As part of the Adweek Sustainability Playbook, Unilever’s Seventh Generation Global Director of Advocacy and Sustainability Ashley Orgain shares her play on how to leave a better future for our children through meaningful commitments, partnerships and measurable actions.
THE CHALLENGE
At the beginning of the year, we saw that once the new Biden Harris administration was inaugurated, they swiftly returned the United States to the Paris climate agreement. We’ve also seen an increase in net zero pledges made by some of the world’s largest companies. And those net zero pledges are being made against the Paris climate targets.
But regrettably, what we’re also seeing is in the past few weeks is the UNFCCC came out with a pretty compelling report saying that this is our final year. This is a make-or-break year for us to start acting on climate.
As business leaders and parents, we need to do everything within our power to change what we do today to leave a better future for our children. We need to rapidly decarbonize our economy. We need to reduce our emissions today and we are being held accountable to do that. This wasn’t just setting another ambitious climate target but for us, what that meant was we needed to do what we know needs to be done. And that is to stop burning fossil fuels. We need to fundamentally drive systemic change so that we decarbonize our economy and move away from fossil fuels entirely.
And that’s really been our approach all along.
THE APPROACH
When we look at our carbon footprint, we take responsibility for when people wash or dry their dishes or wash or dry their clothes. And that’s because the energy that’s being used and consumed in our country is coming from dirty fossil fuels. And so, in 2014, we made a commitment to zero fossil fuels. We made a commitment to change the entire system and we know that we need to do this in a just and equitable way. So, in every deliberation, we consider our impact on the next seven generations.
We know that dirty fossil fuels have disproportionally impacted the health of vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly. It has also impacted marginalized communities and those living on the front lines of pollution whose water systems have been polluted and whose lands have been decimated.
When we made a commitment to zero fossil fuels, we committed to doing so in a just way. And we made a commitment to do so by working on policy, because we know that what is critical is not just Seventh Generation’s actions alone, but how the system in which we operate supports a cleaner and brighter future. Because we know there’s a cleaner and brighter future out there.
We have been advocating and building issue-based, advocacy campaigns with a goal of 100% clean energy. It is embedded into our approach, not just in the energy that we buy, but in the energy that runs our economy and our country. So, for the last several years, we have been undergoing a climate justice campaign.
THE IMPACT
We set out with a target, not just to decarbonize our own operations, but to work on policies across the country.
Starting at the city level, we worked with the Sierra Club to get 100 cities committed to 100% clean and renewable energy. We then advocated for states to have 100% clean, renewable energy. We are really proud to say that that long campaign resulted in over 110 cities and more than eight states are now committed to clean energy. And it’s not just the work that we do on our own by playing an inside game but also by prioritizing the role that we can play as an influencer inside state halls or inside the halls of Congress. We prioritize bringing our agenda to counter the well-funded and well-organized fossil fuel industry. We also engage our employees, consumers and fans in marches and help them get to places where they can vote on important issues affecting the environment.
The impact of all this work for Seventh Generation has been meaningful to those who work on this day in and day out. And it’s been impactful on the policy change and the transformation we are seeing come from our work and our partnerships While Seventh Generation might be bringing our voice in advocating for cities, we also are doing so with nonprofit partners. We are arm in arm with the people who are out on the front lines with the issue expertise, calling for change.
It also helps builds brand relevance. We know when consumers are aware of our mission and know that Seventh Generation is out there advocating for a better world, they think our laundry detergent smells better and they’re more loyal. So, all this good work is not just creating a brighter future, but it’s helping to build our business through earned media and through brand relevancy with our consumer.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Work with organizations on the front lines like Climate Justice Alliance.
- Listen to the communities impacted for solutions.
- Partner with organizations that are holding companies accountable and setting the bar high (e.g.: Greenpeace)
- Don’t just address through offsets but rather fundamental changes to the economy.
- Be ambitious and pull every lever possible that can drive systemic change (e.g.: right to vote).
- Keep at it and don’t give up. Show up as a leader and then call for further change.
