At Vast Forward, we’ve also grappled with how to best approach ecological sustainability. Initially, our efforts were directed toward calculating and compensating for our CO2 equivalents through our initiative VAST GREEN. However, as a small organisation, our early understanding of sustainability focused primarily on environmental offsets and CO2 compensation. But we soon realised that true sustainability requires a broader perspective.

In our continued development and implementation of a sustainability strategy, we recognized the importance of incorporating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals highlight that sustainability extends beyond offsetting and compensation measures to include social and political-economic dimensions crucial for a more sustainable future for both business and society.

Education is a key element in the path towards this future. Without an understanding of the issue at hand, nobody would initiate action or communicate the urgency of a decreasing biodiversity, melting of permafrost and glaciers, droughts, floods, and much more. Factual elucidation of causes and consequences are necessary for finding and implementing effective, lasting solutions to a problem (quite literally) concerning every human being on this planet.

It’s easy to see the appeal of CO2 compensation projects, like rainforest reforestation. Such initiatives offer obvious benefits, for example improved biodiversity, while allowing organisations to invest minimal time, effort, and resources into restoring vital parts of our environment. However, these measures often fail to address the systemic issues underlying environmental destruction.

Moreover, there is the problem of greenwashing, where companies use environmental initiatives as a marketing tool rather than committing to meaningful change. The effectiveness of compensation certificates varies widely, and some providers may be more focused on economic gain than on environmental impact.

Earlier this year, Vast Forward came together as a team and talked about future directions of monetary support. The decision to redirect our initial “compensation” towards CORRECTIV is based on the conviction that truly sustainable change starts with exchange and knowledge. Independent investigative journalism and educational work build the framework necessary for effective long-term solutions.

CORRECTIV is a non-profit newsroom that was founded in 2014 and has since played an important role in the German media landscape. The self-proclaimed goal is to make investigative and independent journalism accessible to everyone, tapping into the topic of democratic structures and decision-making as well as promoting media literacy. The organisation’s broad reach supports this goal, by translating and publishing their contents in languages other than German (Arabic, English, French, Russian, and more), CORRECTIV disseminates in-depth investigative work far beyond state borders and offers access to individuals around the globe. Our wish is to support CORRECTIV in their goals, inform the societal debates around climate change, and uncover political shortcomings. We believe in the importance of freely accessible and independent information and look forward to our future cooperation!