Air Company Raises $30M to Ramp Up its Carbon Conversion Technology

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Air Company, a carbon technology and design company, has raised $30MM in Series A funding to scale up its carbon conversion technology.

The money lining up to fund early-stage carbon removal technologies is adding up so fast. After the giant tech companies revealed their almost $1 billion fund for carbon removal startups, millions of capital came rushing in.

But what is more interesting is the value created in capturing CO2 and converting it into a product. Just like what Air Company is doing that attracted $30 million capital investment.

Carbon Direct Capital Management led the round along with other venture capital firms. These include Toyota Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Parley for the Oceans.

How Air Company’s Carbon Conversion Technology Works

The startup makes carbon-negative alcohols and consumer products out of thin air. It does so through its proprietary technology that transforms CO2 into impurity-free alcohols.

The converted alcohol is then used to make a variety of consumer goods. Some of them are the famous ones like carbon-negative Air Vodka, Air Spray hand sanitizer, and Air Eau de Parfum.

The company is using only three key inputs to create its innovative products – air (CO2), water, and sun. It uses 9% solar energy for the conversion process and 91% wind energy to power its production.

Here’s how Air Company’s carbon conversion technology works:

With its pioneer carbon technology, Air Company made the world’s first alcoholic beverage directly from CO2, Air Vodka.

According to its CEO and Co-founder, Gregory Constantine,

“Our goal is to integrate our carbon technology into every applicable sector to help combat the climate catastrophe… We’ll do this by providing people with a beautiful range of products made from captured CO2.”

Air Company debuted in 2019 and started with its first factory in Brooklyn, New York.

Where Will The Funding Go?

The $30 million growth capital will be for building the Air Company’s third factory. This is to ramp up its carbon conversion technology and CO2-derived alcohol production.

This new state-of-the-art factory will be home for its new commercial-scale carbon technology. By far, it would be the biggest factory to date.

Such scaling up is also part of the firm’s plan to expand into the industrial and aerospace sectors. For instance, it has worked with NASA for space exploration in making sugars and proteins from its CO2-derived alcohols.

Air Company’s pioneering system seems capable of scaling up across industries. If so, its carbon conversion technology can help tackle up to 10.8% of global CO2 emissions. This is roughly more than 4.6 billion tons of CO2 removed and avoided each year.

By using captured carbon and replacing CO2 taken out the ground, Air Company aims to really have an impact in addressing climate change.

By far, Air Company is not the only carbon technology that focuses on how to use captured CO2 to make new products. There are a couple of others, too, recognized by Elon Musk’s $100 million Carbon Removal XPrize.

Examples include SkyNano that is using captured CO2 to make parts of tires and batteries. Another one is DyeCoo that uses reclaimed CO2 to dye textiles, avoiding the use of chemicals.

When these carbon tech startups mature, we can all expect to see a growing sector called “carbon to value”. This space presents a double blow of removing carbon while creating additional value.

And one way to create more value to carbon is by reusing it as an ingredient for materials like cement or consumer goods.

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What is the Best Carbon Credit to Buy? A Buyer’s Guide on Different Types of Carbon Credits

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A lot of people and organizations nowadays consider offsetting their emissions by buying carbon credits.

Unfortunately, it’s quite hard to know which carbon credits are effective and which ones aren’t. Also, the quality and price of the carbon reduction or removal processes involved may vary a lot.

Hence, we’d like to address the confusion about this concern through this guide article. It will help potential carbon credit buyers and other people interested in the space.

Why Do We Need to Buy Carbon Credits?

There are approximately 2.5 trillion tons of carbon equivalents released into the atmosphere since humans started emitting CO2. And still, we continue to release 50 billion tons of CO2eq each year, making global warming a dire concern.

So, individual leaders and companies around the world agreed to limit warming to a critical 1.5°C.

Massive GHG emissions reductions are vital so as not to exceed such a limit. Hence, people and businesses are taking drastic decarbonization measures to reduce emissions.

But reductions alone are not enough. We still need to remove a lot of carbon from the air to prevent catastrophic climate change. This entails stopping emissions and removing at least 6 billion tonnes of CO2eq per year by 2050.

The following chart shows how the world can reach net-zero by 2050.

Source: IPCC Climate Change Report

How to Buy Carbon Credits: Compliance vs. Voluntary Carbon Markets

It’s clear that for the world to continue doing business, offsetting emissions either by reduction or removal is a must.

How do you buy carbon offsets for your personal or organizational emissions?

There are two major means to do that. You can buy carbon credits through the compliance/regulated market or the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Compliance or regulated carbon market

This carbon market is born out of the laws mandating reductions. It’s managed by emission trading systems (ETS) such as the EU ETS.

The compliance carbon market is also called the cap and trade system that dwarfs the size of the VCM. For 2021, the compliance market value hit $851 billion while the VCM reached its target value of $1 billion.

The cap and trade system is well regulated and seems to be more stable than the VCM.

Voluntary carbon market

The VCM has been operating for many years now but it grew so fast due to the Paris Agreement, calling on drastic corporate net-zero pledges.

