Overview
- After evaluating 10 tree planting services, we settled on The Arbor Day Foundation
- Established a methodology for Carbon Accounting
Carbon / GHG Impact Options
Tree Planting
Direct Tree Planting Options:
| Company: | Price: | Projects: | Verification/Impact: |
|---|---|---|---|
| OneTreePlanted ** | $1 per tree $20 per 1,000 kg of CO2 offset | -Endangered species -Habitat restoration -Forest fire recovery -Overall forest restoration | One of their key collaborators is the World Resources Institute (WRI), which helps verify the data submitted by project developers |
| Climate Partner | Determined after contact | -Afforestation -Forest Protection -Regenerative agriculture -Improved forest management -Clean drinking water -More efficient energy production | Projects contribute to the UN’s sustainable development goals |
| Restore the Earth Foundation ** | Determined after contact | -Reforestation in the lower mississippi river basin | Projects are verified by either the Climate Action Reserve, the American Carbon Registry, or the Verified Carbon Standard |
| GreenTrees | Determined after contact | -Converting farmland into hardwood forest -Tree planting in mississippi alluvial valley and virginia | Adheres to one or more of the UN’s sustainable development goals |
Third Party:
| Company: | Price: | Projects: | Verification + Partners: |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Arbor Day Foundation ** | $40 per 1,000 kg of CO2 removal | -Reforestation projects in Mississippi, Nicaragua, and Peru -Restore degraded agricultural land and replenish soil | -Projects are certified by the American Carbon Registry, Plan Vivo, and the Verified Carbon Standard -Partnered with GreenTrees, Taking Root, and Ecotierra |
| Reforest’Action | $19.30 per 1,000 kg of CO2 removal | -Reforestation projects in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia | -Third party verified by Ecocert Environnement |
| Ecologi ‡ *YES to U.S. partnerships | $6.04 per 1,000 kg of CO2 removal | -Mangrove planting in Madagascar -Reforestation in Mozambique -Restoring Andean forests in Bolivia -Saving endemic fruit tree species in Morocco | -Projects are either certified by the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard -Partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects, One Tree Planted, and Trees for the Future |
| The Carbon Offset Company | Determined after contact | -Reforestation projects in the U.S., Senegal, Madagascar, Haiti, and Mozambique -Wildfire forest recovery in CA and FL | -Verified by third-party auditors including the Climate Action Reserve, Verified Carbon Standard, Climate Community and Biodiversity Standard, American Carbon Registry, and United Nations Clean Development Mechanism -Partnered with One Tree Planted, Trees for the Future, Plant with Purpose, National Forest Foundation, and Eden Reforestation Projects |
| Carbonfund | $390 - $1,560 per year for small businesses | -Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Reforestation initiative -Panama Reforestation Project | -Projects certified by the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity standard, and the Gold standard -Incorporated into Clime Co. |
| Cool Effect | $8.79 - $21.97 per 1,000 kg of CO2 | -Many reforestation projects such as the Giving Trees projects in Kenya and Uganda | -Projects are verified by either the Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard, or the Climate Action Reserve |
** non-profit || † “not-for-profit” || ‡ for-profit
Other Carbon Offset/Removal Options
| Company: | Price: | What they do: |
|---|---|---|
| Running Tide | Current cost is $350/ton, goal to get below 100/ton and \250/ton in 2025 | Removes carbon from the ocean through alkalinity enhancement and biomass sinking |
| Carbon Direct | tbd | They do a diverse range of carbon removal projects, you can curate a portfolio of what types you want |
| Lithos* Works with other companies such as JP Morgan, Alphabet, Shopify, Microsoft, Workday, Skims, and Stripe | Approximately $370 per ton of CO2 removed | They spread crushed basalts on croplands to speed up natural processes that convert CO2 into stable ocean carbonates. |
| Captura* | tbd | Extract CO2 from seawater, which leverages the ocean’s natural ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere |
| Carbon to Stone* | Approximately $10 - $ per ton of CO2 removed -Direct air capture can exceed $1,200 per ton | They remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it as durable solid carbonates, which can be used in industrial processes or stored indefinitely |
| Cella* Works with a handful of other companies such as Shopify, Stripe, and Watershed | Approximately $50 per ton -Based on different processes | They inject CO2 into volcanic rock formations to convert it into stable mineral forms |
| Cloverly | tbd | They facilitate a wide range of carbon offsetting projects worldwide. You can then purchase carbon credits from a project or portfolio. Projects include renewable energy projects, reforestation efforts, or other sustainability initiatives |
