Latest news with #Klim
Sky News AU
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Sky News AU
'I'm mixing it up': Aussie swimming legend Michael Klim rocks striking new look as he bravely opens up about his rare autoimmune disease
Australian swimming great Michael Klim has debuted a bold new look as he launches a foundation dedicated to raising awareness and funding research into Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), the rare autoimmune condition he was diagnosed with in 2020. The 47-year-old, best known for his stellar performance at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where he took home gold in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays, as well as silver in the 100m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay, first began noticing symptoms several years ago. Initially attributing them to the toll of elite sport, further testing revealed Klim had CIDP - a disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, particularly in the lower limbs. Appearing on The Project on Tuesday night from his home in Bali, the father-of-three showcased his new facial hair and opened up about the challenges of living with the condition. "I'm just mixing it up, you know?" he said of the goatee. "I've had one look for 47 years, so I had to come up with something different." Despite his diagnosis, Klim said he's now in a good place physically and mentally. "I'm feeling really well. Life has really stabilised physically and mentally since the diagnosis five years ago," he said, adding that the launch of his new charity, The Klim Foundation, felt like the natural next step. "I feel like I'm up for the challenge- it's going to be a big one- but I think my history has given me a lot of insight and knowledge which I can now pass onto others that are going through this pretty tough journey." The Polish-born Australian also spoke about how CIDP has affected his mobility. "My mobility is compromised," he said, explaining he uses AFOs, ankle-foot orthoses, to help him stay mobile. "With that assistance, I can still do most things. Unfortunately, some of my favourite things like surfing and playing tennis are kind of out of the question. "But I had a ski for the first time in 12 years last year, so there are still a lot of things that you can do." The goal of The Klim Foundation, he said, is to empower others living with CIDP and help them reclaim their lives. "That can be achieved through things like blood donations, AFOs, the right physios, and also having the support of counsellors," he said. "For me, mentally coming out of that hole and realising that life still had a lot to give was probably the biggest win." The foundation was founded by Klim alongside his partner of two years, Michelle Owen. It's board includes some of the biggest names in sport- Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and even Klim's former rival, American swimmer Gary Hall Jr, who once famously said he would "smash him like a guitar". "The boys just wanted to help me raise the awareness of this condition," Klim said. "We do have a board that's got a lot of experience," he added, referencing key members like Paul Bird from Mission Australia, Mark Saubi from Mark Sowerby, and his best friend, former Olympic table tennis player David Zalcberg. "…It's going to take a group of champions to find not only a cure but to overcome this challenge." Reflecting on Hall Jr's involvement, Klim laughed as he recalled their former rivalry. "Gary - he's a diabetic, he's been in the medical field most of this life. He is probably the only Olympic gold medallist with diabetes," Klim said. "He loves Australia, even though some of the Aussies don't like him. "I'm going to make it my mission he'll be a favoured Aussie very soon."
Herald Sun
19-05-2025
- Health
- Herald Sun
Swimmer Micheal Klim launches charity and gives CIDP auto-immune condition health update
Don't miss out on the headlines from Health. Followed categories will be added to My News. Champion swimmer Michael Klim has revealed his 'favourite things' are 'out of the question' as he continues to battle a rare auto-immune condition. Klim has launched a charity which funds research into Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy – the same condition which is attacking the former Olympian's nerves. The gold medallist appeared on Channel 10's The Project to launch the Klim Foundation and give an update on his health. Fans were stunned to see the handsome athlete, who normally sports a completely bald look, pulling off an impressive goatee. 'I'm mixing it up. I had one look for 47 years. I had to come up with something different,' Klim joked when asked about his new crop of facial hair. He also added he was 'feeling really well' despite ongoing health challenges. 'My life has stabilised physically and mentally. It's become a – the right time now for myself, Michelle (his partner), the family, and, the board we put together, to launch the Klim Foundation and get out and help other sufferers. I feel up to the challenge,' Klim said. Speaking from his home in Bali, Klim added CIDP continues to wreak havoc on his body. 'My mobility is compromised. But I've got some great AFOs, are kind of prosthetics,' he said. 'Some of my favourite things like surfing and playing tennis are out of the question, but I had a ski for the first time in 12 years last year. 'Still a lot of things you can do. So, with the foundation, it's what we're trying to do, enable a lot of sufferers, give them their life back.' Klim said he not only signed up swimming pals Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett to join the foundation board, but also recruited former rival, American Gary Hall Jr who once threatened to 'smash him like a guitar.' 'Gary – he's a diabetic, he's been in the medical field most of this life. He is probably the only Olympic gold medallist with diabetes,' Klim said. 'He loves Australia, even though some of the Aussies don't like him. 'I'm going to make it my mission he'll be a favoured Aussie very soon.' People can donate to the Klim Foundation here. Originally published as Michael Klim sports handsome goatee as he launches charity
Reuters
28-01-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Can insetting stack the cards towards more sustainable supply chains?
