What you need to know before you go back-to-school shopping

As students and teachers ready for the upcoming school year, preparations are made—checking class schedules, figuring out the bus times, mapping out how far your apartment is from campus, and of course back-to-school shopping.  Who doesn’t remember the feeling of picking out a new back pack or lunch box before heading to school?  Or picking out your first day of class outfit.  Or more recently, getting a new computer or laptop to write your papers or grade your papers on.

With all of this back-to-school excitement, it’s easy to forget about the impacts our purchases have on climate change.  Is there a way to know what companies are working to mitigate their effects on climate change?  Do companies listen when you tell them climate change is an important factor in you purchasing their products?  The answer to both is YES!

Your one-stop-shop for climate info on companies is Climate Counts.  They rate companies in many different sectors on their climate action, greenhouse gas reductions, stance on legislation and public reporting.  Companies are listening and are driven by the consumer.  This year, many of the companies rated by Climate Counts scored better than the previous year.  Climate Counts gives you all the resources you need to contact companies and tell them how you feel about their actions (or lack thereof) on climate change.

So before you head out for back-to-school shopping check out Climate Counts’ scorecards and get Back-to-Cool with your purchases.