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Seb Kelly

What Are Companies Doing to Combat Climate Change?




What is climate change?


Climate change is a one of the most prominent issues we face in today's society. It refers to the rapid changes in the environment, resulting in detrimental effect on our world as we know it. One of the most major effects climate change has on the Earth is that, soon, it will become uninhabitable for many species, including human beings, so it is important that we, as a collective, work towards looking after our planet and live more sustainably. It is important that brands and companies set an example to work towards living sustainably and helping to achieve reversing the effects of climate change on our planet.


How do companies act sustainably?


Many brands and companies take the initiative to become more sustainable in order to slow down the effects of climate change and, in turn, boost the longevity of their business. One major company that ensures its position within working towards sustainability is Wagamama. Wagamama is a British-made restaurant chain that serves a variety of Asian dishes and, as a part of their plan to reduce the impacts on climate change, they have set out the target to become completely carbon neutral by 2035. To do this, the restaurant has decided to reduce their carbon output by carrying out sustainable initiatives.


One example of their sustainable initiatives is their new project named "midori", which means green in Japanese. This project involves them reducing, reusing and recycling in various areas of the chain. Another company which practises sustainability is an American outdoor clothing brand called Patagonia. Patagonia have built a multitude of environmental responsibility programs, including how to sustainably source their materials for their products. This is important when regarding the gradual decline of climate change due to the fact that by decreasing the use of pollution and waste through unsustainable sourcing, helps to build a healthier Earth. The brand is proud to have achieved 100% of their down being responsibly sourced, as well as using solely cotton that has been organically grown.


How reliable are sustainability schemes?


Many companies claim to be sustainable, working to counteract climate change, however many companies cover up the negative actions they carry out with good actions, taking the focus away from the bad. Greenwashing is when a company spins their marketing in order to divert the public's perception of them to make them believe that they are environmentally friendly. An example of this would be Adidas' advertisement for Stan Smith where they claimed 50% recyclability of the shoe in their aim to end plastic waste. Although this is a positive PR move, the truth is that this claim is misleading as the claim makes the public believe that the shoe itself is 50% recyclable, however that is not the reality.


In addition to this, Amazon have been accused of mass greenwashing. When releasing their eco-friendly range, it was uncovered that they were produced around 5,000 miles away, whilst delivery was being carried out in single-use plastic packaging. Their eco-friendly message was a juxtaposition in accordance to the reality of their actions, which shows that many brands and companies claim sustainability to work towards reversing the effects of climate change just to look good to the public, rather than actually wanting to make a difference and carrying out actions and schemes that will help work towards this.


What is the overall message?


The overall message that is being portrayed is that, although many companies and brands are carrying out sustainability schemes and working towards reversing the effects of climate change, many are greenwashing and only promoting sustainability in order to gain a good reputation with the public, rather than actually attempting to make a change. People should look towards brands like Patagonia and Wagamama in order to work towards a healthier planet and encourage others to do the same. It is important to be weary of well-known brands and other various companies that may not be completely truthful about their work towards sustainability and saving the planet, and work on supporting and uplifting the companies that are trying to make a difference. In conclusion, it is important that we all try to become more green and look after our planet so that we can keep living on it for the foreseeable future.

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