Summary Insetting focuses on reducing Scope 3 emissions within a brand's own supply chain Startups like AgriWebb and Klim attracting investments to support regenerative agriculture Partnerships like Reckitt's agroforestry trial aim to drive sustainable supply chain practices Challenges include measuring impacts, avoiding double counting, and ensuring credibility Market guarantees and local advocacy key to encouraging supplier participation in projects January 20 - As corporate 2030 climate targets creep ever closer, brands are under growing pressure to reduce not only their direct greenhouse gas emissions, but those in their supply chain, which can account for 70% or 80% of their carbon footprint. This year has seen a flurry of investments in early-stage firms offering solutions. Notable examples include Australia-based AgriWebb, offering software to help farmers manage livestock, and Germany-headquartered Klim, assisting companies to introduce regenerative agriculture in their supply chains. They landed $7.2 million and 22-million euros in successful Series C and Series A fundraising rounds, respectively. Most recently, Earthworm Foundation and University of Oxford spin-out Nature-based Insights, announced a tie-up to help companies quantify the biodiversity impacts of nature-based solutions in their supply chains. The pair is working with consumer goods giant Reckitt, maker of Durex condoms, to trial the introduction of agroforestry in its rubber supply chain in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Unlike offsetting, which permits brands to balance their carbon emissions through third-party projects carried out anywhere in the world, insetting specifically targets emissions created within a brand's own supply chain or industry (so-called Scope 3). Another platform that facilitates shared action at a landscape level is SourceUp, which connects buyers in agri-commodity supply chains with landscape and jurisdictional initiatives in production areas. Henri Bruxelles, chief sustainability and strategic business development officer at Danone, is an advocate of insetting: 'As a food company, having a positive impact on nature is not only a question of responsibility, it's also a question of resilience and competitiveness. And if you don't act now, you'll be faced with multiple business challenges in five years' time.' Nestle is similarly looking to build up its insetting activities. The Swiss food giant is currently supporting 15 landscape initiatives, opens new tab around the world, aligning with its 2030 goal of sourcing 50% of its goods from producers deploying regenerative farming techniques. One of these is the public-private Cocoa and Forests Initiative, opens new tab, a forest protection and restoration scheme supported by cocoa and chocolate brands under the umbrella of the World Cocoa Foundation, in collaboration with the governments of both Ivory Coast and Ghana and sustainable trade initiative IDH. While the seven-year-old project has seen a 'high number of trees planted' and some ecosystem restoration activities, PUR's Nobrega acknowledges that progress has been modest. He partly puts this down to the fact that there is not yet a framework in place that will allow companies to unlock carbon finance. 'What we need is support from actors like UNFCCC to say to governments, 'Look, when you're orienting your NDCs (nationally determined contributions), you should be considering the actions being taken by the corporate sector, and how those overlap.' One organisation that is trying to establish rules of the road for corporate insetting activity is the International Platform for Insetting, opens new tab (IPI), part of the brand-led Business for Nature coalition. Other members include fashion brands Kering, Burberry and Chanel, as well as Switzerland's largest supermarket chain Migros and the French hospitality group Accor. While the chair of IPI's technical committee Nikol Ostianova is quick to point to the numerous upsides, opens new tab of insetting, she is not blind to the challenges for brands looking to address their Scope 3 impacts in a way that is seen as both credible and effective. While leading standard setters such as the Science-Based Targets initiative, opens new tab (SBTi) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol , opens new tab have offered a degree of guidance on insetting as part of wider advice on Scope 3 land-based removals, the subject is still finding its place within the existing standards landscape. However, moves towards greater clarity are afoot, Ostianová states, referencing two separate standards currently in development on Scope 3 emissions reductions: one from the Washington DC-headquartered certification body Verra, opens new tab, and the other from the UK nature-based solutions charity Social Carbon. Underlying this is the fear that brands pursing insetting strategies could find themselves open to the same charges of greenwashing that have bedevilled offsetting. In a 2023 report, opens new tab, for example, two influential environmental groups, Carbon Market Watch and the NewClimate Institute, argued that, without the right oversight, insetting projects could easily take on the guise of 'low-credibility GHG emission offsetting'. The report, which included an examination of insetting efforts by brands such as Nestle, PepsiCo, JBS and Deutsche Post, singles out insetting's reliance on 'non-permanent biological carbon dioxide removals', such as reforestation and regenerative farming (as opposed to permanent solutions such as geological sequestration). Feeding these early criticisms are the difficulties that brands face around calculating insetting's impacts, especially in relation to causation (why an impact occurred), additionality (would it have occurred anyway) and attribution (who is responsible for the impact). The latter challenge is compounded by the multiple actors that are often involved in insetting projects, Ostianova explains. She gives the example of an organic agriculture project: 'Let's say 100 seedlings come from company A, but 100 also come from company B, but then the farmer might decide to replace seedlings himself because they die. So, then what?' To avoid brands overclaiming or finding themselves guilty of double counting, opens new tab (a common criticism in the offset market), she proposes putting the supplier 'at the centre' when it comes to providing Scope 3 decarbonisation data. More specific guidance on the topic should emerge in the European Union's Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming regulation, opens new tab, which was provisionally agreed in April 2024 but still awaits further clarification and formal adoption. A final challenge centres on incentivising suppliers to get on board. While brands may typically cover the bulk of the costs for project management, capacity-building and a certain level of inputs, transitioning to a more sustainable mode of production will inevitably incur upfront capital investment on the part of suppliers. The fact that nature-based projects typically take a number of years to mature and start delivering positive returns makes economic incentives even more important. Options here include financing mechanisms such as grants or project-based loans, or market-based solutions such as off-take agreements or price guarantees. For farmers, in particular, who are often culturally resistant to major change, the latter would be preferable, according to IPI's Ostianova: 'They need to know that whatever they produce in a climate-resilient way has a market, and that very likely it's a premium market.' It is an argument that Nestle says it has taken on board, in the form of financial support for equipment or inputs (such as biodigesters on a dairy farm) as well as price premiums (through initiatives such as the Nescafe Plan 2030, opens new tab and the Income Accelerator Program for Cocoa, opens new tab). A Nestle spokesperson said enlisting expert partners to work alongside participating suppliers is especially helpful, while local farmers advocating for the positive outcomes of insetting can help attract support from public authorities. Nestle advice for other brands embarking on an insetting? 'Start small and show evolution as you progress', the spokesman said. Suppliers are 'more confident to join when they see some of their peers enrolled and being successful'. Terry Slavin contributed to this article.
