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Walking the Talk

These companies have moved beyond pledges and are making good on their commitments to pursuing a purpose beyond profit.

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Give Greater: The 2022 SB Holiday Gift Guide

Cross-Posted from Product, Service & Design Innovation. As always, the goal of our gift guide is to encourage a more conscious approach to gift-giving by highlighting products, services and experiences that create value and benefits beyond short-term gratification for the recipient. Here’s this year’s list of some of the many companies, platforms and products that we’d be happy to support anytime.

Opinion: Why Some Big Brands ‘Aren’t Convinced’ by Plastic Credits

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. 80M tons of plastic waste will end up in the environment just in the next 10 years. Without voluntary, global producer responsibility programs to unlock capital towards infrastructure and bridge the policy vacuum, how else do polluters suggest for us to tackle this massive financing gap in the meantime?

Why Activism, Advocacy and Allyship Are Essential to Corporate Diversity

Cross-Posted from Organizational Change. If a corporation really wants diversity and its benefits, the only way to get it is to regularly hire and promote people who don’t look like the current leadership. The task is to create not just the appearance of change, but a genuine commitment to creating equitable organizations and systems.

COP27: Holding Both Hope and Despair as We Fight For Every 0.1°C

Cross-Posted from Collaboration. The first COP took place in 1995 — 27 years later, and it’s easy to understand the scepticism. We’re still quite a long way from universal adoption by all nations and private sector actors of net-zero strategies that align with the urgent timescales science tells us are needed. But no other issue brings 198 nation states together in this way.

Record Number of Companies Recognize Biodiversity Risks, But Struggling to Turn Commitments Into Action

Cross-Posted from Finance & Investment. Self-reported data from over 7,700 companies that responded to questions on biodiversity through CDP’s climate change questionnaire shows they are ready to disclose on biodiversity, sending a powerful signal to negotiators ahead of COP15.

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As 2022 Season Closes, World Surf League Reports Progress of ‘We Are One Ocean’ Initiative

In 2021, WSL launched WAOO to protect and conserve surf ecosystems around the world. Over the 2022 tour season, it collaborated with community organizations, indigenous groups, surfers and others on activations including replanting native coastal vegetation in Hawaii, removing plastic pollution from Indonesian waterways, and restoring coral reefs in Tahiti.

UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, Day 2: A Compass for ‘Big Tech'

This is the second of three daily updates from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022. Day two proposed redefining tech companies as part of infrastructure — similar to railways and supply chains — that govern people’s lives, and a new ‘UNGPs Compass’ aimed at doing that.

The UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022, Day 1: Holding Business to Account

This is the first of three daily updates from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022. Day one started a week that focuses not on holding individual companies to account, but where the systems that will enable this are being framed.

Breaking Through the Logjam to Accelerate Decarbonization in the Energy Sector

Why have the collective efforts of national governments, NGOs, forward-looking companies and citizens had so little impact on curbing carbon emissions? Here are three reasons why high-level pledges are not translating into concrete actions — and what’s needed to break through.

COP27 Yields Landmark Deal to Compensate Developing Nations for Climate Damage, But Backpedals on Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels

COP27 ended with an agreement to create a funding facility to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate disasters; but weakened language around the phase-out of fossil fuels opens a dangerous loophole that could threaten decarbonization before it’s too late.

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Vail Resorts Meets 100% Renewable Energy Goal, on Track to Achieve Net-Zero Operating Footprint By 2030

Cross-Posted from Cleantech. The company reports progress in its climate goals, as well as its work to support local communities and increase equitable access to snow sports and recreation.

COP27 Yields More Impressive Forest-Conservation Commitments; But Will Our Efforts Go Up in Smoke?

From COP27, we see more and more business initiatives focused on not only reaching sustainability, but averting a climate crisis and achieving nature positivity — but have climate-fueled forest fires already nullified our chances at an effective carbon market?

COP27: Focus on Policy and Process, Not Promises

As world leaders prepare to gather for COP27, sharp focus is once again on how governments can tackle the ongoing climate crisis. But there is a danger that retailers and brands will take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach about any resulting policy change, rather than tackling the challenges head on.

Generating Win-Wins: 4 Key Ingredients of Successful Social-Purpose Marketing

Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. For a purpose-driven business, marketing must transform from traditional advertising to building a social-purpose ecosystem, requiring a fundamental shift in the way marketing is integrated and delivered. In a recent webinar, BCLC, PepsiCo and CLMBR discussed how they are shifting their marketing strategies to accelerate social purpose.

As Tourism Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels, This Hotel Chain Aims to Take Conscious Travel to New Heights

Naumi Hotels is raising the bar for eco-tourism with its holistic, conscious model — which includes repurposing existing buildings, incorporating living elements and providing employment for low-income women in India.

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Are We on the Path to Systemic Change … or to Something Only Slightly Better?

This week at [SB’22 San Diego](https://events.sustainablebrands.com/conferences/sustainablebrands), over 1K sustainability practitioners have converged to share insights, tools, inspiration and opportunities for collaboration with the goal of building a regenerative future for all. Here, we hear highlights from our day two keynotes, which centered around resurfacing past lessons to propel us forward.

Authentic, Verified Information Will Elevate Your Brand’s Climate Credentials

Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Climate action is increasingly important to incorporate into a brand’s value proposition to customers and consumers. These four steps will enable brand managers to take clear and meaningful actions — which, in turn, can connect with consumers and differentiate products in the market.

Recession or Not, Brands Must Go Long on ESG

Rather than undoing years’ worth of progress, brands must double down on ESG strategies that can (and will) continue to bear fruit.

Why Employees Are 12x More Likely to Recommend Purpose-Driven Brands

Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. In a world where the mistreatment of employees, supply chain workers and/or the planet will quickly go public through a social post or a company review, ensure your organization’s internal beliefs and behaviors align with your external actions and communications.

3rd Annual Fairtrade Mural Campaign Reminds Us All to Prioritize a Fair Deal for Farmers

Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. By celebrating the growers behind popular chocolate and tea brands, the murals remind the public to ‘Choose the world you want’ by supporting products and brands that help give farmers a sustainable livelihood.

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