Blog
Critical Remaining Moments at COP29, Baku
As the COP29 negotiations in Baku enter their final days, the atmosphere remains charged with urgency to deliver a final text. Delegates from nearly 200 nations are working around the clock to resolve pivotal issues, yet several key items remain unresolved.
How Initiatives Are Addressing Supply Chain “Missing Middles”
Paving the Way for a More Regenerative, Inclusive and Sustainable Economy
Over the last century, supply chains in the U.S. agricultural sector have experienced extreme concentration as small and mid-sized slaughterhouses, grain mills, and other processing and aggregation businesses closed across the country.
COP29 Begins
Business at the Forefront of the International Climate Negotiations
The 29th annual Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP29, opens this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, offering a unique opportunity for US businesses to demonstrate private-sector leadership in the global climate arena
Camilla Taylor Takes the Helm at American Sustainable Business Network
Just two weeks ago, the American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) announced a new Executive Director, Camilla Taylor, who has taken the helm at the national business-focused nonprofit organization. ASBN exists to inform, connect, and mobilize business leaders and investors to transform the public and private sectors toward a just and sustainable economy that is stakeholder-driven, regenerative, just, and prosperous.
From Organic Month to Parkinson’s National Day of Action
The Urgent Call to Ban Paraquat
To protect farmworkers and communities across the US from Parkinson’s disease, the EPA must ban the use of paraquat, a highly toxic and widely used herbicide that is banned in 58 countries –– but not the US.
Today, on Parkinson’s National Day of Action, and throughout September’s Organic Month, we face a critical opportunity to address a pressing health crisis. Paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide linked to Parkinson’s disease, continues to pose a significant threat in the United States—despite being banned in 58 countries.
American Sustainable Business Council Sued Texas on Behalf of Members
SB-13 is bad for business. SB-13 penalizes businesses and investors for making the strategic and wise choice not to support fossil fuels.
On Thursday, August 28, 2024, the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) sued Texas on behalf of members, including Etho Capital and Sphere, for violating the free speech and association rights protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution through the implementation of SB-13—a law that penalizes investors that choose not to make risky investments in fossil fuel companies and businesses that choose not to pursue practices and products
5 Ways the Inflation Reduction Act is Shaping The Clean Energy Future
A Two-Year Review
On August 16th, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law by the Biden-Harris Administration. This historic piece of climate legislation is unprecedented in the amount of funding dedicated towards climate and clean energy programs. Now more than ever before, climate risk is gaining momentum as one of the most pressing issues facing businesses and communities around the world. This anniversary comes at a point where the U.S. is preparing for a change in administration during the November presidential election and faces challenges from the Supreme Court regarding regulations from federal agencies like the EPA.
COP28 Recap
Carbon Dioxide Removal and Global Stocktake Agreement
Each year world leaders gather at the Conference of Parties (COP) to negotiate and discuss global climate commitments and the biggest questions surrounding the climate crisis. The conference is convened annually by the members of the U.N. with two goals: (1) to review the implementation of the conference, the Paris Agreement, and the Kyoto Protocol, and (2) to adopt decisions to further these instruments.
Dr. Christina Clamp Selected for the Cooperative Hall of Fame
Honoring Excellence in Community Well-Being Leadership
Dr. Christina Clamp, ASBN co-coordinator of our Catalyzing Community Well Being Initiative and co-editor of “Humanity@Work&Life”, was just selected for induction into the U.S. Cooperative Hall of Fame (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_Hall_of_Fame) – the highest honor bestowed by the U.S.
Are You Prepared?
California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act Signed Into Law
We are excited to share that California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act has just been signed into law and is now the most comprehensive carbon emissions reporting requirement in the United States!
ASBN strongly supports California’s efforts and has highlighted the benefits of carbon emissions reporting and transparency in our Carbon Labeling Business Case.
The American Sustainable Business Network Applauds President Biden’s Formation of the American Climate Corps
The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) is thrilled to announce our enthusiastic support for President Biden’s recent announcement of the American Climate Corps (ACC).
The Inflation Reduction Act: One Year Later
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a crucial player in driving emission reductions and enforcing action to combat climate change, and has the potential to get us closer to the United States’ goals to cut emissions in half by 2030.
American Businesses Support the EPA’s Carbon Pollution Standards
On June 14th, 2023 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a virtual public hearing on the proposed rule to cut climate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. American Sustainable Business Network’s (ASBN) Director of Climate and Energy Policy, Michael Green testified on behalf of ASBN to provide a business perspective supporting this regulation. If passed, this proposed rule would cut carbon pollution nearly 617 million metric tons through 2042.
Carbon Labels Are Good For Business
Carbon is the leading source of human-induced climate change. It contributes to air pollution, ocean acidification, global temperature fluctuations and on and on.
Reading the Air:
Cutting Emissions on Power Plants is Needed Now
Closed schools, communities are being told to shelter in place and masks are back out. But this time, it is not for COVID, it is for a very different public health crisis: air pollution. At the forefront of everyone’s minds are the wildfires devastating Canada and sending toxic fumes down and across the United States.
Effectively Engaging Media
Learn how to advance your organization’s message and objectives through the media. This webinar is designed for business, organized labor, nonprofits, and advocacy groups.
This webinar is co-presented by the American Sustainable Business Network, the Ohio Sustainable Business Council, and Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.
Presenters:
– Katie Ellman, Communications Coordinator, American Sustainable Business Network
Shifting the Mindset from Despair to Determination on Climate Change
The American Sustainable Business Network’s Livable Planet Working Group presents, “Shifting the Mindset from Despair to Determination on Climate Change.”
Anthropocentric climate change is an ecological and social punch to the gut, and no longer a thing of the future. Catastrophic events unfolding around feel overwhelming and too big to act on, but it is imperative that we face them head on, and not get distracted by multiplying stimuli.
The Emissions Gap
In December 2022, the UN released its annual emissions gap report outlining the most up-to-date estimate of the difference between where greenhouse emissions are predicted to be in 2030 and where they need to be to avert the worst impacts of climate change. This year’s report reflected advances in climate modeling and data on land use, land use change, and forestry emissions harmonizing historic differences between data and projected scenarios.
Building Regenerative Agriculture Supply Chains in the 2023 Farm Bill ft. VT Sen Welch
In an increasingly uncertain economy, disrupted by severe and erratic climate conditions and global supply chain instability, regenerative agriculture represents a clear path forward for American businesses. Yet, these businesses have experienced barriers to fully bringing regenerative agriculture into their U.S. supply chains. In addition to the low number of agricultural producers trained in soil health practices, there are national supply chain gaps in the form of missing aggregators; limited processing and manufacturing capacity; and the associated shortages of skilled labor.