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What do the fashion industry, Vatican City, Canada and South Kesteven District Council have in common? The answer is that they’ve all declared a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_emergency_declaration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate emergency</a>. And they aren’t the only ones. Darebin, Australia <a href="https://www.caceonline.org/history.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first declared a climate emergency</a> in 2016. Since then over 1,900 local governments in 34 countries have made climate emergency declarations (as of June 2021). In fact, <a href="https://www.cedamia.org/global/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">around a billion people</a> live in places that have declared a climate emergency — that’s one in ten people on the planet.
Declaring a climate emergency is important as it amounts to an official admission that climate change exists and that more must be done to stop it. And of course, it’s the action that’s more important than the acknowledgement. The climate emergency movement is reaching something of a tipping point now. It’s becoming a launchpad for real change, rather than a mere symbolic gesture. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than with the emerging trend for industries to join countries and councils in declaring.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the industries that have declared a climate emergency, what it means for those industries and how other businesses and industries can get involved too.

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<a href="https://www.tourismdeclares.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency</a> is a global community of 441 tourism organisations, companies and professionals, committed to delivering a Climate Action Plan with the aim of halving emissions by 2030.
As the industry sets out to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, it also has a golden opportunity to reset, reimagine and drive positive change. This initiative advocates for climate action through its networks, helps anyone in the industry to access the right knowledge and tools, and brings its leaders together to collaborate.
Any organisation or individual working in tourism can join by making a <a href="https://www.tourismdeclares.com/how-to-join" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaration</a> on their website and signing the Glasgow Declaration on <a href="https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/programmes/sustainable-tourism/glasgow-declaration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Action in Tourism</a>.

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Launched in July 2019, <a href="https://www.musicdeclares.net/gb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Music Declares Emergency</a> is a group of artists, music industry professionals and organisations standing together to declare a climate emergency and call for an immediate government response. 
The group takes a practical, yet creative approach. Their website is full of neat suggestions for how anyone in the industry can <a href="https://musicdeclares.net/gb/take-action" target="_blank" rel="noopener">take action</a>. This is backed up by <a href="https://musicdeclares.net/gb/act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No Music on a Dead Planet </a>— a campaign run alongside <a href="https://rankin.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rankin</a> and 15 artists to share simple and impactful ways to act on climate change. Anyone can also make a donation, or <a href="https://www.musicdeclares.net/gb/shop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">buy some very cool looking merchandise</a> to support the cause.
Those working in the industry who want to join can <a href="https://musicdeclares.net/gb/declarers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign the declaration</a>.

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<a href="https://fashion-declares.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fashion Declares</a> is a network of individuals from right across the fashion industry that is focused on fuelling a large-scale, bottom-up movement to create a regenerative new approach to fashion. 
The movement is based on five core commitments: speaking out for urgent action; decarbonisation, restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity; social justice and the just transition; radical transparency and corporate governance; and the regenerative fashion model.
Fashion Declares is committed to equipping its members with tools and resources, while running regular webinars. The group is inviting individuals at all levels to join its grass-roots movement by signing an open letter.

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<a href="https://businessdeclares.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Declares </a>is a not-for-profit organisation formed of a coalition of senior leaders from businesses including The Body Shop, Pukka and Good Energy. Their aim is to collaborate to accelerate climate action right across the business sector. 
The group frequently shares resources, runs events, lobbies for regulatory change and facilitates conversations on the complex challenges businesses are facing. They also have an official partnership with the <a href="https://climatechampions.unfccc.int/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN COP26 Race to Zero Campaign</a>.
When members<a href="https://businessdeclares.com/apply" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> join Business Declares </a>they’re asked to acknowledge their membership on their website, set a net zero target as close as possible to 2030, consider and discuss their Scope 3 impacts, and support ongoing Business Declares advocacy efforts.

