change and environmental degradation, and it encourages companies to design more sustainable and recyclable products and manufacturing processes.

Per this article, on 21 May 2024, Minnesota joined Oregon, Maine, Colorado and California in implementing packaging EPR laws on packaging that comes in to Minnesota.

Minnesota, which is 4^th in the nation in individual boat ownership, extended its law to include plastic boat wraps that are used when a boat is in storage and typically thrown away when the boat is taken out of storage.

In effect, any organization that introduces one ton or more of covered materials (single use packaging, paper products and boat wraps) needs to pay a fee to cover the cost of recycling the materials, or be fined.

If your company ships materials into Oregon, Maine, Colorado, California and now Minnesota, you need to review how much packaging material is used to support your products.

Other states will join.  So, even if your current distribution does not include these five states, you should start reviewing your packaging and how to recycle same.

This will become a component of all product distribution cost structures.

If you want a plan to turn this into a positive financial outcome, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

When people do not feel they are being heard, they take legal action.

• There are currently approximately 2,666 climate cases in front of courts, globally. 1745 of those are in the US.
• Of the above, 140 are greenwashing cases where claimants have been winning at a 70% rate. Net, if you get sued for greenwashing, there is a 70% chance you will lose.
• In June 2024, a Hawaiian court approved a settlement of a climate lawsuit brought against the state by a group of young plaintiffs who sued, and won, on the argument that their constitutional right to a healthy environment had been violated. Hawaii has agreed to create and implement a road map to achieve net zero emissions (remember, this includes vendors) on ground transport, inter-island sea transport, and air transport, by 2045.  
• In late 2023, a Montana court also found in favor of a different group of young plaintiffs who sued that state on a similar constitutional rights claim.
• Litigations are pending in Alaska, Florida, Utah and Virginia….and federally, against the EPA, on similar claims.
• Expect Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to come next.
• Then, we have governments taking action against companies. Puerto Rico has launched an action against fossil fuel companies for deceiving the public over the impact of fossil fuels.  There are over three dozen similar government-sponsored suits in play.

People are angry and they want to see action.  They are expecting it from their governments and from the business community.

This is why we are seeing such a huge gap in growth and profit between certified sustainable companies and their non-certified peers.  Simply stated, consumers are using their purchasing behavior to tell you want they expect from you.

If you want consumers to see you on the right side of this, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

Here we are again – Earth Overshoot Day.

This is the day each year when we have exhausted the Earth’s production for that year.

Imagine over-spending your household budget every year, for 53 straight years.  Would you still have a house to live in?

The cupboard is bare and the payment notices are piling up. 

So, back to the ask – Can you simply stop eating and consuming for balance of year? 

If not, how about helping solve the problem?

Read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.

Most people recognize the environmental problems we are facing.  This is not a complete list, but it is sobering, nonetheless:

• CO2 emissions have increased 50% by 1990, accelerating global warming and impacting all life on Earth
• 90% of us breathe polluted air, causing 7 million deaths a year
• Almost all of us drink contaminated water, causing 5 million deaths a year
• Our oceans are overfished, increasing in temperature and full of plastics and waste
• Nearly 25% of animal species are at risk of extinction
• Forests are being destroyed
• We are not producing enough food

Most people say, “I would love to help, but what can I do?”

Let’s start the answer with this article about a rancher destroying the Amazon rain forest to raise cows for your hamburgers.  He takes the risk, and admits he is doing the damage, because our demand for meat is so great.

You probably know Processed Meat (any meat treated to improve favor or last longer, like deli meat or any meat in a package), is a Group 1 Carcinogen; in the same cancer-causing camp as asbestos, arsenic, mustard gas, neutron radiation, plutonium, cigarette smoking…

You probably know Red Meat is a Group 2 Carcinogen; in the same cancer-causing camp as formaldehyde, nitrate, silicon carbide…

You probably know that white meat and fish are expected to be added to the Group 2 list due to the impact of commercial meat factories…

You probably know that +90% of the meat you purchase at the store has fecal matter in it…

You probably know that animals are the middleman to you getting the protein you need…

You probably know the human body, from our teeth to our digestive tract, is built for plant digestion, not meat digestion…

You probably know meat harms your gut and biome and plants rebuilds it…

You probably know meat will increase your calories, cholesterol, risk of heart disease, risk of mental disease, risk of gastro-intestinal disease… 

You probably know that a plant-based diet will be less expensive and healthier.

But did you know, the biggest opportunity we have to address our environmental problems and global warming is….reduced meat production?

• 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions and climate impact is from the production of meat. This is equal to the emissions from all the cars, trucks, planes and boats.
• 75% of the world’s agricultural land is used for the production of meat (including the Amazon land destroyed in the above article)
• 20% of global fresh water is used in the production of meat

So, the next time you get ready to take a bite of your expensive hamburger, remember:

• It likely has fecal matter in it
• Your body was not built to digest it
• The protein is from plants
• You will get fatter and die younger from it
• It is the biggest opportunity we have to correct our environmental / climate problem
• And, you have control over what you eat

We previously reported that Lululemon was in trouble in Canada for greenwashing.

The hits keep-a-comin’ as a class action suit has been filed in Florida.

Why do companies get in trouble over this issue?

• The environment is the #1 issue on the minds of consumers
• Consumers want to hear what your company is doing about it
• Certified sustainable companies are growing up to 20x faster than their peers
• It is so easy to say you are sustainable

But, if you are not environmentally certified sustainable with 3^rd party verification on your claims

• Hush
• Get certified sustainable with 3^rd party verification, then talk all you want (within the limitations of your certification)

If you want to say what consumers want to hear, read this on what you want in a sustainability program, watch this master class, and contact us.