Climate Emergency

earth-day-2020

earth day 2020

On April 22nd, the world celebrates <a href="https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earth Day</a>. This is an annual event aimed at raising awareness for environmental protection. It’s a day of collective participation, educational activities, and campaigning for the planet. This year will be the 50th Earth Day and the theme is climate action. Besides a zillion things you can do at home to save the planet, even in quarantine, there are loads of fun digital events for you to join.

Take action: Join a digital climate event 

Why does the planet need you to act specifically on April 22nd? Well, it doesn’t: it needs you to act every day. Making your life as sustainable as you can, voting for the green party, spreading awareness… your actions impact the world and the environment every day. Earth Day is just a strong reminder of how important your daily decisions are.

Best free digital climate events in the UK 👇

Ready to take action and join in on the fun? From the more than 700 free webinars and other digital meet-ups worldwide, I’ve listed the best free webinars in the UK for you to join.
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<h2>The Great John Cage Project </h2>
<h3>Lockdown Podcast</h3>
Date: 4/22/2020 
Time: 21:00 BST 
Channel: Spotify/ iTunes 
Length: 30 mins
John Cage was an American experimental composer, who’s known for his 4&#8217;33&#8221; silent composition. “Played” by pianist David Tutor at Woodstock in 1952, this piece basically consists of the sounds around you. Cage was into Zen Buddhism, which 4’33” reflects perfectly. It depends on how you look at things, how mindful you are and what frame you use, whether you think something is music or not. Labels are arbitrary, and music, noise, sound or silence are all the same. The composition invites you to embrace your surroundings and be present in the moment.
With this in mind, The Great John Cage Project invites people from all over the world to record the sounds around them while they live in lockdown. The point is to see if the Earth sounds different now that human activities have largely come to a halt. Is there more silence? Or are there more sounds heard from nature, such as birds, bees, waves, wind, etc.? All recordings will be archived for historians in the future.
<ul>
<li>Organizer: John Wills</li>
<li>Online: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GreatJohnCageProject/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.facebook.com/GreatJohnCageProject/</a> </li>
<li>RSVP link: <a href="https://anchor.fm/greatjohncageproject" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://anchor.fm/greatjohncageproject</a></li>
<li>Ticket price: Free</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Making Global Goals Local Business: </h2>
<h3>The Lockdown Edition</h3>
Date: 4/22/2020 
Time: 14:30 BST 
Channel: Zoom 
Length: 1 hour
This is an interactive and engaging webinar to share your thoughts and listen to those of others on how the lockdowns have impacted your Global Goals as a business. These goals range from economic growth, circular economies, ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality, and environmental protection. How has COVID-19 impacted your business regarding these goals? And what opportunities are there for us to build a new, healthier, normal? The webinar is open to anyone, from interested individuals in organisations to business representatives working in sustainability, CSR or business strategy.
<ul>
<li>RSVP link: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-global-goals-local-business-lockdown-edition-tickets-102760659900" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-global-goals-local-business-lockdown-edition-tickets-102760659900</a></li>
<li>Ticket price: Free</li>
</ul>
 
