Now that the holiday season is just around the corner, many people are beginning to do some serious shopping. For those looking to shop greener, the app Climate Counts for the iPhone allows you to choose from the most eco-friendly retailers.
One of the best things about the app is that it is available for free on the iPhone app store. Climate Counts grades companies based on their sustainability efforts on 22 criteria to determine if companies have:
- measured their carbon footprint
- reduced impact on global warming
- supported (or suggested intent to block) progressive climate legislation
- publicly disclosed their climate actions clearly and comprehensively
There are currently over 150 companies that represent 3,000 brands which are part of the Climate Counts database. Naturally the higher the scorecard, the better the company. When searching through the complete database, users can see the actual score as well as the easy to peruse levels: stuck, starting and striding represented by the colors red, yellow and green respectively. The app allows easy navigation by score, brand, sector and product type depending on the user’s needs.
Climate Counts app only measures the basic criteria for sustainability and does not delve completely into company policies nor actual creation of these materials. It also does not go into other areas of interest like human rights policies. Still, Climate Counts is a step in the right direction to inform the public of what companies are potentially better than others when holiday shopping.
