Measure and understand your full scope carbon footprint

Measure and compensate your personal carbon footprint

Use behavioral design to lower return rates

Map out your full supply chain footprint (Scope 3)

Join the "Time for Climate Action" Campaign

Refactor your code base using Green Software principles 

Complete Climate Neutrality

Leverage your supply chain to improve sustainability performance

Offer a sustainable pension fund to your employees

Offset the private footprint of your employees

Implement sustainability in your business model

Power your offices with Renewable Energy

Move to a cloud provider or region with 100% renewable energy

Appoint a member of the executive team to be responsible and accountable

Host your website with a provider powered by 100% renewable energy

Actively support climate strikes

Purchase voluntary additional carbon removal

Set Science-Based-Targets (SBTIs) for your company

Move to a bank that puts sustainability first

Develop sustainable management principles 

Introduce a “green” information channel

Highlight sustainability labels on your product pages

Remove carbon emissions that you can‘t reduce 

Publish your net zero plan

Run our climate action planning workshop

Motivate your customers to take climate action 

Track sustainability status of your supply chain

Adopt an internal carbon tax

Minimize the carbon footprint of your entire shipping

Introduce CO2 removal donations at the checkout

Optimize your packaging size and material

Employ reverse logistics to facilitate circularity

Innovate last mile delivery

Include a sustainability filter in your search bar

Pilot reusable packaging

Donate to climate engaged non-profits

Apply sustainability principles in your office

For Investors: Apply the Sustainability Clause

Host regular climate action talks

Implement the "We take climate action" badge on your website

Incentivize climate positive lifestyle choices

Minimize everyday commute

Outdoor events: city cleanups and tree planting days

Setup a policy for responsible business travel 

Use your tech skills for good (host hackathons etc.)

Veggie Food & Catering

Run your own digital infrastructure on 100% Renewable Energy

You cannot improve if you don't know where you are standing. Use either our build-in carbon estimator or work with a third party to analyze your carbon footprint. Afterwards offset your footprint and upload the certificate as a confirmation.

Decide how you want to measure your emissions

Measure your scope 1 and 2 emissions

Map and estimate your scope 3 emissions

Update your calculation from year-to-year

Document your approach and publicly communicate it

The measurement can be done through our build-in carbon estimator or through a third party. It is important though that the measured scope includes the carbon emissions of your digital infrastructure as well.

Log your measured carbon footprint here in the app

Meat and dairy consumption cause a lot of carbon emissions. By minimizing carbon-intensive food and drinks you can decrease your footprint significantly.

Make sure that:
- you don't serve any meat
- you offer a plant-based milk option or serve only plant-based milk
- you minimize food waste
We can't control what people eat at home but, as a company, we can decide what to buy based on our values.

Some vegan and local catering providers for your reference: 
 [Pele Mele](http://www.pele-mele-berlin.de/catering/), [Fake Gourmet](https://www.facebook.com/fakegourmetberlin/), [Yummy Mummy](https://www.facebook.com/yummymummyberlin/?hc_location=ufi), [Goodies Deli](https://goodies-deli.com/pages/catering), [Hummus Dealer](https://www.facebook.com/hummusdealer/), [Beets and Roots](https://www.beetsandroots.de/catering), [My Goodness](https://www.mygoodnessberlin.com/), [No Tiers Vegan Catering](https://www.facebook.com/NoTiersVeganCatering/), [TRJFP](https://www.facebook.com/TRJFPBerlin/), [Gayaya](https://www.gayaya-berlin.de/en/home-en.html#catering-en), [Smunch](https://www.smunch.co/).
These projects are based in Berlin, but for those of you who are based elsewhere, they give you a general idea of what’s available and you can find similar options in your area.
 
Mark this action as completed if you do not  cater meat in your office and during business events.

Vegan catering and snacks

A green, sustainable business model means that you are creating a net positive impact on our climate while making money (or being financed through donations). 

Identify areas of impact

Identify innovation opportunity spaces or “strategic intervention points” (SIPs).

Get help from a consultant

Your company creates a net positive impact on the climate while growing its business? Then this checkbox is for you.

Expand your area of action

Engage your sphere of influence 

The sustainability clause should be integrated into both term sheets and shareholder agreements. As a result, companies commit to measuring their CO₂ emissions and to actively work on reducing them. 

After a deal is closed, you should propose a startup to join LFCA and piblicly commit to our Green Pledge. This way we can support them in their transformation. There are no penalties defined in the clause and therefore it is important to motivate the founders to do so.


You can find the text of the clause [here](https://res.cloudinary.com/dhpk1grmy/raw/upload/v1605174399/Content/ESG_Clause___Sustainability_Clause_2.0_v2_dicnpa.docx).
In case the founders or other participating VCs want to adjust or remove the clause during the negotiations, this is of course possible.

