As a Certified B Corporation, one of our obligations as a business is to take responsibility for our impact on the environment. So, we’re joining the almost 100 B Corps across the US, Canada and the UK to declare a Climate Emergency.
We cannot sit idly by and hope for a better future, because there will be no future if we don’t act now.
Let’s start with some startling facts...
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We’re on track to reach a global temperature rise of 3 degrees by the end of the century (Nature.com 2018)
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60% of wildlife has been lost since 1970 (WWF 2018)
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We’re on course to lose over half of all insects by the end of the century (Sciencemag.org)
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With the current rate of soil degradation, we have 60 years of farming left (Scientificamerican.com)
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Climate change will drive the migration of 200 million people worldwide by 2050 (National Geographic 2019)
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Six Pacific Islands have already been lost to flooding (iopscience.iop.org)
What are we actually doing though?
To avoid global warming by over 1.5 degrees, we need to reduce global carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. However, to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need to hit net zero by 2025.
We’re about to start climbing a massive, terrifying and rocky mountain. But we all have to start somewhere. So, we are taking these first steps on our environmental journey:
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We have signed and support B Corp’s Climate Action Statement, calling for policymakers to take action against climate change now.
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We’re joining the Global Climate Strike in London this Friday, 20th September.
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We’ve partnered with an eco-lead business for a major project, raising awareness of climate change and giving artists the opportunity to participate. Please check back to the Artist Forum in the next couple of weeks for further details on the partnership.
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On 2nd October, the whole Artfinder team are volunteering with UK-based charity, Trees for Cities, to plant trees in a London urban greenspace.
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We’re committing to carbon offset all shipments facilitated through the Artfinder site by the end of 2021 (although our ambition is to do it much much sooner).
We’re currently setting the groundwork to understanding our current impact, establishing further immediate steps we can take, as well as setting science-based targets for the short- and long-term future.
We also have ambitions to create a transparency dashboard, as well as helping Artfinder customers round up their purchases to donate directly from checkout, with Artfinder doubling their donation amount.
Some things you can help us with…
The important thing to remember is that we’re in this together. We all need to take action, including our community of artists.
The first thing you can do is get on the streets and strike on the 20th September! The Global Climate Strike website is a great resource to find strikes near you, or join a digital strike if you can’t get to a physical one on the day. We’ll be using the hashtags #bcorp #climatestrike #globalclimatestrike #artistclimatestrike through our social media platforms. If you do take part, please tag us through your own accounts and we’ll retweet during the day.
If you are an artist - We're looking for community leaders to help us tackle climate change. We want to help all artists improve their eco credentials and together we can amplify the imact. We’re very open to new and innovative ideas, so if there are ways you can provide extra help, please contact us through the Climate Emergency thread on the seller forum!
If you are an art lover - Consider buying your artwork from an artist that is local to you (you can use "Artist location / country" filters on our art search page or artist search). Message the artist and ask if their shipment uses a carbon offset scheme and request environmentally friendly packaging.
Together we are stronger
The strength of our community is one of our biggest assets, so let’s use it to make a positive impact.