In fact, governments and corporations had committed over USD 14 trillion in carbon credit sales.

Entities need to do various decarbonization actions to net their emissions to zero. The most common way is to buy carbon credits that correspond to the amount of CO2 emissions reduction allowed.

For the purposes of this guide, we focus on the VCM due to its rapid growth but lack of transparency and confusion in buying carbon offsets in this market.

Purchasing Carbon Credits in the VCM

Issuance of carbon offsets in the VCM is either through the carbon reduction or CO2 removal pathway. Here are the most common pathways for both options of buying carbon credits.

Carbon Reduction Pathway:

Carbon credits issued via this pathway mean the emitted CO2 is still hanging in the air. This is because the carbon offsets include an emission avoidance relative to an entity’s baseline emission. The amount of reduction needed is based on the current total emissions.

There are different types of carbon reduction credits available right now. But here are the three major ones worth considering.

Community-based energy efficiency: bio-based energy sources like biogas and clean cooking solutions.
Renewable energy: replacement for fossil fuel energy sources (hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal).
Forestry-based avoidance (REDD+): management and conservation of forests to cut emissions.

Carbon Removal Pathway:

Unlike carbon credits that reduce emissions through green projects, carbon removal is different. It sucks in CO2 from the air using different processes and stores it underground for good. Hence, the net effect is zero or even negative.

The following are the three common carbon removal types and their corresponding technologies:

Types of Carbon Removal 
Available Technologies/Projects

Nature-based removal and storage/use

Afforestation and reforestation
Soil carbon sequestration
Blue carbon habitat restoration
Seaweed and algae cultivation and burial

Technological removal and storage/use

Direct air capture (DAC) and storage/use
Enhanced weathering
Concrete building materials
Hydro-carbon fuels
CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

Hybrid removal and storage/use

Biochar
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
Building with biomass

Now that the major carbon reduction and removal pathways have been identified, it’s time to learn how to assess them using a set of criteria.

Criteria for Evaluating Different Carbon Credits

There are four evaluation criteria that carbon credit buyers can use to guide their purchasing decision. These are additionality, permanence, measurability, and sustainability.

Let’s break down each criterion and discuss it in detail to guide you well.

Additionality: likelihood to sell the credits

A carbon reduction or removal is “additional” if it would not have happened without the carbon credit market.

This criterion is crucial when evaluating which carbon offsets to buy. It affects the quality of a particular carbon credit. This is because buying credits to offset an entity’s own emissions may only worsen the climate if the reductions are not additional.

An essential concept when considering the additionality of carbon credits is the “likelihood to sell the credits”. It plays a decisive role in implementing the reduction/removal.

There is a catch, however, when determining the additionality of carbon credits. It’s subjective and its determination uses educated predictions only, not solid facts.

As such, deciding on this criterion is uncertain but it’s possible by considering the risk.

How likely is a specific project to be additional?

A project has no additionality if it would have occurred even in the absence of carbon credit. Conversely, it has high additionality likelihood if it will not probably be realized without the carbon credit.

By definition, most carbon removals today have high additionality as they rely on carbon credits to work.

Permanence: duration and risk of leakage

This criterion considers the fact that most CO2 emitted today will not be 100% removed later. About 25% of it stays in the air for over a hundred years.

Thus, buying carbon credits to offset emissions has one major challenge – its effects are very lasting. And so, high-quality credits are the ones that go with reductions/removals that are permanent.

For example, a carbon project that uses a forest to cut down emissions may not be permanent but temporary. This is because when a fire burns down the protected trees, the CO2 will be emitted back into the atmosphere.

In this case, a reversal of the bought carbon credits occurs and no net reduction really happens.

Thus, duration and risk level of leakage are the key concepts when considering the permanence of the carbon reduction/removal pathway.

Projects that have no or low leakage risk and last for over a century are highly permanent. But the ones that have a high risk of leakage and effects that stay less than 100 years are temporary.

Measurability: data availability and verification

This third criterion is also important in knowing the quality of carbon credits to buy. The reported reductions must be accurate and verifiable.

In particular, overestimation of GHG reductions should not occur. Otherwise, the measurability of the data won’t be reliable.

When evaluating a project’s measurability, here are the red flags to watch out for:

Overestimation of baseline emissions (reference against which reductions are measured)
Underestimation of actual emissions (results in overestimation of reductions)
Failure to account for projects’ indirect effects or unintended increases (leakage) in emissions
Forward crediting (credits issued for future reductions; may cause over-issuance of carbon credits)

To avoid those undesirable scenarios, it’s critical that project developers track and verify their data. This calls for scientific measurement and data collection verification through standardized processes.

Projects that have no data to verify have poor measurability while those with high-quality and verified data have good measurability.

Scalability: short term vs. long term

Lastly, a carbon reduction or removal project’s scalability depends on several factors. These include CO2 removal capacity, level of readiness for deployment, and cost-effectiveness.

Take for instance the case of direct air capture, a technological carbon removal.

DAC has the capacity to offer a more permanent CO2 storage than an afforestation project. Land availability is also not an issue with DAC but it’s energy-intensive and is not yet ready for scale-up.