*used by Frontier
More about Cloverly:
- “Cloverly enables buyers to take immediate action toward reaching climate goals through a comprehensive platform of technology and direct purchase solutions for carbon credits”
- Cloverly provides an API (Application Programming Interface) that developers can use to incorporate carbon offset functionalities into their applications, websites, or services which can be used in various industries such as travel, logistics, and retail
- Also offers tools for businesses to track and report on their carbon offset activities, providing transparency and accountability in their sustainability efforts
- Allows companies to calculate and purchase carbon offsets in real time
Heirloom: (for profit)
- Produces high-quality carbon removal storage credits to help organizations meet their climate goals
- Prioritizes transitioning away from fossil fuels to more sustainable, low-carbon economies
- The CO2 removed from the atmosphere will never be used for ‘enhanced oil recovery’
- Prioritize putting their facilities on land that cannot be farmed and building their facilities in fossil energy communities
- Their approach combines two well-established carbon removal technologies, carbon mineralization and direct air capture
- They use limestone to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere and then safely and permanently store it underground
- Their technology accelerates the natural property of limestone to absorb CO2 from taking years to just three days
- They then heat the limestone mineral powder in a renewable energy kiln to remove the CO2 and then bury it underground or in concrete
- Low cost of inputs, limestone is cheap and very abundant
Certifications:
Climate Neutral
- Founded in 2019 by a group of environmental professionals who wanted to create a practical and achievable way for businesses to address their climate impact
- Their mission is to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by creating the world’s most recognized climate label as well as action focused tools and resources
- Their vision is that at some point, every business in the world will operate with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
- Their impact goal is to have removed one billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses by 2030
- The Climate Neutral Certified Label is an independent climate action label for both companies and consumers, backed by their climate neutral certified standard
- They have emission management tools that allow for companies to measure and manage their carbon emissions
- The organization emphasizes not just offsetting but also reducing emissions at the source and they provide guidance on various strategies that companies can implement in order to reduce their carbon footprint
- They support a wide range of carbon offset projects such as renewable energy projects, reforestation, and methane capture
The Gold Standard
- Founded by the WWF and other international NGOs in 2003
- Focuses on projects that provide lasting social, economic, and environmental benefits
- Also ensure social and environmental integrity, companies actively participate in local communities and stakeholders when it comes to project planning and implementation
- Projects have to align with the UN’s sustainable development goals, ensuring broad and positive impacts beyond just carbon reduction
- Ensures that the carbon savings are permanent and will not be reversed
- Ensures that the projects provide carbon removal that would not have occurred otherwise
- Ensures that the project doesn’t cause an increase in emissions elsewhere
- Renewable energy projects, energy efficient projects, reforestation/afforestation projects, waste management projects, water and sanitation projects, agricultural projects,
The Verified Carbon Standard
- They use third party verification in addition to their own: use independent audits and monitoring to ensure compliance with the company’s requirements
- Transparent documentation: comprehensive reporting of project details, methodologies, and verified emissions reductions
- Regular monitoring: They continuously track and report project performance as well as its emissions reductions
- Makes sure that the carbon reductions are durable and won’t be reversed
- Makes sure that emission reductions don’t lead to increased emissions somewhere else
- Makes sure that the carbon savings from the project are above and beyond what would have occurred without the project
- Makes sure companies are using approved methodologies to accurately quantify and verify carbon emissions
- Doesn’t require projects to have additional environmental or social benefits
- Projects must be registered and validated by Verra to be recognized under the VCS program
- Issuance of verified carbon units (VCUs): upon successful verification, projects are issued VCUs which can be traded in carbon markets
The Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standard
- Projects have to fall under one of the following:
- Forest conservation and management
- Reforestation and Afforestation
- Agroforestry and sustainable agriculture
- Wetland and peatland restoration
- Wildlife conservation projects
- Third party verification through independent audits to ensure compliance with the CBB’s criteria
- Requires comprehensive documentation of project activities, impacts, and benefits to local communities
- Alignment with various UN sustainable development goals, ensuring that projects deliver broad, positive impacts, beyond just climate and biodiversity
- Engage with local stakeholders
The Climate Action Reserve
- Non-profit organization that establishes high-quality standards for carbon offset projects in North America
- Operates a carbon offset registry that tracks the ownership and retirement of carbon credits. This registry provides transparency and credibility to the carbon market by ensuring that each credit is unique and properly accounted for
- Make sure that projects meet their protocols and verify that they have achieved the claimed emissions reduction target. This involves rigorous third party verification to ensure compliance with CAR’s standards
- Support the development of carbon markets by providing data, research, and policy recommendations. Aims to increase market confidence and participation by maintaining high standards of integrity and transparency
- Companies who want to be verified by the Climate Action Reserve must only use CAR-accredited third party validators and verifiers. They must also provide very thorough documentation for all aspects of the project. They must also implement strong monitoring and reporting systems to track project performance and emission reductions.
American Carbon Registry
- Work on a broad range of industry initiatives to help develop high-integrity carbon markets
- Operates a transparent online registry system to record the issuance, transfer, and retirement of carbon credits
- To become verified by the American Carbon Registry, a project must fall under one of the eligible project types recognized by the ACR which includes afforestation/reforestation, agriculture, improved forest management, methane capture, renewable energy, and others.
- A comprehensive product design document must be prepared, outlining the project’s scope, baseline conditions, greenhouse gas reductions strategies, monitoring plan, and other relevant information
- Must be validated by an independent, ACR-approved third party validator
- Verification must be conducted periodically throughout the project’s life to ensure compliance
United Nations Clean Development Mechanism
- Allows for a country with an emissions reduction commitment to implement an emissions-reduction project in developing countries
- “The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction or limitation targets”
- Projects must go through a rigorous process involving public registration and issuance in order to qualify as a CDM project
- Must provide emission reductions that are in addition to what would have otherwise occurred
- Approval is given by the Designated National Authorities and the mechanism is overseen by the CDM executive board
Ecocert Environnement
- Based in France
- Assists stakeholders in implementing sustainable practices and projects through certification and consulting services
- Strive to promote production processes that are environmentally friendly and better management of energy and natural resources
- Strive for more socially responsible sectors, as well as overall better product quality and safety
- For a company to be verified by Ecocert Environnement, they must efficiently use resources and waste management
- Products must contain a significant percentage of organic ingredients
- Transparent records of all raw materials used, avoidance of chemicals and GMOs
- Fair labor practices and good working conditions
Plan Vivo - vert clear expectations (https://www.planvivo.org/) **
- Focuses on projects that support local communities and smallholders in developing nations
- Producers in the project must be small-scale farmers, land users, or forest dwellers with recognized land tenure or user rights, either as an individual or as a community
- Projects must be organized into associations or some sort of community based organizations able to contribute to the social and economic development of their communities
- Projects should be able to use existing farmland, forest, woodland or other land type for project activities without “undermining livelihood needs”
- Projects shouldn’t be structurally dependent on permanently hired labor and should manage their land on their own for the most part
- Requires project participants to have clear ownership of the carbon on their land
- No double counting of carbon benefits, no other carbon projects should be operating in the same area.
