There are plenty of ways for businesses to help protect and support the natural world. Some companies pledge to reduce their carbon footprint or use recycled materials in their manufacturing, while others choose to provide financial support for tree planting or other initiatives meant to offset their environmental impact. Here are nine companies that are helping the planet by making sustainable practices and goals part of their core mission.
Companies That Help the Environment
- Mill
- LanzaTech
- Nori
- Aspiration
- UPSIDE Foods
- Bluebird
- Pela
- Seventh Generation
Companies That Help the Environment
Headquarters: Moline, Illinois
American heavy machinery manufacturer John Deere is known for its farming, forestry and industrial equipment. As climate justice has become a pressing issue in farming and industry, the company has grown its focus on ESG innovations to include reduced emissions goals, sustainability measures, world hunger initiatives and the development of EV technology in heavy machinery manufacturing.
Headquarters: New York, New York
Spotnana’s Travel-as-a-Service platform gives businesses the tools to create a corporate travel program that aligns with company policy and embraces sustainability. Through the Spotnana Carbon Removal service, companies can opt to offset all or part of their travel-related carbon emissions. The program is administered in partnership with environmental services company Creturner, which uses a process called Bio Carbon Capture and Storage to convert waste biomass into coal that’s permanently stored in unused mining shafts. Spotnana issues its customers a blockchain-based token that serves as a digital certificate securely documenting the carbon removal in a way that can’t be manipulated.
Headquarters: San Bruno, California
Mill is a food recycling service that takes the place of at-home composting by turning kitchen scraps into food for chickens. Customers get a Mill kitchen bin, which turns their food waste into a compressed substance the company calls Food Grounds. Food Grounds are then either put out for pickup from Mill drivers and turned into chicken feed or customers can use them at home for backyard chickens. Cutting down on food waste contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to Mill.
Headquarters: Skokie, Illinois
LanzaTech makes biorecycling technology that abates carbon dioxide in the environment, turning carbon into sustainable goods and raw materials. Its mission is to build out a circular carbon economy to aid in arresting climate change. With its three existing commercial plants, Lanza Tech has taken thousands of tons of carbon out of the environment and says it has plans to multiply its impact with additional plants in the future.
Headquarters: Seattle, Washington
Nori is a carbon removal marketplace, which means that it serves as a go-between for companies that sell CO2 removal and businesses who need to offset their emissions by purchasing removals. Using units known as “Nori Removal Tonnes,” or NRTs, which are generated by regenerative agriculture, it purchases removals and then trades them as offsets.
Headquarters: Marina del Rey, California
Aspiration is a fintech company that offers “sustainability-as-a-service” through cash management accounts that replace traditional checking and savings accounts. When a customer opens an account with Aspiration, their money is invested in an impact investment portfolio focused on reforestation and carbon removal. Customers have the option of setting their own monthly fees for cash management under a “Pay What Is Fair” model.
Headquarters: Berkeley, California
UPSIDE Foods makes “cultivated meat”— meaning meat that is grown from cells in a lab, with zero carbon impact. So far, it’s successfully made beef meatballs, chicken and duck, with plans for breakfast sausages and chicken patties. Starting with chicken, the company received a green light from the FDA to develop lab-produced meat, and UPSIDE received USDA approval to hit the US supply chain.
Headquarters: New York, New York
Bluebird works with consumer product brands on a consultancy basis to help increase their sustainability and decrease their carbon footprint. Starting at the product development stage, it calculates the cost and climate impacts of substituting materials and adjusting design, with the goal of a more profitable and sustainable end product.
Headquarters: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Pela makes compostable cell phone covers and wearable accessories. In comparison to the disposable plastic industry standard, its products on average result in 30 percent less carbon emissions and 34 percent lower water usage, according to the Pela website. Pela’s offerings include phone cases, watch straps, AirPod cases and phone grips, which the company says are ethically manufactured and third-party verified for sustainability.
Headquarters: Burlington, Vermont
Seventh Generation makes hypoallergenic, environmentally safe household and cleaning products, including paper goods, laundry detergent and dish soap. Its products contain plant-based ingredients that the company has committed to ensuring are sustainably sourced and biodegradable as well as packaged in recyclable or reusable materials. For transparency, all ingredients in Seventh Generation products are listed on the company website by name, purpose and source.
