Who is giving up on sustainability?
The last time I published a newsletter was January, and it’s safe to say that the world has changed a lot since then, especially as it relates to corporate sustainability. It felt disingenuous to write through it all, so I wanted to wait and see how everything played out.
With that, I’ve decided to take stock of some of the companies that I reviewed to see if they are maintaining their sustainability pledges, dropping or increasing them, or are being affected by external factors outside of their control. The answer is all of the above.
What I wrote in November 2024:
You can read the entire post here, but let’s just do a quick gut check with all of my mentions.
We are absolutely still increasing emissions, especially as data centers continue to be approved and built. At the same time, we are actively trying to make renewable energy adoption more challenging, from the likely to be repealed IRA incentives, to putting a 3,500% tariff on solar panel modules. All this is doing is ensuring that the grid is less reliable, more expensive, and further apart from countries embracing the future of energy.
As of yet, there has not been a mass culling of sustainability teams. Many companies that had sustainability commitments were always in it for the right reasons, while others, like Meta seem to ride the cultural wave when necessary to switch their alleged allegiance once it is no longer advantageous.
Unfortunately, while there is documented proof that the IRA has increased factory investment in the U.S. and is doing the slow boring work of building relationships and providing monetary benefits for building renewable projects in the U.S., the current administration prefers brute force tariffs that provide no incentive except to stay ahead of arbitrary taxes placed on their production by leaders who consider themselves business strategists but can’t seem to grasp why a global supply chain offers up opportunities for global dominance. Except, ironically, Elon Musk.
What companies have changed since I wrote about them?
The world of sustainability is ever evolving, so I wanted to see where companies I’ve written about currently stand in their sustainability strategy. Though most of the companies in the positive news section are all based outside of the U.S., it could be a coincidence.
Good news:
Aldi
Aldi became one of the first grocery stores to add SBTi targets, even before sustainability leader Whole Foods. You can read my initial article comparing the two here.
As a quick refresher, SBTi targets are science-based, allowing companies to track and tailor their goals and improvements against emissions reduction targets.
Here are some of Aldi’s commitment goals:
Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2* emissions 90% by 2035 from a 2021 base year.
Reduce absolute Scope 3** emissions 90% by 2050 from a 2022 base year.
Reduce absolute Scope 1 FLAG - forest, land, and agriculture emissions 72% by 2050 from a 2021 base year, and absolute Scope 3 FLAG emissions 72% by 2050 from a 2022 base year. ALDI is one of the first retailers to set specific targets to reduce its FLAG emissions and has committed to zero deforestation.
Jason Hart, CEO, ALDI U.S. said "For instance, because our stores are stocked with 90% ALDI-exclusive brands, we can work more directly with our suppliers on emissions reductions. These industry-leading science-based targets are another way we are underscoring our commitment to operating sustainably and responsibly so we can keep offering quality, affordable groceries."
Exclusive brands and products allow companies to have more control over a sustainable supply chain, and it’s great that Aldi is taking advantage of this.
Lululemon - Enhancing sustainability strategy
Lululemon is enhancing its sustainability strategy with a show of force by hiring Nike’s former Chief Sustainability Officer, Noel Kinder, to be its own. At Nike, Noel led the development of sustainability standards and science-based target initiatives, helping to build out supply chain sustainability.
They likely have a lot to implement to hit their stated goal of Net Zero by 2050.
Peloton - Committing to SBTi targets
Peloton is on track to submit its sustainability targets to SBTi by the end of 2025, which will help it track sustainability metrics going forward.
Two big call-outs from their 2024 ESG report:
Carbon emissions reduction targets: Peloton is on track to submit its emissions-reduction targets to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by the end of 2025. These targets will guide the company’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and align with global climate goals.
Now, of course, this just means that they are only submitting targets to begin tracking against, not updates on targets met so far. However, Peloton has started to work more towards renewable energy goals as noted below.
But unfortunately, they did make this SBTi claim back in 2023, which I wrote about here. So let’s see if they’ll be making it again at the end of this year or are actually ready to track using SBTi.
Renewable energy sourcing: Peloton is working towards sourcing 100% renewable energy for its global operations by the end of FY26. In FY24, the company procured renewable energy certificates to cover ~80% of its global energy use, marking an important milestone toward this goal.
It’s important to note that certificates are buying renewable energy offsets from another entity generating this power, though Peloton likely does not control much of their supply chain to say, add solar panels to a factory roof, so certificates might be their best option.
Not so great news:
Keurig
Keurig was recently hit with a lawsuit because of overpromising on the recyclability of their plastic K-Cups. I went on a little rant about that here because plastic recycling is extremely challenging, and claims about it are often too good to be true.
Southwest
Southwest laid off most of its sustainability staff and walked back its sustainable aviation fuel(SAF) targets and net-zero goals. The airline industry as a whole is struggling to shift to cost-effective fuel alternatives. With minimal government support, though, SAF likely won’t make it off the ground in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
So now what?
While giving up on sustainability goals and greenwashing will likely always be an issue, most companies will go about their sustainability work quietly because operating efficiently is a money saver.
I can say work across government and industry sectors, and from my conversations, industry leaders are eager to increase efficiency, enhance stability, and reduce costs. The best way I know how to do this is to increase renewable energy usage, secure onsite energy options, and maintain supply chain sustainability.
Wise industry leaders know this, too, and will continue to invest in efficiency, whether it’s couched as sustainability or not.