Add the clause as a default to term sheets and shareholder agreements

If you want to keep the company names undisclosed, this is okay.
However, the greatest impact will be achieved if your portfolio companies join the LFCA, follow our principles, and participate in climate actions that we propose.

Report number of deals closed with the clause to LFCA on a 12 months basis

Appoint a member of the executive team to be responsible for your net zero plan

__Set your company’s measurable “big” goals for the current year. Some examples:__
- become climate neutral on Scope 1 and 2,
- become climate neutral including Scope 3,
- reduce your carbon footprint by __% this year compared to the previous year,
- improve your CO2 emissions per revenue, or CO2 emissions per employee ratio, etc.
Get a bit of inspiration for what climate-related goals the [US’ biggest companies](https://youtu.be/PvSGMiIA4CQ) and [many others](https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action/) have.

__It’s even better if you can make these targets [science-based](https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/5652).__
Science based targets are goals set by companies to reduce GHG emissions in line with the latest climate science suggestions to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement (limit global warming to 1.5% above pre-industrial level). These targets can be externally verified by signing up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) which is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Understanding your carbon impact across your full value chain will be a key part of setting your target. This must extend to Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

Every quarter, plan specific OKRs or KPIs to implement some climate-positive actions, such as initiatives that you can find in the current action plan. Set the process to measure your footprint quarterly to track dynamics and make the right decisions. 

In addition, __you can use an environmental management system (EMS)__ to systematically set targets and monitor progress. It measures the impact of your business (input, output, and everything in between), identifies areas and assets that have a significant impact, assigns a point score to each, and creates a list of targets to work toward. 

Set specific climate-related goals and OKRs

If you are ready to reconsider your business model, appoint a transition team.
This team will set a new strategy for the business, which includes setting science based targets and steps for implementing changes to the business model. External input might be required if your in-house capability is limited. 

1. Start by identifying areas of conflict, or potential conflict, between your core business model and factors of potentially negative environmental impact (e.g. production of or reliance on fossil fuels or other finite resources). 
2. For each conflict, review ways in which the negative impact identified could be altered to become positive. In many cases this will require some radically creative thinking and a workshop environment.
3. Facilitation by an outside expert could be useful. For example: If your company manufactures washing machine components, and you identify that your (finite) raw input material is likely to become scarcer (therefore more expensive) over the next 10 - 20 years, you could consider a move to a leasing model whereby you retain ownership of the component, lease it to your customer, and recover it for remanufacturing or reuse after it has reached end of life. 
4. It is vital to identify where your business has the biggest carbon impact. These departments should then be considered a priority. Remember, your biggest impact could be outside of your head office.

Business model transformation

A “Green” team is a group of people working on reduction measures throughout your company. In most cases it’s their additional area of work, aside from their regular work. They are driven by personal values and interest in climate topics. 

How to organize the team’s work:
- conduct meetings at least once a month, 
- offer anyone to join, but ask for a commitment to actively participate,
- invite senior-level colleagues, representing departments which influence your carbon footprint the most to this team, 
- if more than 10-12 people want to participate, build smaller sub-teams,
- set objective goals and work on actions that have the biggest impact on your carbon footprint, 
- let all employees know your green team's plans and successes transparently and regularly.


Set up a “Green” team 

- Develop and implement formal, and job-specific, training on key sustainability issues for all executives and employees, and facilitate coaching, mentoring, and networks for sustainability knowledge sharing. 
- Educate employees about the structure of your footprint and how they can reduce it.
- Make sure that all new employees go through an induction process and training program to get them involved in your vision of sustainability strategy. It gives everyone a good grasp of what they’re here for and how they can contribute. 

Once everyone buys into the vision, you can quantify the environmental impact of various things and bring them to people’s attention. 
Teams start to see that there are budget implications, staff implications, environmental implications, and resolving this one issue could potentially improve the situation.

Develop internal sustainable management course/standards

Mark this action as done if you conduct regular sustainability workshops with external experts/consultants at least once a year. It’s important to stay updated with new industry solutions and use external inputs to drive inner projects.

Sustainability workshops for your team

Consider linking part of employees’ bonus compensations to performance of carbon emissions. 

Bonus for sustainable achievements

Include in your environmental performance report:
- your scopes 1-2-3 footprint structure, 
- climate-related risks for your company for the next 10 years,
- all kinds of stakeholder priorities,  
- challenges and problems.
Present it to the whole company. Use this report not to “put a checkmark”, but to show a real picture. 

[This webinar](https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/5121) recording discusses various aspects of promoting transparency in Beneficial Ownership and how it can help businesses.

Publish an annual sustainability report

Compose your company’s Code of Ethics. Sometimes called a Code of Conduct or Code of Business Standards. 
This is a formal document that establishes behavioral expectations for the organization and the people who work there. The cultural aspects of the organization need to align with the behaviors and beliefs congruent with tackling the climate emergency. Integrating the right language when talking about this topic is key. Companies must focus on the positives of taking climate action while communicating with organization members, and avoid using ‘frightening’ or ‘threatening’ language as it can be demotivating and make people increasingly skeptical.

