The Business & Climate Monthly Newsletter (March 2024)
ZeroBees - Certified B Corp?
Understanding sustainability & carbon for SMEs and supply chains | B Corp Advisory | ESG | Decarbonisation
Our round up of this month's HOT NEWS on business, sustainability, carbon and climate over the last month
In March, we've seen further EU regulations approved to promote sustainability across the private sector, albeit with some watering down, and while the EU Nature Law seems to be in trouble, we saw local wins against unsustainable businesses in France and The Netherlands. We've also seen corporates named and shamed by SBTI for lack of progress on decarbonisation commitments, and continued backtracking on commitments by oil and gas majors. Here's our round-up of the top climate and business stories...?
1. EU Governments support stripped-down corporate due diligence law
EU member states have voted in favour of a landmark new law requiring companies to check supply chains for poor environmental and labour practices. The corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) - after some horse-trading - seem likely to pass into law. Read more here.
2. EU Parliament Agrees to Ban Unverified Green Product Claims
A series of rules aimed at protecting consumers from greenwashing was overwhelmingly approved in Europe. The rules include requiring companies to submit product marketing claims such as “biodegradable” or “less polluting” for verification before being allowed to use them. More info here.
3. France’s lower house votes to limit ‘excesses’ of fast fashion with environmental surcharge
France’s lower house of parliament has backed a string of measures to make low-cost fast fashion, especially items from Chinese mass producers, less attractive to buyers. Read more here.
4. Dutch court rules KLM’s sustainability advertising breached EU consumer law
Amsterdam courts found KLM guilty of greenwashing in its advertising, setting major legal precedent with ramifications across the international aviation sector and for all companies advertising their commitment to the Paris Agreement.
5. No big North Sea fossil fuel country plans to stop drilling in time for 1.5degC goal
None of the big oil and gas producers surrounding the North Sea plan to stop drilling soon enough to meet the 1.5degC global heating target, a report has found. The UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark have all failed to align their oil and gas policies with their climate promises under the Paris agreement.
6. Big businesses accused of undermining Net Zero commitments with excessive air travel
An analysis of the climate strategies of more than 300 big businesses has revealed that four in five have no target to cut travel emissions, with offenders including the Coca-Cola Company, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft.
Quote of the month
“You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.”
- Albert Einstein
领英推荐
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 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy tool that extends the producer’s financial and/or operational responsibility for a product to include the management of the post-consumer stage, in order to help meet national or regional recycling and recovery targets. EPR policies thus generally shift the waste management cost or physical collection partially or fully from local governments to producers. EPR legislation has been rolled out across European countries and now in the UK (with EPR payments deferred to 2025 but reporting required in 2024).
It is hoped that EPR legislation will achieve a reduction in the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycle. The idea is that if you produce waste, then you should pay for the costs of the impact it can have on the environment and people's health. Packaging producers for example will be responsible for the entire cost of recycling the packaging they place on the market including the cost of collection, treatment, and of course recycling. EPR can also apply to batteries, WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) and textiles.?
EPR policy studies show that implementation accelerates the collection and recycling of target materials to over 75% in British Columbia, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands and South Korea, with Portugal and Quebec over 60%, demonstrating its effectiveness as a policy tool.?
Check with your local environment agency, and those of your markets, to see if your company has to report on its waste under new EPR legislation. And check out out partner, ForSURE?if you need support with reporting.?
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.
Meet our EPR partner
Dealing with Extended Producer Responsibility in the EU or UK?
Talk to our partners at ForSURE to get support with your waste data and reporting. ForSURE offers tailored EPR software to simplify compliance and processes.?
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