2023 Earth Day Newsletter

NEAL GERBER EISENBERG

EARTH DAY NEWSLETTER

2023 Edition

COMMIT TO ECOLOGICALLY & SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CHANGES

The theme of Earth Day 2023 is “Invest in Your Planet,” and one way we can do that is by supporting sustainable fashion. The fashion industry is one of the most significant contributors to global pollution, accounting for nearly 10% of annual global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Beyond carbon emissions, the fashion industry yields tremendous waste, depletes healthy soil, contaminates water sources, destroys our forests, and contributes to the microplastic problem.

On this Earth Day, we challenge all actors – businesses, governments, and individuals –to consciously invest in our planet by adopting more sustainable practices in sourcing, producing, distributing, and consuming fashion to support a more sustainable fashion industry.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FASHION?

Sustainable Fashion refers to a clothing supply chain that is socially and ecologically responsible, ultimately shifting the industry and consumers away from the fast-fashion model.

Did you know:

87% of the 150 billion garments produced by the fashion industry each year ends up in a landfill.

The average person today buys 60% more items of clothing than they did 15 years ago, but keeps them for only half as long. Only 1% of all discarded clothing is actually recycled.

It takes 1,800 gallons of water to make one pair of jeans.

62% of all clothing is made partially or entirely of synthetic fibers such as polyester, a crude oil derivative.

Washing our synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of all microplastics in the ocean, making them the largest source of microplastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

“At NGE, we are focused on moving the needle from awareness to action.”

CONSCIOUSLY CONSUME CLOTHES

1 2 3 4 5

Read labels and educate yourself on sustainable fashion. Synthetic materials are typically made from fossil fuels and take years to break down. Try to purchase clothing made from organic materials and recycled fabrics, and look for sustainable initiative certifications such as GOTS Certified and OEKO-TEX

Purchase secondhand or vintage clothing. Consider browsing the options at Poshmark or TheRealReal when adding to your wardrobe.

Rent your clothes from a subscription fashion service, such as Rent the Runway or Fashionpass.

Donate used clothing to local organizations.

Recycle well-loved clothing. Certain retailers reward consumers for recycling used clothes, such as Madewell, lululemon and Patagonia, which have programs that allow consumers to trade in gently-used products.

Sonia Menon COO

Converting waste into compost eliminates pollution of the air, water, and soil, and reduces potent methane gas emissions. Composting also enriches the soil with nutrients, reduces the potential for soil erosion, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

Together with Collective Resource Compost, we launched a firmwide composting program.

We debuted new waste signage firmwide increasing visibility and awareness of our efforts.

CHAMPIONING SUSTAINABILITY

PROTECTING OUR POLLINATORS

In June, we hosted “Growing Pollinator Friendly Gardens” with Phoebe Piper of The Hive Tribe

We brought back our greener gardens photography contest and the winning shots, captured by Felicia Ontiveros and Sonya Rosenberg, feature the hard work of our pollinators.

SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES

In November, we hosted “Industry Leaders Meeting Sustainability Challenges” featuring clients, Lisa Kaplan of M. Holland, Althea Ricketts of Shure, and David Schmidt of TPH discussing how companies of all industries can formulate paths to achieving sustainability.

Sonia Menon and Bobby Gerber authored the article, “Environmental Goals for Companies,” in unsustainable magazine.

OUR EFFORTS TO DIVERT FROM THE LANDFILL

PARK CLEAN UP

In October, we participated in our Annual Park Clean Up at the Schiller Park Woods with CleanUp GiveBack

Deepening our relationship with CleanUp GiveBack, we started a yearlong building-wide plastic bag collection program where we collected 275 pounds of plastic that was upcycled into a park bench.

“Companies should realize that even one small change can have a big impact.”

We worked with Independent Recycling Services (IRS), to perform a comprehensive audit on our waste stream.

We diverted 92.9% recyclable waste from landfill.

We have made significant changes in our percentage of waste stream with recyclability.

