It's Thanksgiving week here in the United States. It's also a week after the COP 29 U.N. climate conference meetings in Baku, Azerbaijan. November has been a fraught month for climate folks, and many are approaching the end of the year with an air of defeat. What could we possibly have to be thankful for?

I am thankful for you. I think that my readers are curious people who believe in stepping up where we can. And that's important.

I have a little anecdotal tale for you, un-cited because I can't find the original source material. Back in the pre-pandemic times, I attended a conference where a speaker talked about civic engagement, and how to get people involved when obstacles are large and things seem bleak. This climate-focused speaker had looked into people who joined the resistance in WWII Europe, which was the biggest example that they could think of for standing up to a major existential threat. What did these people have in common?

As I recall the story (and the lunchtime conversations after), there wasn't a consistent profile of someone who takes action. There was a wide range of representation in terms of age, gender, religion, nationality, and more. So why did these people act when it's easier to just... not?

One thing was consistent: in almost all cases, someone asked for their help. Maybe they were asked to teach a skill that they knew. Maybe they were asked for access to their property. Maybe someone needed their social or political connections. But the consistent element was a personal request for help.

So, as we head into 2025, I ask for your help. I ask you to share the idea of sustainable content, because the more people we have working on this, the more we can reduce the energy and emissions burden on our planet.

Thank you. I appreciate you.

Textiles, and particularly polyester-based textiles, are broadly used and have a huge carbon footprint. But what if that polyester tee could be infinitely recycled using an enzymatic process that breaks down polyester fabric blends?

​Spanish officials blame climate change for the deadly floods in Valencia. The opposition party says that official warnings were too little, too late to properly alert citizens of the disaster.

China is a massive emissions generator, second only to the U.S. It's also on the cutting edge of climate tech. The country's emissions are expected to fall due to record growth in low-carbon energy sources, and continue declining in alignment with current governmental policies.

Hello, greenhushing! While companies are still moving forward with their climate policies — because they are cost-effective and build in resilience to disasters — they are more likely to bury sustainability news in a politically fractured timeline.

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Consulting

​Reduce your Scope 3 emissions​

Alisa Bonsignore

Founder, Strategist, and Author