Carbon Offsets
As part of our membership of Climate Neutral, we are committed to maintaining a carbon negative footprint. We always prioritize emission mitigation within our supply chain before investing into offsets, but always go above and beyond the industry standard.
Project 1: Improved Forest Management in Alaska, USA
The Bluesource - Shaan Seet Improved Forest Management Project is an improved forest management project on Prince of Wales Island in the Alaskan Panhandle, owned and managed by Shaan Seet, Inc. It includes higher elevation regions, recently deglaciated lands, wetlands, beach fringes and 7,000 acres of old-growth forest. The now-protected forestland was used in the 1980s to supply timber to nearby timber corporations and pulp mills.
More recently, Canadian mill demand for pulpwood from Southeast Alaska has driven up the price for pulp logs, which increases the potential for aggressive forest management practices and shorter rotations in the region. To meet demand for wood products, areas of Shaan Seet, Inc. lands, which were actively managed for timber, were clear cut using helicopter or cable logging.
Without the project, the area could feasibly resemble that of other industrial forestland in the region. The project will protect the land from development over the next 40 years and ensure continued environmental benefits through the preservation of old-growth sections of forestland.
In addition to preservation, the project helps protect five different species of fish including sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, pink salmon and steelhead trout.
Project 2: Solar Energy in Gansu, China
The Jingyuan County Solar Power Generation Project is a grid connected photovoltaic power plant located in Zhongyuan Village, Jingyuan County in the Gansu Province of China. The renewable energy generated by the project is fed into the Northwest Power Grid, replacing mainly fossil-fuel (thermal coal) generation and the associated carbon emissions and local pollution.
The project avoids over 125,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions annually. It has reduced the carbon intensity of the region’s power generation and has increased the diffusion of modern, clean power technology in this region of China.
Project 3: Wind in Sispara, India
The goal of the Sispara Wind Project is to generate wind energy near Maharashtra, India to reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy. Eight wind turbine generators with a total capacity of 35.5 MW are located in the Sangli and Satara districts, in the state of Maharashtra.
Renewable energy generation is a reliable solution to climate change because it helps displace our reliance on energy from fossil fuels. This project expands renewable energy production to reduce dependence on traditional electricity sources, and stimulates local job creation.
Project 4: Reforestation in Biak, Indonesia
The Eden Reforestation Project in Indonesia is located in Biak, an island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, helping to protect mangrove and tropical forest habitats and promote food security through agroforestry.
Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet and home to about 23% of the world’s mangrove forests. Sadly, in the last 50 years, Indonesia has lost over 40% of its mangrove forests, consistently ranking in the top three countries for the highest rate of deforestation. The effects of deforestation have significantly impacted indigenous communities, who are often the first to feel the negative effects of climate change.
Launched in 2017, the Eden Project works together with local stakeholders to reforest the mangrove. Within one year, they successfully planted over 1.7 million trees and have since expanded to a total of fourteen project sites in the regional area. Through their reforestation and agroforestry programs, hundreds of people living in extreme poverty are given new opportunities for economic self-sufficiency and food security.