Impact Brief: Reflections on COP26 & thoughts on Green Friday

Nov 12

What does Green Friday really mean to social purpose businesses?

Hello Impact Makers - the holiday season is upon us, it is dark outside, and is sadly ironic that after the biggest climate conference COP26 comes the biggest sale day the planet has ever seen. This is why we decided to focus this November Impact Brief on reflections from COP26 and the imminent Black Friday/Cyber Monday pandemonium. We even took a stab at exploring the anti-Black Friday: Green Friday, and whether greening consumerism is even possible with companies like Patagonia completely moving away from even using the word sustainability and others like Lush Cosmetics abandoning social media altogether.

"I want you to stay angry. I want you to stay frustrated," he said. "Keep pushing harder and harder for more and more, because that’s what’s required to meet this challenge."
President Obama

Regardless where you stand as a brand with sustainability or social purpose - the reality is something has got to change and we are here to help you get started!

WATCH, LISTEN and READ

What was actually accomplished at COP 26 and is it enough to curb the global temperature rise, and climate disasters? Most scientists agree - pacts are great but won't do much to actually effect global temperature rises at scale.

While the two week event was kickstarted by an incredible message of hope for the future from Sir David Attenborough, most are still trying to figure out what actually happened at the summit and how it will in fact impact the future. Watch a brilliant short recap over at the Guardian.

While deals are made Indigenous communities are facing an upsurge in land grabs, water shortages, and major human rights violations. They have accused world leaders of sacrificing indigenous peoples and lands in order to postpone meaningful climate action and shield corporate profits. To shed some light and perspective of representation there were more than 500 fossil fuel lobbyists at COP26 - a larger number than any single country delegation.

A lot happened, there are a lot of opinions whether anything will change, and whether there will be any real impact on climate in the long run but there are some things we know including the 13 deals that were struct throughout the 2-week summit. Here is a summary of them all.

As fashion was blatantly underrepresented if at all at COP26 the stark reality of a sustainable fashion future is hard to imagine. Dazed took a fabulous stab at imagining what a future could look like and what it what it would actually take from our major players in the industry. From taking responsibility, to decarbonizing the industry, to encompassing wellness and health over profits to list is insightful. The industry has its work cut out for it - it just needs to start to act!

Ideas for Impact READS

Fashion as a major contributor to emissions, toxicity and waste, is a key industry to distrubt. We had the privilege of sharing some insights and advice in a recent article published in Fashion Magazine SSEAMS focusing on how to green your Fashion Brand. Although focused on fashion the key takeaways are applicable across sectors. Ultimately you wont know where you have gaps in your impact or social purpose until you examine what you are doing and what you have done - one of the best tools out there is the B Corp Assessment. We highly recommend it as a starting point to evaluating where you are at from a 360 perspective. Read the article here or jump straight to the assessment.

Green Friday a fairly new movement but one gaining momentum to combat the massive sway of Black Friday and Cyber Monday consumerism frenzy. It may be a difficult time to avoid as a business trying to grow or expand but there are certainly many strategies that a brand can tie into their social and sustainability purpose to make participating meaningfully. Whether it is a giving campaign, not participating at all, or taking the opportunity to educate consumers - there are options and companies are taking notice.

Have a read and let us know what Green Friday strategies you are exploring.