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<h2>Bugs, Birds and other Beasts</h2>
Date: 4/22/2020 
Time: 13:00 BST 
Medium: Facebook
Almost similar to The Great John Cage Project, this climate event invites you to record bugs, birds and other animals around you. But rather than recording sounds, you are asked to record what you see in whatever way you want. Maybe that’s recording your voice counting birds in your garden, describing or drawing butterflies, or any other creative way you can think of. Goal is to connect more to the nature around you and appreciating its beauty. Drawings of insects or animals can be displayed in your window to encourage collective participation.
<ul>
<li>Organizer: Lorna Stoddart</li>
<li>Online: <a href="https://greenwoodgrowth.life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://greenwoodgrowth.life/</a> </li>
<li>RSVP link: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/650541915782618/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.facebook.com/events/650541915782618/</a></li>
<li>Ticket price: Free</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Food Heroes Workshop</h2>
Date: 4/22/2020 
Time: 12:30 BST 
Medium: Downloadable toolkit 
Length: 30 Minutes
This interactive Food Heroes Workshop has been developed by the Cambrian Training Company through the UNICEF Sustainability Initiative, the World’s Largest Lesson (WLL). Normally, the WLL is shared in classrooms, but now it’s available online. Aim is to help people understand global sustainability development goals and what you can do to help achieve these goals. You can invite your whole family to join and learn how you can make a positive change, together.
<ul>
<li>Organizer: Cambrian Training Company</li>
<li>Online: <a href="https://www.feedtheplanet.worldchefs.org/foodheroeschallenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.feedtheplanet.worldchefs.org/foodheroeschallenge</a> </li>
<li>RSVP link: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CambrianTrainingCompany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.facebook.com/CambrianTrainingCompany</a></li>
<li>Ticket price: Free</li>
</ul>
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<h2>EarthDay50</h2>
<h3>&#8230;Past and Future, Shaping the New Normal</h3>
Date: 4/22/2020 
Time: 14:30 BST 
Medium: Zoom 
Length: 45 mins
This is a live online presentation from Martin Brown, who is the lead for the LEG Ecology Team, a Sustainability Provocateur at Fairsnape and author of FutuREstorative: Working Towards a New Sustainability. The talk is part of the Longridge Environment Group Earth Day celebrations, which normally take place in town, but is now hosted online due to current circumstances.
<ul>
<li>Organizer: Longridge Environment Group</li>
<li>Online: <a href="http://www.fairsnape.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.fairsnape.com</a> </li>
<li>RSVP link: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/earthday2020-tickets-102879222524" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/earthday2020-tickets-102879222524</a></li>
<li>Ticket price: Free</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Livestream &#8216;La Medicina&#8217;</h2>
<h3>Sacred Heart Beat of Mother Earth Meditation with the Drum</h3>
Date: 4/22/2020 
Time: 11:00 BST 
Medium: YouTube 
Length: 30min
This is a live stream active meditation, including chanting and playing the drums. Hosted by Regina Rhythm, the intention is to connect to other people, to nature, and be present in the current moment. If you don’t drum, you can play along on a cushion, table or your knees. The meditation is open to everyone who is interested.
<ul>
<li>Organizer: Regina Rhythm: </li>
<li>Online: reginarhythm@gmail.com </li>
<li>RSVP link: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reginarhythm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.instagram.com/reginarhythm</a>/ and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_BtAtBi1bYlHdsEnVUhUWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_BtAtBi1bYlHdsEnVUhUWA</a></li>
<li>Ticket price: Free</li>
</ul>

Other things you can do at home to celebrate Earth Day 2020

<img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-1259 size-full" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20200420081905/earth-day-2020-celebrate-1.jpg" alt="earth day 2020 celebrate" width="885" height="590" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20200420081905/earth-day-2020-celebrate-1.jpg 885w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20200420081905/earth-day-2020-celebrate-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20200420081905/earth-day-2020-celebrate-1-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px" />
Feel like springing into action already? Check out these things you can do at home to save the planet while isolating. Go vegan for a day (if you’re not already), <a href="https://ecologi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plant trees with Ecologi</a>, support one of our <a href="https://ecologi.com/projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate projects</a>, practice gratitude and limit your shopping, choose foods with a low carbon footprint, or learn to minimise and declutter your house. Happy Earth Day! 
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How are you going to celebrate our beautiful planet?

