The Business & Climate Monthly Newsletter (March 2023)

Our round up of this month's HOT NEWS on business, sustainability, carbon and climate over the last month

This month saw a crack down on greenwashing across the board, at the same time as climate scientists announce we are sleep-walking into an unliveable future.

With new anti-greenwashing regulations coming, existing bodies calling out some large organisation examples, and studies showing how rampant greenwashing is, greenwashing dominated much of March's sustainability news. Avoiding greenwash is critical for credibility and - increasingly - to avoid financial penalty. If you're worried about your public sustainability commitments or carbon statements, contact us today to see how we could help.

But first, we'll start with the startling warning - which is no surprise - from the IPCC this month...

1. Scientists' "final warning" on climate crisis: act now of it's too late?

Leading climate scientists released their assessment of the climate emergency and ways to deal with it (IPCC Special Report). Warning: its a sobering read. Read more here.

2. The European Commission publishes proposed rule to crack down on greenwashing

The proposed rules are to protect consumers from greenwashing, and will apply to all manner of goods and services and that EU member states will be in charge of imposing “proportionate” penalties including fines. Read more here.?

3. British Standards Institution tackling greenwashing in financial sector

BSI released a statement on new sustainable finance standards to deter greenwashing in the financial sector - supporting credible targets and planning. Fingers crossed this improves the sector's ESG practices. More here.?

4. Australia's getting in on the greenwashing action too

The Australian competition regulator revealed this month that over half of companies are greenwashing, from a study across multiple sectors from energy and vehicles to cosmetics and clothing. More info here.

5. Big brands being called out over greenwashing?

Lufthansa is the latest big brand to fall foul of greenwashing. The UK advertising watchdog banned their 'green' advert, stating it was misleading customers on the environmental impacts of flying. Claims need scientific evidence, and not be misleading. More here.?

6. And of course there was also the UK Spring budget

Read more about the headlines in terms of SMEs and energy in our blog here.

Quote of the month

From Greta Thunberg, March 21st 2023:

"Today, after yesterday's IPPC report, everything's back to normal - as always. We continue to ignore the climate crisis as if nothing happened. [We] are still in denial."

Jargon busters

We're jargon busting to make sure climate impact is accessible and as simple as possible, one topic at a time.

What is Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is the phenomenon where companies make exaggerated or false claims about their environmental impact - in an attempt to appeal to more eco-conscious consumers.

Read more about greenwashing. and how to avoid it.?

ZeroBees News

Have you tried our freemium platform?

Want to test-drive the ZeroBees carbon platform for free, and get your Scope 1 and 2 results today?

The free version of our platform to help everyone get started with their climate journey is?here.

Welcome Steph!

Stephanie Chang has joined our Advisory Group here at ZeroBees to support us strategically to achieve our mission to accelerate decarbonisation for SMEs. Steph is a sustainability leader with a wealth of experience across ESG, finance, net zero, TCFD and strategy.?So pleased to have you join our journey, Steph!

Partner spotlight

RE24 empowers businesses to buy green energy direct from renewable projects. Trace every kilowatt back to your generator, every hour, and lock in affordable prices directly. Green. Traceable. Transparent. Affordable. What's not to love?

Find out more about RE24 here.

That's all for this month! Do let us know any feedback, topics you'd like us to cover or visit us at?ZeroBees.com

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