Nike Signs (No) Arctic Shipping Pledge, Joining H&M Group, Kering, PVH Corp

The truth is that many large corporations have no problem that the Arctic is melting. They want the new shipping route as a terrible example of corporate greed and self-interest. Still, corporate interests are salivating to ship through the Arctic year-round.

It’s very important that NIKE has teamed up with the Ocean Conservancy to launch the Arctic Shipping Corporate Pledge, inviting businesses and industry to join in a commitment against shipping through the Arctic Ocean.

Ships are responsible for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants. It also includes greenhouse gas emissions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that carbon dioxide emissions from shipping were equal to 2.2% of the global human-made emissions in 2012 and expects them to rise 50 to 250 percent by 2050 if no action is taken.

The Arctic Shipping Corporate Pledge invites companies to commit to not intentionally send ships through this fragile Arctic ecosystem. Today's signatories include companies Bestseller, Columbia, Gap Inc., H&M Group, Kering, Li & Fung, PVH Corp., and ocean carriers CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Company.

"The dangers of trans-Arctic shipping routes outweigh all perceived benefits and we cannot ignore the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping on our ocean," says Janis Searles Jones, CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "Ocean Conservancy applauds Nike for recognizing the real bottom line here is a shared responsibility for the health of the Arctic—and believes the announcement will spur much-needed action to prevent risky Arctic shipping and hopes additional commitments to reduce emissions from global shipping will emerge." 

For Nike to take a lead in advancing and promoting awareness of the Arctic Shipping Corporate Pledge is an excellent victory. With all the moves to track how products are made and transported, we can check a product on our phones and see if it's been transported through the Arctic. If the environment means enough to us -- this is where consumer power comes into action. But it takes business leaders like Nike to talk to other corporate leaders on some of these topics. At least, it's a collaborative effort of business and activism like this one.

Extinction Rebellion Releases #WhereIsYourPlan 'One Lifetime' Climate Emergency Film

Marking six months since the UK Parliament declared an Environment and Climate Emergency, Extinction Rebellion – celebrating its first year anniversary – has released a short film calling for everyone to demand their government’s plan to address the crisis … #WhereIsYourPlan

Through voices representing a lifetime, aged 8 to 80, the film demands that leaders around the world act on the climate and ecological emergency, including stopping the destruction of our forests, our oceans and our wildlife, reducing global zero carbon emissions within 10 years [1] and investing in a green economy. 

The concept behind this globally significant film – presenting some of the demands of the climate movement and extinction revolution [2] – was developed by filmmaker Richard Curtis, and refined, shot and produced by RANKIN, an agency headed up by the British photographer and cultural provocateur of its namesake.

Directed by Jordan Rossi of RANKIN, the film shows that despite our race, age or gender, people need to unite against the threat of the global warming crisis. No matter who you are, this is an issue that will affect everyone, and the video reflects our last shot at making a difference.

Related: Extinction Rebellion Takes Aim at Fashion New York Times

Michael Bloomberg Leads 'We Are Still In' US Coalition Supporting Paris Agreement, As Trump Bows Out

In the days since Trump's depressing remarks, the tech community has rallied, joined by its leaders, including billionaire philanthropist and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

"In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizeable percentage of the U.S. economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing emissions," the coalition, which now consists of more than 1,000 cities, counties, states, universities and businesses, said in a statement released Monday. 

Going by the name "We Are Still In," the coalition called itself "the broadest cross section of the American economy yet assembled in pursuit of climate action." It includes states like New York and California, joined by more than a dozen Fortune 500 companies. 

"In the absence of a supportive federal coordinating role, [city, state, business, and civil society] actors will more closely coordinate their own decarbonization actions. Collectively, they will redouble their efforts to ensure that the U.S. achieves the carbon emissions reductions it pledged under the Paris Agreement," Bloomberg wrote in a letter to the United Nations secretary-general. 

Bloomberg added: "We do not intend to slow down."

The philanthropist has promised to contribute the $15 million the United Nations climate change secretariat now stands to lose from Washington. 

Lynelle Cameron, president of the Autodesk Foundation, expressed optimism that business leaders appear to be moving off the sidelines on climate change. 

"In Trump's first few months in office, he has done more to catalyze and motivate the private sector than Hurricane Katrina or Sandy, or the work of talented environmental organizations put together," Cameron wrote in an op-ed for CNBC. "Trump's latest decision will activate the private sector like we've never seen before."

Two prominent business leaders, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Disney chairman Bob Iger, resigned from the White House business advisory council last week to protest the president's decision. 

Gisele Bündchen Joins Paul Hawken In Promoting 'Drawdown' Book, 100 Solutions To Global Warming

Gisele Bündchen Joins Paul Hawken In Promoting 'Drawdown' Book, 100 Solutions To Global Warning

Supermodel Gisele Bündchen covers the June/July issue of Vogue Paris, but talking fashion is not on her mind just now. Gisele is using her post-runway-retirement time to increase her commitment to Planet Earth, a long-standing passion for the world's top model.

Bündchen is using her global platform as an environmental advocate, articulate voice on deforestation in the Amazon, and role as a United Nations goodwill ambassador to promote environmentalist Paul Hawken's latest book, 'Drawdown.'

The 'Drawndown' website says that Hawken's new book:

". . . maps, measures, models, and describes the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. For each solution, we describe its history, the carbon impact it provides, the relative cost and savings, the path to adoption, and how it works. The goal of the research that informs 'Drawdown' is to determine if we can reverse the buildup of atmospheric carbon within thirty years. All solutions modeled are already in place, well understood, analyzed based on peer-reviewed science, and are expanding around the world."