Industry Insights · 16min read
11 Exciting Platforms Helping Businesses Reduce Carbon and Offset Emissions
Whether you are a food producer, manufacturer or packager, partner with these platforms and help the industry tackle climate change from within.
With ambitious targets to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by The Paris Agreement, food businesses worldwide are facing increasing pressure to ensure they comply with science-backed targets and proactively work to reduce and offset their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. And recent studies have shown that consumers not only reward but also increasingly expect brands to prioritise the planet in how they do business.
The tricky thing is, there is no one-for-all solution and each opportunity has its upsides and downsides: Will a voluntary pledge allow you to pursue your carbon reduction goals but maintain the flexibility needed to keep running your operations at a return on investment? Or is a strict regulatory framework the route to radically transforming your business sooner rather than later? Do you have a budget for a paid partnership where experts and consultants can take you under their wing and help procure data-backed results? Or can your small business not shoulder the burden of additional costs, thereby relying on freeware and peer-to-peer community support?
Regardless of where your business stands today, to help you step up your carbon reduction game and work towards becoming a net-zero company in a way that is both attainable and sustainable, we’ve researched and selected some of the most exciting programs, certifications, networks and solutions available to global players below.
3 Degrees | 3degreesinc.com
3Degrees was founded over 15 years ago to help businesses worldwide achieve renewable energy and carbon reduction goals. As self-proclaimed pioneers in climate solutions, the team at 3Degrees supports companies in addressing their Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, meeting emissions reduction and climate goals and providing voluntary green utility programs. 3Degrees also took up a new focus on consulting on reducing transportation emissions.
Players in the food industry may be interested in reading How Mondelēz International is Achieving an Ambitious Goal to Reduce its Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions and how MOM’s Organic Market is Leading the Way in Grocer Sustainability.
Carbmee | carbmee.com/technology
The Carbmee Environmental Intelligence System™ (EIS) is an innovative solution using AI and science-based life cycle assessments to automate carbon emission management across industrial value chains. carbmee’s EIS harnesses the power of businesses’ existing operations data to calculate carbon footprints of entire supply chains, flag carbon hotspots and deliver insight-backed data for emission reduction initiatives. EIS Reporting promotes greater transparency with real-time performance-based business insights.
This software is particularly interesting for managers in food businesses who are looking to tackle emissions along their supply chains. Carbmee’s client-base includes Infineon and KWS.
Climate Neutral | climateneutral.org
Climate Neutral is one of the world's top certifications for businesses working to eliminate carbon emissions. Companies that seek certification through Climate Neutral are equipped with a concrete roadmap, easy-to-use toolkit and incentives to attain climate neutrality. The Climate Neutral Certified label is a trusted and independently validated certification awarded to 292 businesses to date. The 1 to 3-month certification process includes measuring your business's carbon emissions, offsetting its carbon footprint and developing plans to reduce future emissions further. This certification can add value to your business by building consumer trust and helping you stand out from the competition.
A comprehensive overview of the food businesses that have opted for this certification can be found here and includes respected industry leaders, such as Alter Eco and Bud Light NEXT.
Climate Neutral Now | unfccc.int/climate-action/climate-neutral-now
As a key initiative launched by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat, Climate Neutral Now seeks to raise awareness, build capacity, develop partnerships, promote and facilitate the estimation of carbon footprints and help stakeholders reduce and offset those footprints. Stakeholders are invited to pledge a statement of intent to work towards climate neutrality and maintain annual reporting. Organisations and businesses are invited to measure their impact and receive recognition for concrete actions that lead to the reduction of their emissions. Benefits include gaining a better understanding of your business's footprint, access to an internationally recognised support system and positive affiliation with an UN-backed initiative.
There is no fee to participate in the Climate Neutral Now pledge, and participation can be terminated at any time. This makes it an exciting prospect for small businesses and startups who do not yet possess the funding and resources to make long-term financial commitments to the cause but seek to take action nonetheless.
CLIMATETRADE | climatetrade.com
CLIMATETRADE helps businesses from various sectors work towards carbon neutrality by providing them with access to verified environmental partner projects for offsetting their emissions. The CLIMATETRADE Marketplace vets carbon-neutral projects, nature-based solutions and projects guaranteeing origin to ensure that they meet the highest quality standards and ensure end-to-end traceability and trust. The featured projects are classified by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and territories to promote ease of use and ensure value alignment. This can be especially helpful for businesses who align their company’s mission and operations with one or more of the UN’s SDGs.
