The environment and climate change were once again the centre of attention for world leaders and delegates last month at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27. Taking place in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh, the conference welcomed more than 100 Heads of State and Governments and over 35,000 participants. 

One of the major talking points of COP27 was greenwashing. Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s actions and/or products are environmentally sound. The UN High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities evaluated climate commitments and action plans of large multinational institutions finding one-third of the world’s 2,000 largest firms, by revenue, have publicly stated net zero goals. A staggering 93% of them have no chance of hitting their self-elected targets without drastically ramping up their current initiatives. 

Coinciding with COP27 and in contrast to the greenwashing mentioned above, retailers including H&M, Kering and Inditex committed to purchasing over half a million tonnes of low-carbon alternative fibres for clothing and packaging to help reduce global emissions. It is reported that every tonne of clothing produced using alternative fibres will save between 4 and 15 tonnes of carbon emission. This commitment may provide the market pull required to attract investment to scale the alternative fibre sector which currently accounts for a tiny fraction (7.5 million tonnes) of man-made fibres produced each year.

The big question remains, can countries and institutions step up their efforts in tackling climate change?

Blog post written by Cillian O’Reilly, our Sustainability Manager. You can contact Cillian by email on coreilly@bannon.ie