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<a href="https://coveringclimatenow.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covering Climate Now</a> collaborates with journalists to drive more informed reporting on climate change and ensure that the climate is an important part of every newsroom beat. It has also released a <a href="https://coveringclimatenow.org/the-press-and-the-climate-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement declaring a climate emergency</a> and invited all news organisations to sign it. 
The group was co-founded by the Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation in association with The Guardian and WNYC in 2019, and now has over 460 partners.

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<a href="https://www.culturedeclares.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Culture Declares Emergency </a>is an international movement of individuals and organisations in the arts and cultural sector, who have all declared a climate emergency. 
Those who sign up are asked to make a statement about why they’ve declared and what they plan to do, put a kitemark on their website or email, and get involved by joining working groups, attending events and sharing learnings.

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Finally, <a href="https://www.pharmacydeclares.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pharmacy Declares </a>is a group of climate-conscious UK pharmacy professionals calling for organisations across the sector to make their own declarations. They’re also actively pushing for divestments of fossil fuels and positive reinvestments, along with better climate leadership and education in the industry.

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Clearly, business as usual is no longer an option, so it’s inspiring to see so many businesses and industries stepping up to become part of the solution. What is even more inspiring about these examples, is that they go way beyond simply making a statement. This isn’t about PR, it’s about collectively starting something new. These groups are all engineering plans and policies in their industries to bring about real change.
What these groups show more than anything, is that anyone can spark action in their industry. They all started with like minded individuals coming together, putting a stake in the ground and galvanising others to join through their professional networks. It truly is people power in action. All it takes is a handful of industry peers with a strong will and a clear commitment, and a movement can be born. 
If you want to get involved, first start by researching if your industry has already declared a climate emergency. If it has you can join, take part in the movement and call on your colleagues to do the same. If not, start one! As these examples show you don’t need to wait for permission, and there are very few barriers. Judging by the membership of the groups that have already formed, it seems that there are plenty of people in every industry wanting to get involved. “If you build it, they will come” as the saying goes. 
<h3>We’ll leave you with five tips to bear in mind if you’re thinking of declaring a climate emergency: </h3>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Rally your peers &#8211; Use your industry and organisational networks to their fullest. Try and get declaring a climate emergency to the top of the agenda at your next company board meeting and look for speaking opportunities at industry events. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bake it into business planning &#8211; Lead the way by basing your business strategy around reversing climate change, shifting business models if needed, and setting big goals to lower your carbon footprint. Many companies are now aiming for net zero by 2030. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Set clear targets &#8211; Any big goal needs clear targets to get there, and they need the full backing of your leadership team. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Make it inspiring &#8211; Many of these groups have beautiful websites and strong brands. This is important as it will give peers a pull to join the cause, and let them wear their membership like a badge of honour. Perhaps even literally! </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Empower your colleagues &#8211; Make it easy for employees, colleagues and peers to take action. From providing open letters and statements to sign, to sharing resources and running events, the transition from buying in to taking action should be easy and seamless.  </li>
</ol>
For more information, you can also <a href="https://pardot.bcorporation.net/climateemergencyplaybook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">download B Lab UK’s playbook</a> for business on how to declare a climate emergency.
<a href="https://ecologi.com/plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up today to take real climate action with Ecologi</a>.

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Hopescrolling: The good news timeline

It’s not all bad. While there’s a lot of negative news about the climate, let’s not forget the good stuff. Find climate wins, reasons to be hopeful and plenty of positivity in our good news timeline.

The good news timeline

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We know that funding high-quality carbon credits provides vital funding to impactful projects <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2023/03/20/press-release-ar6-synthesis-report/">which prevent and avoid emissions</a>.
However, it’s vital to look at the bigger picture: how carbon credits are being used is critical in taking meaningful climate action for our planet.
Simply using carbon credits to offset our business-as-usual emissions (often referred to as becoming ‘carbon neutral’) without taking steps to reduce those emissions directly <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/40875/EGR2022_KR.pdf?sequence=3">will not solve climate change</a>. In addition, there’s increasing pressure on businesses following recent crackdowns on green claims, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/15/uk-advertising-watchdog-to-crack-down-on-carbon-offsetting-claims-aoe">claiming ‘carbon neutrality’ through offsetting alone</a>. So, across our industry, we need to rethink carbon offsetting completely, from the ground up.
Let’s unpack this.