CLIMATETRADE also allows businesses to offer their own carbon footprint compensation services via an innovative API. Case studies highlighting other business’s success stories, including Santander and Iberia, can be explored here.
ClimatePartner | climatepartner.com
From carbon neutral products to climate action strategies and carbon footprint counters, ClimatePartner provides businesses with a wide range of services. ClimatePartner has a particularly interesting appeal to food businesses because it understands supplier-retailer-consumer relationships and leverages these to push for carbon neutrality in food. By directly targeting food producers and supplying them not only with CO2 passes but also holistic offsetting strategies, ClimatePartner has caught the attention of a number of industry players, including Aldi, Das Eis, FOCUSWATER, Breitsamer Honig and Mindful Chef.
Leaders for Climate Action | leadersforclimateaction.com
As Europe’s largest climate action community, Leaders for Climate Action presents tech companies with a unique and engaging community-centric approach. Businesses can choose between two membership schemes, basic and premium, for which the fees are calculated based on their size or investment fund.
Fossil fuel companies are banned from entry into the community. To apply for a membership, the C-Level of your company must commit to measuring your business’s emissions and setting strict targets. Upon acceptance, companies are granted access to Leaders for Climate Action’s Mastermind mentoring groups, open knowledge platform and extensive action model library. This network is especially helpful for managers and companies who are looking to share and exchange knowledge with pioneers from a wide range of industries. Case studies by leading brands, such as Personio and Idealo, can be found here.
Normative | normative.io
Normative’s mission is to make known the sustainability impact of all economic activities on the planet. As such, the team of net-zero specialists helps businesses measure their emissions, identify carbon hotspots and reduce their emissions with the help of accurate carbon accounting software. This software imports data from excel, maps business transactions, calculates carbon footprints across all three scopes and provides helpful recommendations for emission reduction initiatives.
Normative also supports clients with a climate investment strategy to compensate for the areas of business where their emissions cannot be reduced to help businesses achieve net-zero. Businesses are encouraged to share their carbon data and progress openly with their stakeholders. Normative is highly valued by clients for its user-friendly design and ease-of-use.
Planetly | planetly.com
Guided by the claim, “Carbon management made simple”, planetly is helping businesses calculate, reduce and offset their emissions with their state-of-the-art software technology. Businesses are empowered to take action by better understanding their emissions, comparing themselves to others on the market, scaling their operations in climate-positive ways and increasing their carbon monitoring efficiency.
The comparative feature, in particular, is what makes planetly stand out from other solutions out there as it allows businesses to measure themselves against other industry players and competitors. Planetly’s prestigious client portfolio features a list of brands, including Hello Fresh, Home24 and Kärcher.
Science-Based Targets | sciencebasedtargets.org
As the name already implies, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) provides businesses with a data-centric approach to reducing their emissions and helping mitigate climate change — so-called ‘targets’ are only deemed ‘science-based’ if they meet the latest standards set by the climate science community to help achieve the goals outlined by the Paris Climate Accord. Today, over 3,000 businesses around the globe have set science-based targets with the help of SBTi’s five-step process — commit, develop, submit, communicate and disclose.
In contrast to some of its carbon offsetting counterparts, SBTi openly welcomes companies of all sizes and sectors and explicitly calls upon the highest-emitting sectors to adopt its approach to curb the imminent threat of climate change. SBTi is held in very high regard by governments, organisations, scientists, and corporations for its data-backed and science-based approach. Interesting food industry case studies include Coca Cola, Kellogg’s and TESCO.
Terrapass | terrapass.com
Hailing from the US, terrapass offers a range of carbon offset services to businesses, including the Carbon Balanced Business Plan, which allows companies to offset their emissions by supporting environmental projects on a monthly subscription basis. The fee is calculated based on the business’s average carbon emissions per employee and company size. This provides businesses with an accurate and affordable solution to offsetting that matches their maturity and scale. terrapass’s service portfolio also includes flight carbon offsetting, renewable energy investments and festive bundles for giving back on behalf of employees.
Imagery: (1) Tim Hufner, (2) Francesco Gallarotti, (3) Leon Ephraim and (4) Dan Meyers via unsplash.com