LifeStraw is Climate Label Certified!

The science is not encouraging. In 2026, the UN Environment Programme published Limiting Overshoot: Navigating Exceedance of 1.5°C and Pathways Towards Return. Its first finding is that global action to cut greenhouse gas emissions has not been fast enough to keep warming from crossing 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the next few years. 2024 was the first individual year above 1.5°C, and the report finds the world has now entered a 20-year period of average warming at that level.

1.5°C is the central long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Under current policies, UNEP projects warming of around 2.6°C by 2100. Even in one of its most optimistic scenarios, where countries carry out every national climate plan and meet their long-term net-zero targets, warming still peaks around 1.8°C. In the report's foreword, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen writes that "there are no good outcomes above 1.5°C."

From May 2024 to May 2025, about half the world's population lived through at least 30 days of extreme heat. Without effective adaptation, global food production could fall by up to 14% by 2050. Glaciers could lose more than a quarter of their mass by 2100, permanently changing water availability. The higher and longer the overshoot, the greater the risk of crossing tipping points that would permanently reshape the planet, including the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and the Amazon rainforest.

The report finds that women and girls, especially in low-income and rural areas, are hit hardest by food insecurity, water scarcity, and lost livelihoods. Risks to water security are disproportionately greater in low-income regions. Even if temperatures eventually come back down, many communities will have relocated or changed how they make a living, and some losses will be permanent.

The report's way forward is an "overshoot, peak, and decline" pathway. That means deep, immediate cuts to carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases so warming peaks as low as possible, followed by sustained net-negative emissions to bring it back below 1.5°C by the end of the century. UNEP calls this the best remaining option, and is careful to say it is not an acceptable one. Net zero is only a milestone on that path. Carbon removal will be needed in addition to emissions cuts, never in place of them, and a return to 1.5°C is not guaranteed.

UNEP is equally clear that overshoot is a reason for urgency, not resignation. Every fraction of a degree avoided and every year cut from the overshoot will save lives, protect ecosystems, and reduce losses. Decisions made in the next few years will determine which options are still open.

Why we track our carbon emissions

UNEP's findings describe the places where LifeStraw works: rural, often low-income, and dependent on water sources that a hotter climate puts at risk. Drought shrinks water sources. Flooding contaminates them. If we serve these communities while ignoring our own emissions, we're working against the people we aim to support.

Being a responsible company means three things: being honest about our footprint, funding climate solutions in proportion to it, and reducing emissions year over year. We hold our climate work to the same standard of transparency as our impact work.

The certification process

The Climate Label is renewed every year, and each year the work starts over.

• Measure. We calculate our cradle-to-customer emissions, from raw materials and manufacturing to shipping, office energy, and business travel. For 2025, that came to 5,172 tonnes of CO2e: 12 tonnes from Scope 1, 42 from Scope 2, and 5,119 from Scope 3.
• Fund. A $15 fee per ton is applied to every ton. This total represents a Climate Transition Budget. This year we funded $81,761. 
• Reduce. We set time-bound reduction plans for the next 12 to 24 months and track them publicly.
• Report. Everything above is published on our profile, where anyone can check our progress.

Our funding decisions

The largest single investment inside our own operations is the switch to Eastman Tritan Renew, a copolyester made with 50% certified recycled content, in place of virgin plastic. Beyond our supply chain, we chose projects that reflect what we care about: water, household health, and healthy land.

About two-thirds of this year's funding, $55,213, went to carbon credits for projects outside our supply chain. Those projects work, but they don't shrink our own footprint. UNEP's report says carbon removal must come in addition to sustained emissions cuts and we hold the credits we fund to the same rule. Our footprint only gets smaller when we change how our products are made and shipped, which is where our reduction plans focus.

The road ahead

Most of our carbon footprint sits in our supply chain. That's where the hardest work is, and where our current plans focus:

•         Working with Tier 1 manufacturers that have access to renewable energy.
•          Limiting air freight on inbound shipments.
•          Diverting 75% of landfill waste at our Baltimore headquarters to compost and recycling by the end of 2027.
•         Sourcing 50% of office consumables locally by 2027.

We won't get everything right on the first try. When we fall behind, it will show up on our profile, and we'll say so.

How you can help

The most sustainable solution is likely a product you already own. Reusing, or repairing if necessary, gear that's already in your closet does a lot to reduce emissions generated by manufacturing new things. When you do shop though, look for The Climate Label. This badge tells you a brand has measured its full footprint, funded climate solutions, and committed to reducing its emissions every year. If you run a company, we'd welcome you to learn about certifying yourself.

You can see our full emissions, funding, and reduction plans on our Climate Label profile.

Sources

•          LifeStraw brand profile, The Change Climate Project 
•      Certified Brand Marketing Guide
•         Marketing Claims Guidance
•         Social Media Templates, Email Template, Blog Template
•        UNEP, Limiting Overshoot report page
•         UNEP press release on Limiting Overshoot
•        UNEP, Overshoot explained: 5 things to understand
•         UNEP (2026), Limiting Overshoot: Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards return, full report.