Offsetting to compensate for business-as-usual emissions is OUT

Science is clear that minimising global warming requires substantial emissions reductions globally. The IPCC has called for <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/">50% reductions in emissions by 2030</a>, and global net-zero emissions by 2050, if we are to limit the global temperature increase to below 2°C, and as close as possible to 1.5°C. Every year that we continue to increase emissions, the steeper the curve needs to be for the world to decarbonise in time, 
Traditional carbon offsetting involves paying for carbon credits, each representing one tonne of emissions reduced or avoided by a project (like a solar farm). To offset, you would produce one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions through your business activities, and then offset that tonne by buying a carbon credit. 
However, traditional offsetting also gives free licence to businesses to continue generating emissions, or even increase them! Provided that they are also paying to offset them. You can see this in the visual below.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7760" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20230516164950/COP27-Net-Zero-Pathway-Workshop.png" alt="" width="960" height="540" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20230516164950/COP27-Net-Zero-Pathway-Workshop.png 960w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20230516164950/COP27-Net-Zero-Pathway-Workshop-300x169.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20230516164950/COP27-Net-Zero-Pathway-Workshop-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
Even when businesses fund high-quality projects and offset their emissions in full, those direct emissions are still taking place. The benefits of avoided emissions are effectively cancelled-out if the projects funded are only being used to offset your business’s continued emissions. The same is true, even if you are doing your offsetting with carbon removal credits &#8211; because the climate impacts of emitting and then removing greenhouse gases are not the same as simply not emitting them.
This is unsustainable. We need to reconsider completely the way we think about offsetting.

Reducing emissions whilst committing to fund high-quality climate‌ action is IN

For businesses to align their operations with <a href="https://www.iema.net/articles/ghg-management-hierarchy-updated-for-net-zero.">the science of climate change</a>, making direct emissions reductions <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/charting-the-path-to-net-zero-for-businesses">across your supply chain is paramount</a>. That’s a separate process, which offsetting doesn’t contribute toward.
Funding impactful projects through carbon credits still has a huge role to play. The SBTi (Science Based Target initiative) deems <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/blog/net-zero-urgent-beyond-value-chain-mitigation-is-essential">funding carbon credits as an &#8220;essential&#8221; step</a> in the journey towards global net-zero. 
Supporting these high-quality carbon avoidance projects (that’s the same kinds of projects which are traditionally used for offsetting) is a perfect entry point for businesses to start their climate journey &#8211; whilst these businesses gather their plans to reduce their emissions directly.

Reducing your business emissions is a marathon, not a sprint

One of the SBTi’s core requirements for a business to achieve net-zero is to achieve a <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/net-zero">minimum 90% reduction in emissions in most sectors</a>. This emissions-reduction journey will not be easy, since that’s a BIG task!

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Imagine having to reduce your financial budget by 90% &#8211; it would require a lot of planning, researching, and implementation, over a long period.

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Near-term targets are going to be crucial to break down those larger long-term goals. SBTi <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/reports/sbti-progress-report-2021">research in 2021 showed that</a> if your business had set its science-based targets that year, you would need to make emissions reductions of just 4.2% per year &#8211; a much more understandable and manageable target for most businesses.
Remember as well that, even if simply offsetting your business emissions was your goal, then the higher your emissions are, the more it will cost to your business to offset them. This means that whilst there’s an enormous challenge in reducing emissions over a sustained period, it will be much better in the long run, both for your business and for the planet.

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This is a long-term commitment which all businesses need to undertake. That’s why funding high-quality climate action is crucial at the same time. You can give back to our planet throughout the process &#8211; and by doing so, you can have a real, measurable impact <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">on people, communities and biodiversity</a>.