Updates

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Investment_Blog_Header

At Ecologi we’re often reaching for the celebration klaxon for our community’s impact milestones, but it’s a little different this time around.
Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve taken on £4m ($5.7m) of investment led by <a href="https://www.generalcatalyst.com/">General Catalyst</a> to follow our dreams and grow Ecologi to the scale needed to take on climate change in a significant way.
General Catalyst has a knack for turning their investments into household names: AirBnB, Deliveroo, Snapchat, Stripe, and Monzo to name just a few.
We know there’s room for the Spotify of Sustainability, and it’s with the resources of a leading investor that we can make this a reality, in a timeframe suitable for turning the proverbial Titanic around and reversing climate change over the critical decade ahead.
Before we started Ecologi, the idea was that we’d be set up as a non-profit organisation. Our mission is altruistic and that non-profit model aligned with our vision. As half of the world’s emissions have happened within the <a href="https://ieep.eu/news/more-than-half-of-all-co2-emissions-since-1751-emitted-in-the-last-30-years">lifetime of a 30-year-old</a>, there isn’t the luxury of time to grow traditionally through donations and slower ‘organic growth’. But, it didn’t take long to understand that to achieve Spotify-level scale, then you need Spotify-level capital to fulfil our potential impact.
It’s not just a sum of money that we were looking for, but a partner who wholly understands the delicate conditions which Ecologi needs to thrive: putting the planet first; complete transparency; keeping operational costs minimal; and staying ethical (see our decision to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/withdrawing-tech-nations-net-zero-elliot-coad/">withdraw from TechNation</a>).
Amongst 50 or so investors we spoke to, it was General Catalyst who fully understood this ethical tightrope with our long term plans to raise the bar on what it means to be a social enterprise. They gave examples of supporting one of their investments to donate over <a href="https://www.warbyparker.com/buy-a-pair-give-a-pair">eight million prescription glasses</a>; they set up a non-profit fund with excess profits from an ethical investment; also they understood that the future of Ecologi should be part-owned by our community via crowdfunding &#8211; an exciting development to own a stake in Ecologi and our planet too (more details at the end of this post).

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Investment_Blog_How_Its_Going

As we approach our 2nd birthday, we enter a new chapter with Ecologi that will be characterised with scale. Up to now, everything has been done on the tightest of budgets with our wonderful but tiny team. We look forward to progressing our climate impact exponentially as we race towards our target to reduce 50% of global emissions by 2040.
There is plenty we have in store. We want to actually show you the impact you’re making through storytelling and technology. We want to support projects that rewild our planet and fund innovative carbon removal technology. We want to show you your carbon footprint in real-time. We want to make good on the opportunity that can come out of rounding up the world’s pocket money and putting it into the world’s most impactful climate solutions.
Now we can, so no excuses! Let’s grow. 🌿
From Elliot, Lucy, Alex and the team here: thank you for your part in supporting this ray of climate hope 💚

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Blog_Divider_mushroom

We showed a draft of this announcement to a few of our Ecologi subscribers and friendly critics and asked them what questions they had:
What will you spend the investment on?
Now’s the time to scale up our teams to enhance the platform, grow our climate projects procurement and reporting team, and expand our marketing and partnership teams. We’ll be a company of 40-60 people over the next 12 months. 
The investment will also allow us to buy larger quantities of certified carbon offsets and tree purchases upfront meaning we can plan better, get access to some projects we’d otherwise not be able to, and sometimes access better prices.
Some of the existing staff will be now paid the going rate for their level of expertise. None of the investment is to go on bonuses or dividends. 
Will we still operate Ecologi as we have done?
Absolutely yes.
If we are to be massively successful in our objectives it’s because we took on board everything that you needed us to be.
Is the source of the investment from profits of fossil fuel or high carbon industries?
No. It’s from a combination of pension funds that make investments in technology, and previous technology company profits. 
What is the investor expecting in return?
They will be looking to make a return on their investment, multiple times the amount they put in. And this is something that we can achieve and be entirely compatible with our journey. 
At some point in our future we’ll expect to come to the end of investment rounds and have a few options to suit us: be acquired and taken under the wing of a major future sustainability company; float on the stock market and be publicly owned; or even Ecologi makes their own investments in early-stage climate projects which yield their own returns. It’s far too early to say which financing route will come into effect but be assured that it’ll be a decision made with our mission in mind.
Investors will be expecting no dividends during this journey as any profits are to be reinvested back into the company.
How is Ecologi going to stay ethical?
As we grow, we will have the resources to upgrade our <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dACvzjE5nBE1cKZBAhYzsUa7rIiLJqCWXVgY4bNS8_Q/edit#gid=1742437033">transparency docs</a> and be a lot more verbose about what we’re up to. A quick run-through of what’s coming up: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">In the queue to be B Corp certified, all prep governance work is complete; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">A bonafide social enterprise with mission locked into our company documents; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Increased detail on our quarterly financial reports such as director salary info; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Regular “our door is always open”-style drop-in to chat with Elliot, the CEO, over Zoom;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Lifting the lid on what we’re up to with a “Building Ecologi” blog series.</li>
</ul>
Every person on the team and now investors included knows that we have our hearts fully set on creating a company that reimagines what it is to be a social enterprise. 
It’s going to take some doing, and bear with us as we get there. But please <a href="https://ecologi.com/pages/contact">drop us a line</a> on how we’re doing, as well maybe subscribe to our new <a href="https://medium.com/building-ecologi">Building Ecologi</a> series where we’ll talk about our plans out in the open and welcome your thoughts.

