Greenhushing, Agriculture, Leeds, Water & Shoes
Giles Gibbons Founder and CEO, Good Business
1. Don't hush it
Accusations of greenwashing are rife. Sometimes the charge of greenwashing is justified, but sometimes it is unfounded or just plain malicious. Many an axe has been sharpened on the accusation of greenwashing.
This fraught atmosphere around greenwashing can be intimidating and difficult to navigate. Even with the best intentions, walking the line between cut-through messaging and borderline-greenwashing can be difficult, particularly for marketing teams trained to sell a story. With a difficult challenge and significant risks for falling short, some brands are choosing simply to walk away from communicating sustainability at all. This is the lesser-known activity of ‘greenhushing’.
Greenhushing – under-claiming and under-communicating – is the opposite of greenwashing but almost as damaging. Failing to communicate sustainability beliefs, targets and ambitions not only puts companies at a disadvantage compared to their peers with investors, stakeholders and consumers who are all more engaged than ever on these topics, it also holds back progress. Communicating sustainability sets and raises broader expectations, encourages healthy competition within sectors, and shares best practice for making successful change. Without it, we face fragmentation that will hinder progress.
We clearly don’t advocate greenwashing, but we can’t support greenhushing either. Be bold and forthright in your sustainability communications and use them to drive change. Of course, we can help you navigate the difficulties in this space as we’ve done with several clients, but start with this simple check: would you be happy for your critics to scratch the surface of what you’re saying? Strong sustainability communications start with strong actions. And if you’re proud of what you’re doing, don’t hush it.
2. Green FLAGs
In terms of size of global greenhouse gas emissions, the forest, land, and agriculture (FLAG) sector is second only to the energy sector. But although FLAG generates nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, until now companies have had no responsibility to account for these emissions in their disclosures or targets.
Why? As the old business adage goes: if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Until recently there has been no formal guidance or methodology available to help companies account for the emissions associated with forestry, agricultural production, land use change and land management. While some companies have included these emissions in their footprint using available but non-standardised methodologies, others have left these emissions out entirely.
But with last month’s publication of the Science Based Targets initiative’s FLAG Guidance for emissions reduction targets, this will change. The new guidance (which draws from the upcoming GHG Protocol standard for accounting for land-related emissions) provides businesses in land-intensive sectors such as food, agriculture and forestry with a common, science-based understanding of how to account for and set targets related to land-related emissions. It includes guidance for the near-term (5 – 10 years from now) as well as the long term (by no later than 2050) targets. Crucially, it also requires that companies setting FLAG science-based targets publicly commit to zero deforestation no later than 2025.
The FLAG guidance fills an important gap in emissions accounting and target-setting. As a sector that is both a major contributor and uniquely vulnerable to climate change, it’s time for FLAG companies to take action to both measure and manage their emissions.
Not sure where to start? We are! Get in touch with our climate team to learn more about what the new SBTi guidance means for you.
3. LEEDing the way
It’s a tough time to be a small business. The culmination of rising energy prices, inflation and labour shortages make for a lethal cocktail of operating conditions.
It’s clear that businesses need more support if they are going to survive, and if support can be targeted towards companies that make positive contributions to society, then all the better.
On October 1st, Leeds Council launched a new business rate relief scheme to support inclusive economic growth in Leeds. The support will be targeted at social enterprises, businesses that are in their first three years of trading, and businesses which have a social or civic purpose that deliver wider benefits to local people and communities.
Successful applicants will receive up to £15,000 off their annual business rate bills, which it is hoped, will give recipients more scope for investing in innovation, research and development or ease growing pressure on operating costs.
This is an exciting take on how tax relief and economic incentives can be used to drive positive change in communities, an approach that we hope other councils take note of and build on. But importantly, we hope this leads to calls for government-level economic incentives for companies with purpose, and economic penalties for those who do not.
If you’re a Leeds-based business and this sounds relevant to you, you can apply for the discretionary business rate relief scheme here.
4. Water watch
In January, MPs sounded alarm bells over the “chemical cocktail” of sewage, agriculture and road pollution run-off contaminating England’s rivers. The Environment Agency’s river testing has fallen by 74% over the past decade due to budget cuts, leaving a knowledge vacuum about the extent and effects of pollution. How can we anticipate and mitigate water quality threats if we don’t know what’s going on in our waterways?
Now, not-for-profit environmental group Planet Patrol is encouraging citizens to take matters into their own hands – and the good news is, it only takes 15 minutes if you find yourself near a water course this weekend! They have created Autumn Water Watch, the first ever nationwide observational study of freshwater environments. This weekend (from 14th-16th October), they encourage you to head to your nearest freshwater location (a canal, stream, river or lake) to spend 15 minutes making observations. These are logged in the Water Watch app, and include information about pollution, plastic litter, invasive species, and wildlife in and around the water.
We are really excited about this study, not least because involving citizens directly in sustainability initiatives has been linked to a range of environmental and social benefit, including biodiversity protection, ecosystem services, and community building.
Autumn Water Watch will provide real-time insight into the state of England’s waterways. The results will be provided to scientists for further analysis, plugging holes in knowledge and helping to tackle the climate crisis. We’re excited to explore our local waterways this weekend – perhaps we’ll bump into you!
The Goods: sole sustainability
Have you ever thought about what happens to your car’s tyres every time you need to get them replaced? Six tyres reach the end of their usable life every second in Europe. At the end of this usable life, they are often abandoned to landfill or to nature, where they will continue to release microplastics to the environment for hundreds of years. Sneaker brand O.T.A (On The Asphalt) are taking up the challenge of creating a circular economy for this little considered waste product by giving old tyres a sustainably stylish new life as sneakers.
@O.t.a paris is a French brand producing sustainable shoes with soles made from recycled tyres and rubber. Not only does this benefit the planet, it also means the shoes are highly durable (almost indestructible), proven through rigorous testing of the shoes by the brand, meaning they’ll last you for years. Another selling point: every sneaker has a unique history.
On top of producing their shoes soles from recycled materials, O.T.A are taking an innovative approach to the other materials in their shoes, such as through their collaboration with Sushi Shop to upcycle discarded fish skins into salmon leather. If this doesn’t appeal to you, O.T.A also offer a vegan leather option, made from 100% recycled materials. They really do cover all bases.
If you’re looking to walk the walk on sustainability, these are the shoes for you.