PLAN3T rates Impact.

More and more brands claim to be green. How do we make sure the brands in our network actually do what they promise?

Throughout the past months, we have built a network of more than 60 partner brands. Every single one provides a sustainable alternative to the current market option. From solid soap to the often controversially discussed micromobility and fairly produced fashion. Now, we have built our own impact rating. To become part of our partner network brands need to score at least 50 out of 100 points.

Why the effort?

PLAN3T helps you make conscious consumption decisions. We aim at creating a fully transparent platform to support you in your everyday choices in a jungle of all the green brands, products, and services out there.

How it works.

Our Impact Rating process starts as soon as a brand is interested in joining our sustainable partner network. The brand fills out a survey consisting of between 40 to 60 questions depending on the industry the brand belongs to. We enrich and double-check the brand's answers with public information available to us.

What do we screen in these questions?

🌱 Core Values
We are a tolerant bunch, but there are some things we do not tolerate, especially not within our sustainable brand network: Child labor, connections to the arms, fossil fuel industry, and animal cruelty. A brand cannot fulfill these core values? Next.

🌱 General Sustainability
Some sustainability questions pertain to all industries, such as greenhouse gas emissions, working conditions, production location, and gender equality.

🌱 Certifications
Becoming certified is a job on its own, and can be a huge effort. We take this effort into account. We rate general certifications, such as BCorp, or GWÖ as well as industry-specific certifications, such as Demeter in the nutrition industry, or GOTS in the fashion industry. We have a backlog of roughly 100 certifications, which were all rated based on 7 criteria.

🌱 Industry-Specific Questions
Some questions are highly specific to each industry, which is why we have researched the most relevant sustainability issues in each industry.

How we got to a Rating

Our questions are qualitative as well as quantitative. The mix of both allows us to, on the one side, provide room for measures that can hardly be translated into numbers and, on the other side, to automize the process to the highest extent possible. In the end, our impact rating calculates a percent value, indicating the strategic fit to join our network. The scale ranges from 0 to 100 points. Brands must score at least 50 points to join our network.

Points do not tell you much.

This is why we broke this rating down into four separate sub-ratings. Brands collect points if they fulfill the following criteria

🌍 Climate

• Reduced Emissions & Emission Reduction Targets
• Climate-Neutrality or Climate-Positivity
• Lower emissions compared to market alternatives

♻️ Resources

• Energy
  • A large share of profit reinvested into renewable energy sources
  • A large share of profit from the sale of renewable energy
  • Provision of tools for customers to save energy
  • Internal production of renewable energy
    
• Mobility
  • Vehicles' components are recycled after their lifecycle
  • Sharing Economy based business models
  • No Emission of exhaust gases
  • Sustainable fleet management
    
• Nutrition
  • Less or no product packaging
  • Tools to prevent food waste
    
• Consumer Goods
  • Circular Economy based business models
  • Use of recycled materials
  • Zero-waste strategies
  • Less or no product packaging

👀 Transparency

• Impact Reporting: Constant, yearly, or at least information on social channels
• Transparency about supply chain and suppliers

🤙🏽 People

• Business models based on the provision of social value
• Policies for a diverse and inclusive workforce
• Social and environmental screens in the supply chain
• Production location with high standards for working conditions
• Gender Equality

Are there exceptions?

An exception proves the rule, right? In case our screening does not depict an impact business model correctly, we allow a buffer down to 40 points. In that case, two members of our team must agree, that an exception can be granted. In many cases, young companies are on a very good way, but cannot prove much of it, just yet. For instance, if the brand has no certifications and no track record of its CO₂ emissions yet. We grow with these brands, support them, and, of course, keep track of their progress.

Next Steps

You can find the rating in every partner's profile in the PLAN3T App. As a small teaser, check out Organic Basics' Impact Rating below:

Sustainability is a Journey

For all of us. We learn with every day we strive towards remaining within the safe and just operating space by respecting the ecological ceiling and maintaining a social foundation. Our Impact Rating will evolve as we go, as we learn, and as we improve.