And finally, we’re thinking of running a crowdfunding campaign later this year. We’d love to <a href="https://ecologi.typeform.com/to/DMMimqA9">ask you five questions</a> that should take less than a minute to answer.

Blog

covid_climate_change_blog

Do you remember, somewhere in the fog of 2020, that period where the pandemic had seeped into every area of our lives but its exact contours and consequences hadn’t yet been established? That point after the initial panic was over, where people had begun to accept this new reality, and had started to consider where we might go from here? Somehow, amidst the horror of news screens filled with ventilated bodies and death counts scrolling ever upward, hope began to spring. Thoughtful, poetic articles began to emerge online about the deeper meaning of this event. Humanity had been given a chance to pause, to reflect, and perhaps &#8211; against all odds &#8211; change course. There was a cautious, quasi-spiritual sense that the planet was sending us a message, as if Mother Nature had realised that humans were not going to bring themselves back from the brink and was now taking the matter into her own hands. These visions of a better society were complemented by a raft of personal resolutions towards self-improvement: goals were set and new habits were inculcated, with the aim of returning after the pandemic a better you in a better world. It was as if we were all given the opportunity to zoom out, from our own lives but also society as a whole, to decide what was really important.
This sense of optimism seemed to be supported by palpable changes in our environment. Global emissions were down 7%; flights had dropped 96%; there were dolphins in Venice! These cracks of light in the gloom sustained us, made us feel as if the pandemic was really for something (beyond, well, surviving a pandemic). That is, there seemed to be a goal we were working towards, by which we could orientate our present reality, giving it some sense. And this was important. Hope sustains us in times of difficulty. It is the voice which reminds us no pain lasts forever, that the sun also rises.

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Artboard 1 copy 10

But it seems that somewhere along the way, this optimism began to give way to something else. Weariness. Disillusionment. As lockdown 2 almost imperceptibly melted into lockdown 3, as the term ‘wave’ began to lose all meaning because the Covid tide had never gone away, darker realities began to set in. Not only did we witness our governments continue to vacillate and send mixed messages, we saw huge opportunities to restructure our economy missed, the same old mistakes from the 2008 financial crisis repeated as ‘too big to fail’ industries such as aviation and steel were bailed out, with no climate-change mitigation requirements built into the rescue packages. Rather than being <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-leveller-trfn-idUSKCN21R30P" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘The Great Leveller’</a>, we saw this pandemic exacerbate existing inequalities, the wealth of the top 1% rising by $8 trillion during the pandemic whilst many ordinary people were reduced to government handouts. Working from home also removed access to an equal workspace and put increased pressure on those facing challenging circumstances in their home environment. And everywhere we looked we found ourselves adrift in a sea of plastic: the take-out diets triple-plastic wrapped to avoid contamination, the delivery packages ordered to punctuate the boredom of lockdown living, and of course the proliferation of that once unknown acronym: PPE. And perhaps most deflating of all, it turned out those dolphins had never been in Venice, that it was a piece of <a href="https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2020/03/23/sorry-but-the-dolphins-that-appeared-in-venice-is-fake-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake news</a> exploiting the sense of hope in the air.
What happened here? Were we deluded to dream of a better future? Did we imagine something that never really could have been? 
No. It is never wrong to hope. And it did sustain us in those interminable lockdown months. Our error was in putting our hopes on an external event, in this notion that Covid had come to save us, as if it were some sort of geo-biological defense mechanism, the natural arc of history correcting itself. But an event can only be as significant as the responses which it generates. Which is to say, the significance of the pandemic was in the million daily acts of kindnesses which it elicited: the grocery collections for elderly and infirm neighbours, the selfless bravery of the frontline workers putting themselves and their families at risk for the greater good, the proactiveness of those who organised events and other forms of support for the most vulnerable. Without even realising it, without waiting for a sunny day where we would have the type of society that we wanted, we were building it in front of our very eyes. One based on solidarity, equality and community concern (all of which happen to be the very characteristics needed to pull us out of the climate crisis &#8211; since we are all sharing increasingly limited space and resources on this planet). What we needed wasn’t a deus ex machina to solve the problem. What we needed was to see that the world around us is a result of the values we hold as a society, and it is this we need to change. This means remembering that the same essential ties that bound us through the pandemic persist and it is along these ties that change is effected, not some grand narrative happening out there. After all, the planet doesn’t care &#8211; it is humans that will perish, not nature.