High-quality climate action that ‘goes beyond’

This funding of high-quality climate action outside of a business’s operations is referred to by the SBTi as ‘<a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/blog/going-above-and-beyond-to-contribute-to-societal-net-zero">beyond value chain mitigation</a>’ or ‘BVCM’. They highlight this as a critical contribution to reaching societal net-zero because it has a positive climate impact outside of your business’s direct sphere of influence. Your company can leverage its BVCM strategy to generate positive global change for our planet.
The great thing about BVCM is that it allows your business to select project types and locations that matter to you: you can build your own mix of projects to support.

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Don’t be put off by the scientific terminology. Simply, it means continuously funding climate action via high-quality carbon avoidance credits (and other types of impactful climate projects) whilst reducing your business emissions on your journey to net-zero.

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At Ecologi, we select the carbon avoidance projects we support according to our<a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/updates/how-ecologi-finds-and-funds-the-most-impactful-climate-solutions"> climate impact regionalisation strategy</a>, which focuses on directing funding towards locations and projects with the greatest potential impact.
This approach allows our in-house team to identify which, out of the ~200 quotes for carbon credits we review every month, are the most impactful.
The projects we support &#8211; which you can fund through <a href="https://ecologi.com/impact-shop">our Impact Shop</a> or through <a href="https://ecologi.com/business/integrations">our automations and integrations</a> &#8211; are also independently scrutinised by organisations like our friends at <a href="https://www.sylvera.com/">Sylvera</a>.

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Reframing carbon offsetting in a way that makes a real difference

Don’t let your business fall into the trap of thinking that buying carbon credits gets you off the hook by compensating for emissions which you haven’t attempted to reduce. That way of thinking is all wrong.
<a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/net-zero">The net-zero pathway</a> allows you to fund carbon removal credits to ‘offset’ your unavoidable emissions. However, you need to reduce your emissions as much as possible first, and only use removals for up to a maximum 10% of your initial emissions, and it has to be carbon removal, which is very expensive!
Think about your BVCM as funding climate action, full stop. It’s not about compensating to let your business keep producing emissions. It’s just one cost of running a responsible business, whilst you work to reduce your emissions directly. 
Don’t think about it in the context of letting your business carry on emitting as it was before &#8211; because that won’t contribute toward solving the climate crisis.

How to take the first step on your climate journey

Every business is different, and that means that although reducing emissions is vital, funding climate action might be the most suitable entry point for you, on your climate journey.
Through Ecologi, you can do this and more:

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If you’re still not sure where to start, <a href="https://ecologi.com/business/overview#get-in-touch">reach out to our friendly team of experts</a> who will be more than happy to find the right climate solution for your business and for our planet.

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Ecologi - Our story

How Ecologi grew from a climate action subscription to the ultimate climate companion for businesses. Read our story here!

<h2>The thought that turned to action</h2>
The story of Ecologi started one morning in 2019, when our founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotcoad/">Elliot</a> picked up his morning coffee and wondered what would happen if he instead spent that money on addressing the climate crisis? 
As a keen ‘armchair environmentalist’ and self-confessed nerd, his research took him down a few rabbit holes and geek out sessions, as he explored the potential impact of just 10% of the world redirecting their loose change from cappuccino to climate action. 
He soon realised that there are ample climate solutions already available to address climate change and restore nature, and the world’s pocket change is more than enough to fund them. The idea just needed to galvanise support and turn into collective action. 
Ecologi began as a family and friend business. Elliot is experienced in product and development, and his wife <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyjackk/">Lucy</a> is a website designer who is a deft hand with illustration and branding. They were joined by their friend <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/remotealex/">Alex</a>, a talented developer and entrepreneur who had just finished building a subscription product of his own.
Ecologi was born!

