As we reflect on a year of monumental achievements and significant transitions, our 2023 Annual Report highlights the profound impact of our campaigns. The Changing Markets Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing pressing environmental issues and ensuring corporate accountability.   

Growing the Good: Addressing Methane Emissions  

2023 was the hottest year on record, highlighting the urgent need for action on methane emissions, particularly from the meat and dairy industry.  

Key achievements include:  

Hot Money Report: Partnering with Planet Tracker, we revealed the financial sector’s role in funding methane emissions, prompting calls for greater transparency and action. Several NGOs are using our findings to inform their own strategies to mobilise the finance sector around emissions in agriculture.  

Nestlé’s Methane Blindspot: Following our focused campaign on Nestlé, which included a comprehensive report, public stunts, and a petition, Nestlé committed to both report and reduce their methane emissions.  

A Watchdog for Greenwashing: Our greenwash.com initiative revealed 60 new examples of greenwashing and we launched the Feeding Us Greenwash report, which uncovered misleading climate claims by food companies. Our efforts have influenced regulatory changes, including the EU’s Green Claims Directive.  

Misinformation Exposed: Our report, Truth, Lies, and Culture Wars, provided a comprehensive social listening analysis of meat and dairy persuasion narratives. Over a 14-month period, we uncovered nearly 1 million misinformation posts shared predominantly on X (formerly Twitter). The majority of posts (78%) aimed to disparage alternative proteins and vegan diets.  

The report has been very well received as a comprehensive first-of-its-kind analysis. We see great opportunity to continue uncovering and fighting against the narratives that prevent the true transformation of our food system. 

Fossil Fashion: Uncovering the Environmental Cost  

Our Fossil Fashion campaign exposed the link between fashion industry’s growing addiction to fossil fuels and plastic pollution. Thanks to our work, awareness of the link between fast fashion and synthetic fibres has grown among opinion leaders and policymakers, who have woken up to the fact that this industry has operated un-checked for too long.   

Highlights include:  

Trashion Report: Our work unveiled the hidden export of plastic waste to Kenya, fuelled by the rise in synthetic clothing consumption in the Global North. This led to significant policy discussions in the EU and Kenya and we worked closely with those involved in the EU policy discussion, feeding the findings of our investigations. In March 2024, France, Sweden and Denmark proposed strong restrictions on the export of waste clothing under the Basel Convention.   

Take-Back Trickery: Our investigation into clothing take-back schemes tracked 21 items with discreet airtags over 11 months. It revealed the inefficacy of fashion brands’ take-back schemes, exposing greenwashing practices. Launched with an exclusive in The Sunday Times, it spurred debate around much-needed policy solutions.

Media Impact and Global Reach

All of Changing Markets Foundation campaigns have garnered extensive media coverage, with over 800 news stories helping to drive legislative improvements and placing our issues firmly on the global agenda. By the time COP28 arrived, we were fortunate to have opportunities to share our insights with media outlets, such as the Financial Times and Bloomberg.  

Executive Chair’s Message: A Decade of Change  

Joakim Bergman, Founder and Executive Chair, shares his reflections on a decade of transformative work. “When Paul Gilding and I established Changing Markets in 2013, we could not have imagined the profound impact our campaigns would have a decade later. This year, our Growing the Good and Fossil Fashion campaigns have brought critical issues to the forefront, driving legislative improvements and corporate accountability.”  

Bergman also expressed his gratitude to Nusa Urbancic, who has taken over as CEO. “Nusa’s leadership and dedication have been instrumental in our success. As I step back to become Executive Chair, I am confident she will continue to propel Changing Markets to new heights.”  

The full Annual Report 2023 is now available online. We invite everyone to dive into a detailed account of our achievements, investigations, and the profound impact of our campaigns over the past year.  

For more details, please read our full 2023 Annual Report here.