Develop code of Ethics

Mark this action as planned to enroll in the program

Use your product or service to do good

Settle an internal workshop with relevant stakeholders

Competitors and peers benchmark analysis

Engage key departments

Develop business cases

Perform a strategic overview analysis – Internal and market analysis

Create awareness and hold internal conversations

Set up a steering committee

Define progress reporting

Review critically and yearly

Make sure that:
- you have a company-wide recovery and recycling program that includes: paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, and composting
- you recycle waste not only from the kitchen but also all papers in your working spaces, cartons at your warehouse, etc.
- your utility service works with all types of waste after you separate it, so it goes into the correct waste sorting centers.

Proper waste separation system

What you can do to print less:
- implement electronic signature systems where possible
- instead of printing reports before business meetings, use more screens in meeting rooms
- decrease the amount of pages by reducing font or page border sizes of regularly printed documents: contracts, agreements, etc.
- add a reminder to print less in your corporate signatures
- as a default setting, double-sided printing in black and white is recommended.

Plus, you can recycle your printer cartridges using a free recycling box from [Caritas](https://www.caritas.de/spendeundengagement/andershelfen/caritasbox/caritasboxstartseite). 

Minimal printing policy

Mark this action as completed if you will buy office supplies made from recycled materials, produced and delivered in an eco-friendly way from now on. 

Recycled paper is 100% made from used paper, saving resources and water. Although the recycled paper is no longer pure white, it is also free of peroxides, sodium carbonate, and sodium hydroxide. These chemicals are used both in the production of fresh fibre paper and for bleaching paper. Recycled paper has two to three times lower energy consumption during production. 

At [Memo](http://www.memo.de), [EarthHero](https://earthhero.com/product-category/home/office-supplies/), or [GreenPicks](https://www.greenpicks.de/en/office-supplies-stationery/) you can find all of your sustainable office supplies.

Eco-friendly office supplies: paper, post-its, pens, business cards, etc. 

One of the projects where you can find cleaning products and soap without microplastic: [Zero Waste Era](https://www.zerowasteera.com)

Mark this action as completed if you will buy only eco-friendly cleaning products and soap for your office from now on. 

Conscious office cleaning: eco-friendly cleaning products, minimal bins and plastic bags

Our aim here is to minimize the delivery footprint and support local businesses.
Only purchase food and drinks with verified environmental standards. 


 Responsible food and drink: local, organic, seasonal

These purchases can influence your carbon footprint significantly. 
- implement a repair-first policy: it's better to fix a laptop than buy a new one
- regularly calculate and check the footprint created by your equipment purchases (some companies, such as [Apple](https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/notebooks/13-inch_MacBookPro_PER_may2019.pdf) and [Dell](https://i.dell.com/sites/csdocuments/CorpComm_Docs/en/carbon-footprint-latitude-7490.pdf), share data about their products’ footprint on their websites)
- when you need to buy things for your new office, don't just pay attention to them being made of ‘natural’ materials, but also to their production footprint
- utilize old and broken equipment in specially designated places.

Responsible use of office equipment and furniture

Here are some ideas on how to make your marketing materials more eco-friendly:
- at conferences, fairs, and festivals, consider digital ways to interact with potential customers: screens, VR & AR, QR-codes, projections, e-business cards, and catalogs, etc.
- if you do choose to produce some giveaways, opt for materials with less of an end-of-life process
- order production locally to avoid causing additional emissions through deliveries
- improve your planning process to minimize waste after events.

Minimal giveaways: t-shirts, flyers, stickers, etc.

What you can do:
- encourage your colleagues to order food delivery less: organize lunch in your office, subsidize lunch in the nearest cafes, or arrange food delivery in reusable containers,
- make sure you use glasses in your office and wash them instead of one-use plastic cups,
- buy beverages in returnable glass bottles,
- buy office snacks in bigger packages with less plastic.

Minimal plastic waste: no plastic cups and bottles, reduced food delivery waste

Install low-flow faucets, toilets, and urinals in your office. 
Low-flow should meet or exceed the following EPA WaterSense standards: faucets use a maximum of [1.5 gpm](http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/products/bathroom_sink_faucets.html), toilets - [max 1.28 gallons per flush](http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/products/toilets.html).


Water conservation

By supporting the Climate Demo's of the Fridays for Future movement, you can help to increase the pressure on politicians. Many big companies like Atlassian, Flixbus, Kickstarter and many more do it already. Join them! 

Give your employees a few free hours or half a day off to go to important climate strikes.

Share the news on social media 

Use your Marketing channels and social media reach to support big climate demonstrations.

Pirate Impact

We leverage entrepreneurship and investment to transform our capitalist system into an inherent driver of environmental sustainability and social equality.

Measure and understand your full scope carbon footprint

Measure and compensate your personal carbon footprint

Use behavioral design to lower return rates