Wow Reader, what an intense couple of weeks it's been in an already intense enough year.
The news cycle seems impossible to reconcile, and to me, it's felt like there are some common themes underpinning what we're seeing.
Major global companies pulling back on their sustainability and social commitments (Unilever have abandoned climate targets, plastic usage targets and are walking away from ensuring a living wage across their supply chain. John Deere is abandoning work towards creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Microsoft has seen such windfalls with AI that it has apparently become distracted from its sustainability efforts, investing over $10bn in infrastructure to support AI expansion, but delegating some emissions reductions to suppliers).
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Two steps forward, three steps back.
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Getting to a better outcome is apparently 'too hard' or 'not convenient'.
Division is easy because seeking to understand and connecting is hard.
Pulling back on commitments is easy because making the desired impact is hard.
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None of this feels good. Especially because when we drill it right down, we all want the same thing.
To belong. To be loved. To do things that make us feel good. To do work that fulfils us.
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Division doesn't feel good (for long). Making a commitment with apparent conviction with good reasons and then pulling back for, less clear or short-term reasons doesn't feel good.
Now is the time to lean into the hard - to use our ability to reason, to leverage our humanity and our creativity and imagination to solve the really challenging problems.
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So, I've been pondering what small, radical acts enable this. Here's what I've come up with: Taking time to think. Finding space to create, not consume. Considering more than one step ahead.
What small, radical acts can I add to the list, Reader I look forward to your reply.
All hands on deck ๐ช
Melissa
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Inspiring Purpose
We enjoy a beer. When we see breweries recognising that their product can have a significant carbon, waste and water impacts and taking steps to address this we enjoy it even more.
โBowden Brewing have worked with โFrigidโCloud, a sustainability solutions provider, to understand impact at every step of the process. This understanding has led them to solutions at every step including capturing some of the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation, bringing in more sustainable raw materials from local growers and diverting waste streams to a local mushroom farm as a growing medium.
At this stage it's only for one beer, but we can see this impact led innovation taking hold in the industry.
Business As Unusual Innovation
โGomi is an innovative design studio based in Brighton, UK, committed to creating sustainable tech products from non-recyclable waste plastics and second-life lithium batteries. Their signature products, such as portable speakers and power banks, emphasise longevity and reparability through modular design, as a means to combat throw-away culture. By transforming waste into beautiful, functional items, Gomi promotes a circular economy and reduces environmental impact.
Their approach not only showcases cutting-edge design but also highlights the importance of sustainability in modern tech innovation - and shine a light on what Big Tech continue to miss as part of their sustainability 'story'.
Roundup
๐ ๏ธ Mintel, the Global Insights trackers have noted a decline in innovation in Consumer Packaged Goods so far this year. They note that as big brands slow their innovation it presents opportunities for new comers to be disruptive.
๐ ๏ธ Large scale agriculture gets the finger pointed at it as a big contributor to climate change (with good reason). A world without it seems hard to imagine though. It's encouraging then, to see attention turned to farming techniques to decarbonise.
๐ ๏ธ An example of how scale can create new opportunities for use or application is the flower turbines creating small-scale wind energy. Imagine a couple of these powering your house.
๐ ๏ธ After months of pressure, this creative agency has had its B Corp status revoked. We're curious why it took so long and are hopeful this sets a precedence for other not-so-good businesses greenwashing with the B Corp badge on.
๐ ๏ธ The results from the 2024 Sustainable Development report from the UN really cuts the Aussie sense of national pride, placing us fourth-last in terms of climate action.
We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and that sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to the Turrbal and Yuggera people who are the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work in beautiful Meeanjin (Brisbane), Australia. |
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