By Esther Afolaranmi 

In the battle against misleading environmental claims, the Fair Start Certification emerges as a beacon of transparency and authenticity. This innovative certification program stands at the forefront, aiming to dismantle the deceitful practices of greenwashing and pave the way for genuine sustainability.

Fair Start Certification embodies a paradigm shift in verifying and endorsing authentic eco-friendly practices. Unlike conventional certifications, Fair Start goes beyond superficial labels and scrutinizes a company’s entire approach to sustainability. It demands comprehensive reporting and transparency, ensuring that claims of environmental responsibility are substantiated by verifiable actions.

What sets Fair Start apart is its rigorous evaluation process, focusing not only on the products or services but also on the socio-economic impacts and ethical considerations. It delves into the supply chain, sourcing practices, and environmental footprint, leaving no stone unturned in its quest for authenticity. Fair Start certified entities are rigorously vetted, providing consumers with a trustworthy and credible stamp of approval.

 

 

This certification program not only promotes environmental stewardship but also emphasizes equity and fairness. It highlights the importance of fair labour practices, community engagement, and ethical business conduct, ensuring that sustainability efforts uplift all stakeholders involved.

Consumers, armed with the knowledge of Fair Start Certification, can confidently navigate the marketplace. They can distinguish between genuine sustainability efforts and mere greenwashing tactics, making informed choices that align with their values.

Moreover, Fair Start Certification serves as a catalyst for industry transformation. By incentivizing companies to adopt ethical and sustainable practices, it fosters a culture of accountability and responsibility. This ripple effect propels the collective journey toward a greener, fairer, and more sustainable future.

Fair Start certification is the antidote to the exploitation of the most vulnerable – nonhumans and future persons – as the most just and effective solution to the crises we face today. That is how we achieve fundamental justice for every person born and for future generations. 

Rather than minimizing the harm created, we correctly use a standard that:

1) Uses international human rights law, not purely domestic standards, which is required for the climate crisis – but in a way that includes domestic remedies

2) Sets the highest standard for climate reparations rather than undercutting victims’ claims

3) Mandates direct family-based reparations, which have the greatest impact

4) Corrects the baseline error or fallacy discussed above, including climate migration and pro-labor/equity employment policy changes.

Fair Start Partners with LEED certification Founder Mike Italiano for Fairness Certification Pilot

The Fair Start Movement works to ensure that the climate and other accelerating global environmental crises do not deprive children of their inherent and fundamental right to live and thrive on a habitable Planet.

The Fair Start Certification is a human rights certification designed to keep entities honest and to expose this greenwashing. The certification is in partnership with green capital markets initiatives and the founders of LEED building certification, for higher green standards for public companies. Why? Effective ecosocial justice starts with ending greenwashing lies and deadly omissions.

 

 

Fair Start Pilot Standards

With restorative justice as the goal, the program requires stark carbon reduction, climate restoration, materials reuse/circularity, family planning entitlements and significant investments in young women.

Prerequisites

Companies must achieve 70% carbon pollution reduction above the 2020 corporate baseline with credit for up to 100% reduction achievement / zero carbon emissions.  Seventy percent is 10% above the Green IPO prerequisite.  Companies must meet other Green IPO pollution reduction prerequisites moving towards climate restoration at 280 ppm CO2, with credit for up to 100% reduction achievement.

Companies must achieve 20% reuse / circularity minimum with credit for up to 100% reuse.  Reuse counters growthwashing.

Companies must adopt at least one public policy that favors climate restoration at 280 or less ppm CO2 via equitable family planning entitlements, both international and domestic, over current and unsustainable pronatal policies.  This can include young girls since the greatest investment society can make is in young girls by advancing their education and family planning awareness, since their vitality and knowledge affects responsible growth the most.

Optional Credits

Companies move away from greenwashing, and especially growthwashing, and adopt growth-impact disclosure requirements in ESG reporting frameworks.  [3 pts]

Companies implement pay-per-child standards to avoid small families subsidizing larger ones, models that make some discretionary employment benefits that flow to the children of employees more equitably by making them inverse to wages.  [4 pts]

Companies publicly promote more equitable and sustainable family planning practices, when making environmental and related claims, to avoid and offset growthwashing.  [3 pts]

Fund required climate migration as a very realistic necessity. Families can withdraw some funding for climate migration if needed, and we can bend this more towards young women’s education which is a proxy for delayed fertility.  https://fairstartmovement.org/life-saving-climate-reparations-in-uganda/  [5 pts]

General Information & Requirements

•  Companies achieving this Fair Start Green IPO Pilot earn up to 15 added points for their corporate underwriting Green IPO Value Score.  The Score is 25-100 and measures increased cash flow from sustainability over any company’s global supply chain.

 Up to three-year stepwise certification approaches are available to achieve these preceding requirements and credits through an executed certification agreement.