13 Mar What Does It Mean to Be ‘Carbon Neutral’?
With just under 7 years left to achieve the goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, themes like Carbon Neutrality, or “Zero Carbon”, are increasingly prevalent in people’s daily lives and, especially, in corporate environments.
So, what does it mean when a company is certified with the “Carbon Neutrality” or “Zero Carbon” label?
It means that the company, in some way, emits greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere to carry out its activities – a longstanding challenge for all companies. However, by seeking carbon neutrality in its processes, the company demonstrates a commitment to understanding and mitigating its impact on the planet.
When Canopée receives a request from a company aiming to be “Zero Carbon,” it takes action by developing sustainable socio-environmental projects. These projects conserve forests, protect biodiversity, and ensure social benefits for local populations, allowing for the “neutralization” of emissions of these polluting gases.
This neutralization occurs because among the numerous actions of a project like this is the conservation of native forests “standing,” as one of the alternatives to prevent environmental consequences and climate change (especially caused by the excess of pollutants like carbon dioxide – CO2).
Primary forests, specifically the Amazon rainforest, are powerful machines for capturing CO2, much more so than a forest planted by humans. Therefore, preserving areas of the Amazon rainforest from deforestation is globally recognized (UN principles) as an act of offsetting GHG emissions, even more efficiently than planting trees. The Canopée’s Yuxibu Project falls under the REDD+ mechanism, generating credits from the preservation of the native Amazon rainforest.
In other words, for a company to be certified “zero carbon,” it must commit to reducing or offsetting its emissions. It’s also possible to balance both alternatives.
Practically, Canopée calculates how much greenhouse gas a company emits, the environmental impacts, and the main medium- to long-term alternatives to neutralize these emissions.
One carbon credit equals one ton of carbon. By mapping how much greenhouse gas a company emits, one can calculate how many credits it would need to acquire to neutralize this emission and not compromise the environment.
The benefits of this realignment may not be immediately visible, but in the long run, the results are very impactful, both for the environment (of course!) and for branding with strengthened brand reputation, new partnership and/or investment opportunities, restructuring of communities located near carbon neutralization projects, not to mention the legacy of contributing to the regeneration of the planet.
Being “zero carbon” is about reconsidering certain environmentally harmful practices and improving the quality of life for people to ensure a promising future for humanity, living beings, and nature.