- Projects must enable communities to plan and take control of their resources in a sustainable way that promotes rural livelihoods and other environmental and social co-benefits
Carbon Accounting
Calculating our carbon footprint:
*Most interested in scope 1 and scope 3
Scope 1 & 2: https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-1-and-scope-2-inventory-guidance
Scope 3: https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-3-inventory-guidance
- EEIO
- Honeycomb strategies
- Greenly
- EPA carbon assessment tool
- quantis
- Assurance-grade carbon measurement, disclosure, and reduction
- AI software that helps you measure and analyze your carbon footprint across the entire operation, supply chain, and value chain
- Enterprise grade security. SOC I & II verified
- Offers a free, self-guided platform called Persefoni pro for organizations of all sizes to measure
- Designed to help companies prepare for regulatory disclosure and auditing
Persefoni Pro (free)
- Best for businesses wanting to measure their emissions
- Measures scope 1 and 2 emissions
- Share emissions data with customers, suppliers, investors, and other stakeholders
- Self-service support with Persefoni Copilot
Persefoni Pro+
- Best for businesses subject to regulatory climate disclosure
- You can start for free but eventually have to pay
- Provides a greenhouse gas emissions metrics regulatory report for disclosure to SEC, California, CSRD, etc
- Limited assurance and console and reports
- Premier support with SLA
Persefoni Advanced
- Best for businesses working to set or achieve a net-zero target
- Also includes custom emission factors
- Advanced emissions analytics and reporting
- Decarbonization management with net-zero navigator (add-on)
- Integrations, bulk uploads, and API access
- Single sign-on access
- Access to a climate solutions expert and customer success manager
- A simplified GHG emissions calculator to help small businesses estimate their annual greenhouse gas emissions
- Will determine direct and indirect emissions from all sources of an organization
- Customized data management system provides clients + stakeholders with a central location to input their data
- The data management platform (HIVE) assists with reporting through bespoke capabilities and producing visuals thats allows the company to narrate and keep track of their progress
- Can integrate your physical and monetary flows into the platform as well as monitor your CO2 emissions in real time and define your reduction trajectory
- Each company has access to a climate expert
- You can directly import your accounting entries file
- You can integrate with over 100 industry specific softwares such as amazon web services, google cloud, or shopify to automatically quantify the bulk of emission generating activities
- You can score your climate strategy, your greenly score assesses the maturity of your low-carbon strategy as well as the one of your suppliers
- 15-70% more affordable than other carbon accounting solutions
- Also gives you a library of action plans and alternatives to reduce your ghg emissions, a questionnaire for employees to raise their awareness of climate issues, and a complete recording tool to communicate your progress to stakeholders on a regular basis
Link for small businesses: https://businesscarboncalculator.normative.io/en/
- Engine that allows you to map business activities, calculate carbon footprint, reveal emission hotspots, and discover quickest path to impactful reductions
- Transform complex business data into crystal clear insights
- Has a climate strategy team that helps you define a trajectory for more sustainable business growth
- Completely covers scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
- You can get a holistic view of your emissions enhanced with analysis from climate experts
- Unlimited customizable carbon footprints
- Scalable data organization
- Real time data visualization
- Automated supplier data collection
- Detailed supplier footprint
- Takes data directly from your business systems, then applies it methodologies to deliver a granular carbon footprint
- Uses machine learning and algorithms to automate data categorization and get a clear view of the company’s carbon impact
- Use emission factors based on extensive climate research and public data, which is validated by third-party auditors
- Have a comprehensive environmental data archive (CEDA) which takes into account the complexity of the global production of goods and services
- Often works directly with suppliers to collect accurate emissions data and encourages them to report their own carbon footprints
- Uses standardized emission factors to convert this data to greenhouse gas emissions which then generates customizable reports that are compliant with international standards
Steps
- Contact watershed via “request a demo” section on website
- Set up an initial consultation with them + get an idea of the cost and timeline
- Set up data integration, work with them to connect our data sources (e.g. utility bills, travel records) to their platform
- Get trained on how to use their platform for tracking emissions
- Input your company data to their platform, which then applies emissions factors to data using deep climate research
- Use the platform to generate reports and visualize carbon footprint
Meeting Log
Contacts: ✅= emailed
✅One Tree Planted (non-profit)
Meeting: 11:00-11:15am pacific time (2:00-2:15 eastern) on Monday June 10th
→ meeting with Michelle Senthivel
✅Restore the Earth Foundation (not-for-profit)
✅The Arbor Day Foundation (non-profit)
Meeting: 3:00-3:30pm pacific time (3:00-6:30 eastern) on Tuesday June 11th
→ meeting with Hillary Prince
✅Ecologi (for-profit)
✅Ecosia (not-for-profit)
→ doesn’t give business advice
✅Cloverly
→ followed up
Meeting
Measuring carbon footprint:
✅Watershed
Meeting: 1:30pm pacific time (4:30 eastern) on Wednesday June 12th
→ meeting with Aleksandra Sleziak
✅GHG Protocol
✅Normative
**
How to measure carbon footprint internally:
Steps:
- Collect Data
You’ll want to measure:
- Energy consumption: electricity, gas, and other energy sources used in operations
- Transportation: Record data on company vehicles, business travel, and employee commuting
- Waste production: track the amount and type of waste generated
- Water supply: measure water consumption and water treatment if relevant
- Supply chain: engage with suppliers to gather data on their emissions
To accurately account for shipping emissions:
- Calculate the total volume or weight of good shipped over a specific period
- Collect data on shipping methods used, such as type of vehicles and distance traveled
- Obtain emissions factors for different shipping methods (can probably be obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or industry specific databases)
- Multiply the shipping volume by the emission factors for each type of shipping method used. This will give you the emissions for each shipping method.
