Silk® Helps Turn Your Climate Anxiety Into Action With Free Eco-Counseling This Earth Day

BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This Earth Day, Silk^®, America's No. 1 plant-based beverage brand¹, is introducing Silk Climate Warriors, an initiative with a suite of resources designed to help people overcome their eco-anxiety and fuel their environmental actions, including offering free eco-counseling sessions while they remain available. By empowering others to take action, Silk is helping turn climate worriers into climate warriors.

Silk's plant-based offerings are born from the land, and for more than 25 years, this leader in sustainability has been on a mission to help protect and restore nature, through water conservation, greenhouse gas reduction and pollinator protection efforts. But Silk knows it can't do it alone and believes collective action will be important for achieving meaningful impact towards protecting our planet. Yet, climate change can be stressful. In fact, more than half of Americans agree², and Silk is passionate about helping them relieve climate anxiety (this year more than ever!) through free eco-counseling and other environmental initiatives.

Starting today, sign up for a 45-minute small group eco-counseling session on Earth Day (April 22) with Silk Climate Counselor Dr. Debbie C. Sturm by visiting SilkClimateWarriors.com. Participants will be encouraged to share experiences surrounding the realities of climate change, learn how to address eco-anxiety, and discover ways to move into action. While sessions are limited, more will be added each day leading up to Earth Day on a first-come, first-serve basis.

"As uncomfortable as eco-anxiety may be, it is actually a legitimate and rational reaction to the accelerating climate crisis," says Dr. Sturm, licensed professional counselor and climate anxiety researcher. "In many ways, eco-anxiety can be a by-product of the empathy we feel for the planet, our beloved places, and the people vulnerable to the negative impact. Empathy compels us to connect. Anxiety propels us to act."

If you cannot attend a session but are looking to learn more about how you can take actionable steps to help the planet, visit SilkClimateWarriors.com to find a suite of resources including:

• Tips from the Silk Climate Counselor on how to cope with eco-anxiety and feel empowered about our future.
• Opportunities for you to take action for the planet including sending letters directly to local, state and national legislators, encouraging them to act for the climate.

"Silk believes climate change is affecting our planet and our food system," said Derek Neeley, Silk Vice President. "As part of one of the world's largest B Corps we are committed to building sustainable food systems that work in harmony with nature to restore the land. This Earth Day, we are bringing meaningful solutions to our consumers struggling to overcome stress when looking at the overwhelming task at hand, so that they can join us on this journey." 

About Silk's Commitments

Silk takes its impact very seriously and continues to build programs and advocate for change to help protect and restore the land, including through:

• Carbon Reduction: Silk plant-based beverages produce two-thirds less GHG emissions than U.S. conventional dairy milk³ and the brand is working on initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint even further. In order to get back on track toward the goal of limiting temperature rises, global greenhouse gas emissions need to fall by 7.6 percent each year over the next decade⁴, so how products are created matters now more than ever, as do the products consumers choose.
• Water Conservation: Since 2009, Silk's water partnerships have restored more than 8.7 billion gallons of water to freshwater ecosystems⁵. Just by choosing Silk, you are joining the brand on its journey for restoration. Making a half gallon of Silk takes 64% less water than a half-gallon of U.S. conventional dairy milk³.
• Helping Bees and Pollinators: Bees pollinate many of the foods we depend on, including Silk's products, yet they face serious threats due to climate change. Loss of habitat, exposure to pesticides, and spread of diseases are causing significant population declines⁶. Our ambition is to have 100% of the acreage supporting the Silk almond supply applying the Bee Better practices by 2025. Several of our almond orchards owned by the family that supplies our almond butter are certified to the Bee Better standard, which adopts farm management strategies that directly benefit pollinators.

Visit SilkClimateWarriors.com to get involved, see how you can take action, and to find out more about Silk's other environmental impact initiatives.

About Silk®

Silk was founded on a promise to make the world a healthier place. As a steward of the environment, we believe that plant-based foods are the best way to nourish people and the planet. Today we offer a broad portfolio of nutritious, great-tasting plant-based options, including soymilk, almondmilk, cashewmilk, coconutmilk, oatmilk, dairy-free coffee creamers, and dairy-free yogurt alternatives. Silk's entire plant-based portfolio is verified by the Non-GMO Project, and we also offer Silk almondmilk and Silk soymilk in organic options. Connect with Silk online at Silk.com and @Silk. Since 2009, Silk has been committed to water conservation and restoration. Because we believe that nature shouldn't go thirsty, and neither should you. For more information, visit https://silk.com/about-us/sustainability/

About Danone North America

Danone North America is a purpose-driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. As a Certified B Corporation®, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Our strong portfolio of brands includes: Activia®, DanActive^®, Danimals^®, Dannon^®, evian®, Happy Family® Organics, Honest to Goodness^™, Horizon^® Organic, International Delight^®, Light + Fit^®, Oikos^®, Silk^®, So Delicious^® Dairy Free, STōK^™, Two Good^®, Vega^®, Wallaby^® Organic and YoCrunch^®. With more than 6,000 employees and 14 production locations across the U.S. and Canada, Danone North America's mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information, visit www.danonenorthamerica.com. For more information on Danone North America's B Corp™ status, visit: https://bcorporation.net/directory/danone-north-america.

1. Leading brand based on national sales data
2. In 2020, an American Psychiatric Association poll found that more than half of Americans are concerned about climate change's effect on their mental health.
3. From ISO 14040/44/46 independently reviewed 2020 Life Cycle Assessment based on 2018 product data comparing cradle-to-grave footprint of one half-gallon consumed of average Silk plant-based beverage to US conventional dairy milk. Average Silk footprint from weighted 2018 production of all Silk conventional half gallon beverages, excluding almond-coconut blend.
4. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings
5. Silk is a charter sponsor of Change the Course, a Bonneville Environmental Foundation program, and over the last 11 years has supported more than 30 restoration projects, helping to restore over 8.7 billion gallons of water.
6. https://beebettercertified.org/

SOURCE Silk