Could your company
buy its way to emissions
reduction nirvana?
A growing collection of
service providers is ready to
show you how.
Toronto-based Zerofootprint
made headlines earlier
this year when it announced a
partnership with Air Canada
that enables passengers to buy
offsets that negate the emissions
associated with their air
travel. Yet, Zerofootprint’s services
extend well beyond offsets.
Zerofootprint executive
director Deborah Kaplan says
the organization offers companies
a total GHG solution
through services ranging from
an audit of CO2 emissions
associated with operations,
products and services to making
recommendations and presenting
programs that enable
companies to reduce or otherwise
offset the CO2 emissions
as well as package and sell carbon
credits.
“We encourage companies
to do what they can to cut their
emissions as deeply as possible
through process improvements
and other changes, and then
offset the remainder. This
means changes. It also means
putting a price on carbon.”
When it comes to offsets,
Ms. Kaplan says Zerofootprint
sources and invests in renewable
energy, reforestation and
other offset projects that meet
clients’ needs.
She adds, “Importantly, we
also help companies engage
their employees around climate
change.
“Once we all start pricing
the environment into our purchases,
we’ll have taken the
first step towards decisive
change.”
In Ontario and Alberta,
Bullfrog Power, which invests
in renewable energy projects,
offers companies an easy way
to procure clean energy.
Who’s buying? Wal-Mart
Canada is not only one of Bullfrog’s
biggest customers, it is
now the nation’s largest commercial
purchaser of clean
energy, a status that reflects
only part of Wal-Mart’s green
efforts.
Bullfrog Power president
Tom Heintzman says, “I am
impressed at the openness that
businesses have shown towards
renewables; companies like
RBC, Ivanhoe Cambridge,
Wal-Mart, Cadbury, as well as
small companies making the
switch.”
Meanwhile, in addition to
its work with Air Canada,
Zerofootprint counts Rotman
School of Business, Mount
Sinai Hospital, Kinross Gold
and other companies on its
roster.
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