🌳 Are Carbon Credits A Scam?

Happy Friday morning! ☀️ Have you noticed something different about Herby today? That’s right, Herby’s rocking his best pinks and finding his Ken-ergy in celebration of the Barbie movie 🎬!

If you haven’t been following, the Barbie movie broke box office records this weekend — it was the biggest opening weekend for: any movie in 2023, any movie based on a toy, and any movie created by a female director 🏆!

Have you seen the movie yet? Shoot us an email and let us know what you thought! Enjoy today’s stories and a list of product-swaps for pet owners. 🤗

P.s. stick around until the end for a quiz that will test your climate knowledge and a chance to win a gift card!

South America pledges to end Amazon deforestation by 2030 🌳

The eight South American nations of the Amazon rainforest are pledging to end illegal deforestation in the region by 2030.

Let’s take a step back … A couple weeks ago, we reported on Brazil’s pledge to end deforestation in the Amazon by 2030; a huge step given Brazil has the largest section of the Amazon. Last week, in a historic move, the other 7 nations of the Amazon agreed to adopt Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's ambitious pledge to end illegal deforestation in the region.

Why is this important? The Amazon rainforest produces 20% of the planet’s oxygen) and stores a significant portion of the world’s carbon. When it’s cleared, that carbon is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. 🥵

This pledge represents the most ambitious government effort yet to safeguard the world's largest rainforest and help mitigate climate change.

Green skies ahead: Revolutionizing air travel with sustainable jet fuel ✈

What is that? A vial of synthetic jet fuel. Startup Twelve is launching a commercial-scale facility in Washington state to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from CO2, water, and electricity ⛽.

What’s the impact? Today, jets are most commonly powered by kerosene, a greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuel. Twelve aims to replace kerosene completely with it’s E-Jet fuel, which shows potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%!

Is it really thhaaat great? The sustainable aviation fuel industry still faces challenges in scaling production, sourcing renewable CO2, and ensuring sufficient renewable energy supply. That being said, Twelve’s progress is a positive sign in the fight to towards greener aviation fuels.

Green revolution: Nestlé’s shift from offsets to real action 💪

Nestlé, the world's largest food manufacturer, is changing its approach to become carbon-neutral. Instead of relying on carbon offsets, the company will (finally!) invest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions within its own operations and supply chains.

Why is this happening? From Europe, to the US, to Canada, regulators and consumers are challenging companies that use carbon offsets alone to claim carbon neutrality. Nestlé is the latest company to join giants like Gucci, easyJet, and JetBlue in a move away from offsetting and towards operational and supply chain improvements.

The bottom line: Nestlé still aims to achieve net-zero by 2050. Instead of carbon offsets, the company will invest in sourcing 50% of key ingredients via regenerative agriculture by 2030 and in initiatives around sustainable logistics, packaging, and manufacturing.

🦕 Herby’s climate-friendly finds

This week: some of Herby’s fav products for pets! 🐕

• West Paw’s dog beds — luxurious, eco-friendly dog beds for pooches of all sizes; made by an American B-Corp 🛏

• Open Farm’s Kind Earth Plant Recipe — delicious, 100% plant-based kibble, from a responsible Canadian brand 🍴

• Nifty Dog’s Upcycled T-Shirt Tug Toy — hand-made, from upcycled materials, by a female-founded, BIPOC, Canadian business 🍁

• Ethique’s eco-friendly dog shampoo bars — waste-free, high quality shampoo bars from a B-Corp Certified brand 🚿

🍂 Herby’s weekly roundup

Some quick hits of interesting articles, books, and events this week

• Dr. Jane Goodall is speaking in Toronto on her experience working in the rainforest and her hope for our planet. Ticket are on sale now 🌍

• Visit these 8 most bike-friendly cities in the U.S. this summer 🚲

• Celebrate ‘Plastic Free July’ with these 23 easy ways to cut back on single-use plastics 👏

• What you should know about cultured meat 🥩

• Considering going vegan? How to slowly and smoothly transition 🥗

• Kick your gardening skills into high gear with this guide 🌱

• Here’s everything you need to know about electric vehicles 🚗

🤓 This or That?

Last week’s ‘This or That’: Avocado 🥑 has a lower carbon footprint than dark chocolate 🍫. The average carbon footprint of one avocado is around 0.19kg of CO2e; one dark chocolate bar (50g) is equivalent to 0.95kg CO2e, almost 5x an avocado. Did you get the answer right? Email us and let us know!

🙏 Thank you for sharing!

A huge thank you to everyone who shared last week’s email. Thanks to you, we are 402 subscribers strong and are approaching halfway to our goal of 1k!!