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<h2>Ecologi 1.0</h2>
Ecologi started as a subscription service for individuals to take climate action and was founded as a for-profit social enterprise to scale this idea rapidly. In a world of Netflix, Spotify, Headspace and countless other affordable subscriptions, we figured that there must surely be room in the market for something that could literally change the world? 
We decided on the name ‘Ecologi’ in awareness of two great threats to humanity; global warming, and biodiversity loss. These issues are interconnected, and we cannot solve one without the other. Therefore, the projects that we offer give our customers the opportunity to support both climate action and nature restoration in conjunction.
With an ethos based on transparency and putting our planet ahead of profit, we’ve grown a passionate community of over 18,000 businesses and 40,000 members in under five years. Through the support of our community, we’ve funded the planting of over 60 million trees, prevented over 2.5 million tonnes of CO2e from entering our atmosphere through certified carbon avoidance projects and achieved B Corp Certification. 
Our <a href="https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/adfb141d-4153-4c22-b6b4-976f7f3930b2/page/p_9zis9oxt3c">Public Impact Ledger</a> lifts the lid on what goes on behind the scenes here at Ecologi and delves into the evidence and detail of all things climate impact. Check out our <a href="https://ecologi.com/transparency">Transparency page</a> for evidence of our impact and finance, and meet the teams driving us forward.

<h2>The next chapter </h2>
We’ve had a great start, but there is still a lot of work to be done, and we can’t do it alone. So we’ve reset and refocused, with a bold new mission to inspire and empower businesses to accelerate global action on climate and nature. 
SMEs make up 99% of the UK business population and contribute half of all business-driven emissions in the UK. But according to a 2021 survey by the British Business Bank, only 6% are likely to have measured their carbon footprint in the last five years. <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/climate-commitments-survey">Our own research</a> also found that over four in 10 (41%) of SMEs would like their business to have a net-zero strategy, but feel confused about how to get started.
In the years ahead, the team at Ecologi will champion SMEs as green revolutionaries, empowering them on their journey to reduce emissions and take climate action. There are millions of SMEs in the UK and we believe that with the right support, they can help turn the tide on the climate crisis. 
SMEs are powerful enough to make an impact, agile enough to act fast, and unstoppable when working collectively. Just imagine what would happen if every SME rose up and took action as one? 
<h3>Check out our Climate Commitments Report</h3>
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 📁 Download the PDF report <a href="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20230328090053/Ecologi_BBB_Report_V6.pdf">here</a>

<h2>Supporting the revolution</h2>
We’ve recently concentrated our efforts on being the ultimate climate companion for SMEs, no matter what stage of the journey to net-zero they&#8217;re on. From calculating their carbon footprint, to reducing their emissions, to funding climate projects, to sharing their impact with their community. And we’ve developed a suite of products to support that journey.
<a href="https://ecologi.com/business/zero">Ecologi Zero</a> is our free and easy-to-use carbon footprinting tool for UK-based SMEs. It’s designed to remove the high-cost, technology and skills barriers to carbon footprinting by connecting seamlessly with Xero accounting software to calculate emissions from existing business data, and requiring no expertise or experience. We’re really proud of it and its potential to be a game changer in enabling SMEs to take the first step on their net-zero journey. 
We’ve also launched our all-new <a href="https://ecologi.com/business/impact-shop">Impact Shop</a>. This pay-as-you-go store for climate impact lets businesses make a purchase for our planet with no strings or subscriptions attached. This allows SMEs to support whatever type of projects mean the most to them, and fund as much impact as they like, whenever suits them. From funding tree planting in specific countries to supporting community-based projects, SMEs can choose from a range of high quality climate solutions and know that they are making a positive impact.
Finally, <a href="https://ecologi.com/business/climate-positive-workforce">Climate Positive Workforce®</a> allows SMEs to bring their employees along on the journey of climate action. This product operates like a regular subscription, compensating for the approximate carbon footprint per number of employees in your business country of operation, while also funding the planting of trees through our trusted reforestation partners. In doing so, your organisation will visualise their impact in their virtual forest, learn more about the different carbon avoidance projects they support each month, and share their impact online.
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<h2>For our planet </h2>
Our planet. This is what brought us together. It’s why we started Ecologi. It’s the purpose of our community. The reason we take collective action. And when we speak to our community, they often say that they work with us so they can do something positive for our planet. 
As we look ahead to the next chapter of Ecologi, these three small-but-mighty words have become our north star, and the core of our brand. 
Now is the time to act together. Let’s rewrite our future. For our planet. 
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