Shining a Light on Good Sustainability News
When you know what to look for there is so much good sustainability news that will have positive implications for the planet and our future.
Play It Green shines a light on the people, businesses and even governments that are doing the right thing now so that the generations to come will have an environment that allows them to thrive
Through behaviour change, innovation and community, our future will be green and with that in mind here are our three favourite sustainability news stories showing just that!
Unless Collective launch Sustainable Sportswear Brand
Our first sustainability news story comes from the US where Eric Liedtke a prospect for the next CEO has left Adidas and founded the streetwear company Unless Collective.
Liedtke is joined by four other Adidas alums: Paul Gaudio, Tara Moss, Milos Ribic, and Maarten Teijse.
Having worked with the likes of Beyonce and Pharrell Williams and spoken at the United Nations, Liedtke was well placed to know what is needed for a sports brand.
The group left with a particular goal – to do for sportswear what Tesla did for cars.
Unless Collective recently opened its first store in downtown Portland.
“Before Tesla came along, if you wanted an electric car, you had to buy a smart car,” said Liedtke.
“You made the consumer sacrifice their taste. You made them sacrifice what they wanted in speed and quality and comfort. You have to meet people where they are with better solutions.”
According to Liedtke, huge brands are constrained in their efforts to promote sustainability and so he chose to launch his own company.
Whilst Nike and Adidas have pledged to use recycled plastics in their products Unless Collective doesn’t use any.
In Liedtke’s opinion, even recovered polyester is still a “forever material,” as it takes much longer to degrade than organic materials.
Unless Collective uses plant-based materials, primarily cotton, in place of recycled resources. Corozo nuts are used to make the buttons on jackets. “Zero hazardous waste” in any product is the aim.
Everything is made with compostability in mind and the first retail location of Unless Collective has a glass case containing a sweatshirt that is decomposing.
Sportswear with sustainability in mind that doesn’t use fossil fuels or end up in landfills and oceans – that’s something Play It Green is firmly behind and we hope you can too!
Mandatory Climate Reporting Now Law in Sustainability News
Exciting sustainability news from Switzerland where the government’s Federal Council has approved a new law requiring major corporations and financial institutions to publish information on their climate-related risks, impacts, and plans.
Public firms, banks, and insurance companies will have to report under the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ recommendations under the recently passed “Ordinance on Climate Disclosures“.
Companies having 500 or more employees, at least CHF 20 million (USD 21 million) in total assets, or more than CHF 40 million in annual revenue will need to comply.
Disclosures of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both direct and indirect must be reported.
Emissions reduction objectives and the companies’ plans for achieving these targets, are also part of reporting requirements.
After passing the law, the Federal Council’s spokesperson, André Simonazzi said to sustainability news sources:
“Large companies’ transparency on the climate impact of their activities is a key aspect for the markets to function well and for climate sustainability in the financial sector.
To date, Switzerland has lacked clear and comparable climate-related disclosures. The Federal Council intends to make that possible with the new ordinance.”
Legislation like this is forcing businesses to think not just about reporting their impact, but how they will make the change to a more sustainable way.
Hopefully, other governments will follow suit and these changes filter down to all businesses.
Play It Green must be ahead of its time as our members can already access reporting tools and carbon reduction plans along with much more to help them on their sustainability journey.
Cornwall Development a Template for a Sustainable Future
In the UK, our favourite sustainability news comes from a coastal development in Cornwall which was founded by King Charles and is now being overseen by Prince William.
This exciting development is set for a low-carbon winter this year!
The project was set up to create a ’20 minute neighbourhood’ and will eventually be made up of around 4000 homes, retail, offices and parks all within a 20-minute walk of the homes.
Cornwall’s new sustainable new community has seen a large amount of interest.
Many new businesses have already opened and their new school opened for this academic year.
Its houses built are also built to new low carbon standards using ultra-modern insulation and heating techniques meaning lower energy use.
What this means is that residents are not only living a more sustainable lifestyle but their energy bills are hugely reduced!
“We hardly use electricity or gas at the moment because of how insulated the house is.
When we turn the heating on it’s for half an hour and it heats the whole house,” said Emma Lawes a resident of the new housing estate since late 2020.
Every garage on the estate can have an electric vehicle charging station, and the majority of the homes can be updated to incorporate solar panels on the roof.
Residents of Nansledan also benefit from the estate’s improved biodiversity, which aims to boost hedgerows by 50% and wildlife habitats by about 25%.
Our king has been a lover of the environment his whole life and we believe that this experiment in urban planning will be successful and lay down the ‘greenprint’ for future generations to live more sustainably.
That’s it for this week – three positive sustainability news stories showing how positive change is happening across the globe.
Change starts with individuals, but when amplified by community and time, it becomes unstoppable!
We hope you enjoyed the great news and if you haven’t already, please use the link below to join our community and be the solution to climate change!