USPS Ground Shipping: Packages are shipping only by truck, not by plane.
https://consumerecology.com/carbon-footprint-of-package-shipping-transport/
3.8 ounces per letter
- Convert to GHG Emissions
Find the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with each activity using an “emission factor,” a representative value that allows you to convert the activity data you’ve measured into step-by-step ghg emissions
OR you can use a carbon accounting software to convert data to approximate emissions
→ Data x Emission factor = Greenhouse gas emissions
- You can use the Department of Energy and Climate Change greenhouse gas conversion factors
→ you would take all of the activity data measurements collected over the course of a year and multiply it by the relevant emissions conversion factor, which gives an estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions from that activity **
**
B-Corp Certification
https://usca.bcorporation.net/certification-overview/
https://blabuscan.thinkific.com/courses/u-s-canada-becoming-a-b-corp
- Meet the performance standards
- Company needs to be in operation for one year
- Need to complete the BIA and score at least 80 points out of 200 (60-90 mins)
→ the BIA is divided into 5 different sections:
Governance: Standards related to mission, stakeholder engagement, governance structure and controls, and transparency
Workers: How the company treats its employees, including the compensation practices, benefits, training, worker ownership, and work environment
Community: This section covers the company’s impact on external community stakeholders, including supplier, distributors, and the local economy and community, as well as the company’s practices regarding diversity, job creation, civic engagement, and charitable giving.
Environment: Standards related to your company’s direct and indirect environmental impacts
Customers: Standards related to the impact that your business model has on your customers and whether you serve underserved populations
- Meet Legal Requirements
- In order to become certified, you must meet certain legal requirements to ensure the company’s commitment to social and environmental performance is fully integrated
- This often involves amending your articles of incorporation to include a commitment to considering the impact of your decisions on all stakeholders
- Complete the Disclosure Questionnaire
- The B Impact Assessment is a free, confidential tool to help measure your company’s impact on workers, community, environment, and customers.
- Consists of around 200 questions
- Review and Improve
- Review your BIA score and identify areas where your company can improve
- Many companies need to make changes to their practices, policies, or procedures to meet the minimum score
- Submit your BIA and Supporting Documents
- Once you have achieved the minimum score on the questionnaire (80/200), you can submit your BIA for evaluation
- You will also need to provide supporting documents to verify your responses on the questionnaire
- Assessment Review and Improvement Period
- B Lab will review your assessment and provide feedback, you may need to provide additional information or make further improvements
- Certification + Annual Fees
- Once you have met all the requirements and B lab has verified your assessment, you will need to sign the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence and Term Sheet, as well as pay an annual certification fee, which is based on your company’s annual sales
- Ongoing Commitment
- Once a company is B-Corp certified, they must recertify every 3 years while meeting continuing legal requirements, and pay annual fees. B-corps are also subject to random audits
*Can hire a B Corp Consultant or legal experts to help navigate the process
*Utilize resources provided by B Lab such as webinars, guides, and case studies from other B Corps
**