Shaken Not Burned

Highlighting changemakers and solutions

Glossary - Embodied carbon

Embodied carbon is the measure used to quantify CO2 emitted during the production of a certain object, from the extraction of raw materials through manufacturing and transporting the final product to the end-consumer.

This term is often used in the construction sector in reference to buildings, providing a quantified understanding of the emissions generated throughout the manufacturing or component materials and the construction process.

Busting a myth - Companies that make sustainability claims risk being accused of greenwashing

Companies are only meaningfully accused of greenwashing when their sustainability claims are unsubstantiated, vague or deliberately deceitful. The best way to avoid accusations is to provide specific details and clear evidence on how a product or service has been made more sustainable, such as declaring the use of renewable energy, quantifying the reduction in carbon or explaining the materials used.

By providing more information, companies can enhance their appeal to customers, investors and the public at large while raising the bar for competitors in their industry. They can also be more honest about areas that are proving more difficult, demonstrating their willingness to improve rather than simply ticking a box to say that something is or isn’t ‘sustainable’.

What we’ve been reading this week

• A United Nations taskforce has said that companies shouldn’t use carbon credits to meet their climate targets. Instead, they should focus on reducing emissions. This judgement is the latest in a heated debate, with the Science Based Targets initiative having been criticised earlier this year for suggesting that the use of carbon credits should be shown greater lenience.

• The government of Azerbaijan is calling on major oil and gas companies to pay into a $1 billion fund, which would be used to support poorer countries as they face the climate crisis - essentially making the polluter pay. Unfortunately, its proposed initiative is entirely voluntary and does not include mechanisms to force certain companies or countries to take part.

• A court in Berlin has ruled that Germany’s National Air Pollution Control Programme is inadequate to meet the country’s targets and protect people, forcing the government to review the plan. The case, brought by Environmental Action Germany and environmental lawyers ClientEarth in 2020, is first in the EU and another important example of the use of climate litigation as a means of delivering change.

• Researchers from have found that polymetallic nodules, metallic formations sitting at the bottom of the ocean and containing minerals crucial for green technologies, produce a substance referred to as “dark oxygen”. The discovery has been hailed as a monumental breakthrough that could cast significant doubt on deep sea mining proposals. With India set to begin its expiration of deep sea resources in the Pacific Ocean and International Seabed Authority negotiations currently taking place in Jamaica, its timing could not be better.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization has published its latest report on the State of the World’s Forests, indicating that climate change is making forests more vulnerable to stressors such as wildfires and pests. The report recommends a series of technological, social, policy, institutional, and financial innovations that could help to tackle this issue, such as using artificial intelligence to collect data that could inform plans for intervention.