The pandemic certainly has and will create short term change. The US government has just initiated an unprecedented $1.9 trillion stimulus package which stands to halve national poverty for example. But if we forget the lessons that Covid taught us about our own ways of life, such socially-minded policies will quickly fade into memory. No cataclysm will prevent business as usual from returning. As the Cree Indian saying goes, “Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.” We cannot wait for further wildfires, droughts and floods to jostle us into wakefulness. It is only through a wave of individuals coming together into communities, into a global movement, encompassing economics, energy, agriculture, and politics, that a truly sustainable way of life will be achieved. Outward events can point us in the direction, but we must walk the path. The steps need not be huge, but we must continue to take them. Reading or sharing this article. <a href="https://ecologi.com/plan">Subscribing to offset the carbon we produce</a>. Reducing meat consumption, <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/one-small-step-for-you-one-giant-impact-for-humankind">greening our finances</a> or <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/activism-how-the-drops-inside-the-ocean-are-breaking-down-the-dam">joining a movement</a>. Every step counts. But never question that it is you who must walk those steps. Far from being a lonely journey, the more you do, the more you will find the others who are walking it with you.

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Looking for some more info on our George The Poet video? You’ve come to the right place! It tells the story of the importance of sowing seeds of hope for the future generations and inspiring people to be part of something bigger: a community, a movement, a change… 
 
Lots of work went into the creation of this video &#8211; 11 crew members were involved in the overall production, through the creativity of Bristol-based agency <a href="https://www.enviral.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enviral</a>, who helped turn around this project in just 14 days.

George The Poet was our first choice for this campaign. He’s a firm favourite of both the Ecologi and Enviral teams, and we were so excited at the possibility of working alongside him. Putting aside his ability to produce and deliver incredible spoken word pieces, and the huge body of work that he can put his name to, he is a true champion of sustainability. 
That&#8217;s why we loved working with the team at Enviral on this project; because of their storytelling abilities. They understand the importance of conveying a genuine, engaging narrative. They knew George would be able to create something amazing, which oozed purpose and which reflected the passion of our Ecologi team. 
Having a lead who truly cares about the planet was vital. We wanted to inspire viewers to take action, and we couldn’t think of anyone better to get this across than George The Poet.

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With limited time, finding a suitable location was a bit of a challenge. We knew that the audio was the lead in this film so we had to find a location away from roads and airports so we could ensure crisp sound. Whilst we can’t reveal exactly where the film was shot, the countryside between London and Bristol proved to be perfect!

The video was directed by the Envival team, a sustainability-focused agency who were stoked to be working on a campaign they were so aligned with. The full Enviral production crew was brought together for the shoot including Joss as the Director, and their camera crew, audio team and photographer.

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What we did to comply with Covid regulations

Covid is real. Whilst we&#8217;re so happy to be back on set again, it&#8217;s super important to make sure that everyone is safe and comfortable. By following the industry guidelines, ensuring that everyone wore masks, respecting social distancing, and by shooting outdoors, we were able to mitigate the risks as much as possible and ensure a safe and successful shoot.

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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">George did 12 takes over the course of just 2 hrs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">We had 11 crew on set in total</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The final video took 6 hours of colour grading to make it look perfect! </li>
</ul>

Earth Day 2020: Join these free digital climate events in the UK

Take action: Join a digital climate event

Best free digital climate events in the UK 👇

Other things you can do at home to celebrate Earth Day 2020

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Behind the scenes of the George The Poet video

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