9.63% 2019

4.6% 2020

0.27% 2023

Felicia Ontiveros Sonya Rosenberg

Bobby Gerber Managing Partner

We worked with Green Project Technologies, the first API integrated ESG platform, to calculate our carbon footprint, categorized by Scope, year over year.

1392.4 Mtons CO2eq 2626.5 Mtons CO2eq 1316.4 Mtons CO2eq 1310.1 Mtons CO2eq

Using the EPA’s GHG equivalency calculator, this reduction is equivalent to:

3,358,505 miles driven by an average gasoline car

1,562 acres of US forests in one year

255 US homes’ electricity usage

A SUSTAINABLE DAY

CLIENT CORNER | A SUSTAINABILITY DISCUSSION WITH THE CROP PROJECT

Intellectual Property Associate Lee Barrington Stark sat down with NGE client and friend Jeremy Edelson, President and Co-Founder of The Crop Project, a next-generation ingredient supplier devoted to making regenerative crops, specifically kelp —useful. They discussed the company’s fascinating work and strategies for businesses and consumers to increase sustainability.

What is regenerative agriculture?

Generally speaking, regenerative agriculture does not use fertilizer or till as farming practices. In other words, the growing process used in regenerative agriculture adds biodiversity and provides a positive environmental impact.

What advice would you have for individuals hoping to live more sustainable lives?

I would highlight being responsible with where or how you’re actually disposing of your goods—I know that NGE does this from a recycling and composting perspective.

That’s right. We’re specifically focused on commercializing kelp as an ingredient because it has many practical uses such as food, supplements, beauty, textile, agriculture and plastic products –and many others.

For example, in pretty much any product that uses soy, seaweed is an exceptional replacement. For food, specifically, we highlight sodium reduction, iodine support, and supplying antioxidants and vitamins, including trace minerals. On the skincare side, seaweed is used for alginates, which are binding agents and are often used for hydration. Regarding plastic, there are a number of companies that have figured out how to turn seaweed into a plastic alternative. We are currently in R&D with several of those companies.

How would you advise corporations to engage with or invest in sustainable practices like yours?

Most corporations are looking to either offset their carbon emissions or transition their current supply chain to be more environmentally responsible. I would highlight where the most greenhouse gas emissions are emitted throughout a supply chain and look for more sustainable solutions. I would also look at a company’s 3-to-5-year sustainability priorities and explore emerging technologies that could be used to make a positive impact within that same timeline.

One of the better resources to look at is a website called Planet FWD. It attributes a carbon score to each product in its system. You can also look up whether a company is a certified B Corp. A certified B-Corp is a company that is a public benefit corporation. You can also look for “1% for the Planet,” which means 1% of the profits from a business is donated to environmentally-focused organizations.

Looking at individual products, it’s going to take a little bit of effort for consumers to transition to “better” products. So, be open to trying new things, and try to be as responsible and adaptive as possible. What we can eat today may not be able to eat in 20, 50 or 100 years. Of TCP’s customers, I suggest a company called Akua, who make kelp burgers and “Krab Cakes”. It’s an innovative business that highlights utilizing sustainable crops like kelp.

It takes small daily changes to really change someone’s habits, whether that be a reusable cup or recycling for the first time. I’m not a believer that one person or one thing is going to be the solution—it’s going to take a little effort from a lot of people.

- Eat Like a Fish, by Bren Smith

- Farming While Black, by Leah Penniman

- The Cooking Gene, by Michael Twitty

On the investment side, it’s important to look at a company’s mission and how it can scale in a meaningful way. For example, at TCP it’s imperative that we pay our farmers a fair living wage and empower them by making them the core of our business. We are intentionally in the background as a b2b business and encourage our customers to highlight the sourcing and sustainability story in their branding and marketing.

President & Co-Founder

- Grain by Grain, by Bob Quinn and Liz Carlisle *The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

I understand your primary product is kelp—what kinds of harmful or high-energy ingredients can kelp replace?

Jeremy Edelson

Books The Crop Project Recommends