New climate seal: gold award for sustainable organisations

More and more organisations are seeking out a climate seal to underline their commitment to climate protection in a public and advertising-friendly way. The market for labels is confusing, however, and making a choice isn’t easy. But now the search is over: on behalf of the Foundation Development and Climate Alliance (Stiftung Allianz für Entwicklung und Klima), adelphi has created a new climate excellence seal for sustainable organisations.

Sustainability labels on product packaging are an increasingly common sight in places like supermarkets. Some of these labels are serious and meaningful – others less so. This can lead to suspicions of greenwashing and affect an organisation’s credibility. The situation is very similar for sustainability seals for organisations (e.g. companies, authorities, cities, etc.), because more and more customers, partners, investors or even employees want to see ambitious engagement in development and climate. In this way, sustainable management is becoming an increasingly important competitive factor and can be decisive for economic success.

Independently tested and awarded: the benefits

With this multi-stage approach, the Foundation Development and Climate Alliance calls on its supporters to adhere to the sequence of “avoiding and reducing before offsetting” GHG emissions. To this end, an external testing body verifies the concrete procedures of the organisations in steps 3 to 5. It also reviews whether the standards of the supported climate protection projects in the Global South meet the requirements of the foundation and also promote development effects. The foundation provides organisations with advice throughout the entire assessment process, for example with the development of a climate protection strategy. All this offers seal candidates transparency and security in terms of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.

Credibility booster for trustworthy sustainability communication

With the SDGold climate seal, organisations can not only testify to their certified commitment to sustainable development and international environmental protection, but also communicate them effectively to the public. And the more organisations that take part, the better - in line with the 17th SDG, i.e. forging partnerships to achieve global sustainability goals.