3 SUSTAINABLE OFFSET PROJECTS WE INVEST IN TO MAKE FLAWSOME! CARBON POSITIVE
Carbon positive means we offset all our emissions, plus extra! We partner with Plannet Zero to invest in three carbon offsetting projects that prevent deforestation, create green energy, improve livelihoods and support farmers. We offset more than double the emissions we have ever created. That’s Flawsome!
1. Cookstove programme in Peru
Peru is ranked 43rd in countries most vulnerable to climate change, the most dramatic impacts being: the rapid melting and disappearance of tropical glaciers, desertification which will soon put the poorest inhabitants of the country in danger, and deforestation that is threatening the biomass reserves of the country. The poorest inhabitants have very low levels of access to basic needs such as drinking water, electricity, balanced diet and medicines.
One of the most significant issues related to both environment and health is the use of traditional open fire methods of cooking food. Open fires create drastic levels of indoor air pollution which lead to poor health and sometimes death. These emissions, which require significant amounts of wood, are also detrimental to the climate via emissions and deforestation.
30,449 cookstoves have been supplied to poor families in two regions of Peru; Huancavelica and Ayacucho. Closed cooking technology eliminates smoke from inside homes and retains more heat. Hat retention enables cooking to be done faster whilst saving up to 60% of wood - reducing deforestation!
2. Biodiversity and rainforest protection in Peru
The Tambopata-Bahuaja Biodiversity Reserve conserves threatened tropical rainforest in an internationally-recognised biodiversity hotspot of the Peruvian Amazon. The project is part of the Althelia Climate Fund and implemented in partnership with AIDER, a local Peruvian NGO.
The reserve protects 591,951 hectares (an area about the size of the county of West Sussex!) of lush forests that are home to a wide variety of wildlife, including over 30 protected and endangered species like giant river otters, spider monkeys and jaguars.
The project restores degraded land and aids local farmers, who live on the outskirts of the reserve, to transition their income to sustainable cacao production. 339 land titles (4,000 hectares) have been secured and restored for these local farmers and the majority of them are members of a cooperative that supports 1,152 people in total. These efforts reduce the effects of deforestation and provide local communities with forest-friendly livelihoods. This has an impact of 4 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) avoided emissions.
3. Installation of wind farms in Turkey⠀
The Fuatres wind farm helps to stimulate and commercialise the use of grid-connected renewable electricity in Turkey. The project, which has a crediting period that runs from November 2016 to November 2023, is able to create local employment through the construction, operation and upkeep of the wind farm and therefore boosting local economies.
Furthermore, the wind farm is able to improve local communities by reducing reliance on fossil fuels, providing energy security and improving air quality (reducing numerous greenhouse gas emissions; carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides).
Over the course of a year the wind farm supplies the grid with 93 gigawatt hours of green electricity and helps to avoid 55,000 tonnes of CO2e.
