š± The Grumpy Optimists #50
This week weāre looking at the launch of the Zevero climate hub, innocentās advert banned for greenwashing and the UN plastic summit in Kenya. Letās dig in.
Hello all š
Happy Monday, and welcome back to newsletter number 50! Before we begin, we canāt ignore what is happening in Ukraine and our support is with its citizens and all those affected. Weāve found this page to be an incredibly useful tool to understand how you can help Ukraine.
Not to shift attention away from the human impact, but as the invasion broke out it did lead to the question - what will the impact be on the environmental movement? While there are concerns it may lead to more oil and gas exploration elsewhere in the world, including fracking, there is hope that it will galvanise support for a āwartimeā shift towards more renewables and greater energy independence from major oil and gas exporting countries. In the meantime, our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. šŗš¦
Now, onto the newsletter. This week weāre looking at the launch of the Zevero climate hub, innocentās advert banned for greenwashing and the UN plastic summit in Kenya. Letās dig in.
š Articles to read
š°Ā Allianz taking tough stance in favour of ESG. From 2023, the ā¬673bn asset manager will reject proposals for executive pay that do not include ESG metrics. Itās a positive step to further incorporate climate action into boardrooms.
āĀ Can a smoothie change the world? Perhaps not. Advertising regulators agree and banned innocentās latest advert over misleading environmental claims that it can help the planet. Is this really a case of tackling greenwashing, or will it create unintended consequences as companies avoid shouting about climate action?
šĀ Zevero launches a climate hub to boost climate literacy. Understanding carbon emissions and the difference between ānet zeroā and ācarbon neutralā can often seem like a challenge. Zevero has created a climate resource to help companies and individuals better understand climate change and the shift to net zero.
šĀ Plastic summit hailed as most important green deal since Paris accord. World leaders will meet in Nairobi next week to discuss the first ever global treaty to combat plastic waste. This will hopefully result in a legally binding treaty to control plastics āfrom source to seaā.
šĀ Why does this matter? Plastic pollution has caught the publicās attention in recent years thanks to documentaries like David Attenboroughās āBlue Planetā and distressing videos of plasticās prevalence in nature. Itās everywhere. Itās used in packaging on almost everything we buy, from teabags to toiletries. Only 10% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, and relying on recycling as a solution isnāt plausible. WRAPās latest report adds weight to the argument for reducing plastic consumption. The only real solution is turning off the plastic tap - cutting out plastic at source. We hope that this plastic summit will result in a legally binding agreement to cut out plastic and stop pumping it into the environment.
šļø A podcast to check out
Iām sure many of you will have heard of the concept of a carbon footprint. Recently, it emerged that this was a PR stunt by BP and other oil companies to place the blame on individuals and pretend that itās not the responsibility of big business to minimise their environmental damage. This podcast dives into that controversy and discusses whether individual actions can actually make a difference. Weād recommend having a listen!
The Grumpy Optimists š