On the contrary, afforestation is both ready to scale and capable of removing CO2 right now. But land availability might be a problem later on. So, evaluating a project’s scalability involves the aspects of short-run and long-run terms.

Projects have high scalability score if they are scalable both in the short-term and long-term. The ones that are scalable only in the short term have poor scalability.

The Price

One more crucial evaluation criterion when buying carbon credits is the price.

Unfortunately, there’s no single price per ton of CO2eq reduced or removed in the VCM like in the compliance market.

There are various factors that affect the price of credits in the VCM. The two major ones are project costs and the pathway’s value chain. The value chain aspect includes project developers, verification agencies, and the buyer.

Other key price influencers are the demand and supply dynamics. If demand exceeds supply, prices for high-quality carbon credits tend to be high.

Here is our live carbon pricing for the major compliance markets as well as for the big voluntary markets.

The Bottom Line

In summary, this guide focuses on the four quality criteria and the price of carbon credits for reduction and removal projects. These factors are very useful in evaluating which carbon credits to buy.

Yet, other considerations are to make when investing in carbon offsets. Here are some of them:

Credit availability – demand for high-quality credits is more than supply in the VCM right now
Own emission reduction goals – internal net-zero pathways
Other social and environmental impacts – nature protection and community livelihood creation

So obviously, there’s no single way to build a carbon reduction/removal portfolio. There’s a multitude of considerations to think about how and where to buy carbon credits.

But one thing to remember is that the pathways identified are all relevant for the world to be at net-zero.

It’s up to the emitter which ones are the best to invest in and be carbon guilt-free.

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WINT Launches Solution to Cut Water-Related Carbon Emissions in Buildings

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WINT Water Intelligence launched a data-based insights tool to help firms cut their water-related carbon emissions.

WINT provides water management and leak-prevention solutions to businesses by using AI and IoT. It caters to commercial facilities, construction sites, and industrial manufacturers.

Its solutions are particularly designed to cut carbon emissions, water waste, and water leakage.

Data-Based Application That Cuts Water-Related Carbon Emissions

WINT’s new app will aid firms to reduce their GHG emissions related to water use in buildings.

The new app gives owners, contractors, and managers vital data to track the CO2 impact of their water use. This water-waste and carbon tracking solution goes with WINT’s advanced analytics.

The resulting tool enables users to address water inefficiencies and decrease water waste. Better yet, it limits the negative impact of water supply on the environment.

The launch of this new carbon tracking app is so timely as the world is in a tight battle over climate change.

Companies across the globe have pledged their goals to be carbon net-zero by 2050. Big reductions in CO2 emissions are a must to avoid the worst effects of global warming.

Also, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently released its new rule requiring firms to disclose their GHG emissions.

WINT’s carbon-tracking app allows businesses to manage their water-related carbon emissions. It will also enable them to give stakeholders detailed information about those emissions.

The Need for Buildings to Reduce C02 Emissions

Studies show that there are 60 to 120 pounds of carbon emitted for every 1,000 gallons of water used. This translates to about 7-15 kg for each cubic meter of water.

Moreover, buildings are a primary source of water waste and CO2 emissions. In fact, the building sector contributes a total of 39% (28%+11%) of the annual global CO2 emissions.

The pie chart below represents global CO2 emissions by sector in 2020.

Source: International Energy Agency

As for its water-related carbon emissions, the building sector also contributes a lot.

For instance, a leaking toilet is approximately losing 1 million gallons of water a year. This results in around 4.5 tons of GHG emissions, which is close to a passenger car’s annual emissions.

Now, research suggests that almost 25% of water in buildings goes to waste. This involves all types of buildings (commercial, residential, and industrial). In this case, the global impact of water-related carbon emissions is so huge.

Water waste can be due to leaks, malfunctions, outdated infrastructure, and human errors.

According to WINT’s chief strategy officer, Yaron Dycan,

“Waste and inefficiency in water supply systems are so significant… But they are often an overlooked source of CO2 emissions.”

Hence, WINT’s data-based tool provides real-time alerts to tackle water inefficiencies and wastes. It does so by integrating the firm’s IoT water-flow analysis devices. It can even shut off water supplies automatically if needed.

As such, it can help owners, developers, and facility managers to cut their water use. And thus, they can also reduce carbon footprint by about 20% – 25%.

The company said that its innovative carbon reporting tool is the first of its kind. And by allowing users to pinpoint waste and keep track of water-related emissions, WINT’s new tool can help meet their carbon goals.

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Architecture for REDD+ Transactions Accepts Gabon TREES Program

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The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) approved Gabon’s application to its TREES program to create carbon credits.

Gabon’s National Climate Council submitted an application to be part of ART’s TREES program. It stands for The REDD+ Environmental Excellency Standard.

TREES is ART’s standard for quantifying, monitoring, reporting, and verifying emission reductions and removals from REDD+ activities at a national and jurisdictional level. It helps hasten progress in meeting climate goals in line with the Paris Agreement.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) created the REDD+ framework. It guides activities in the forest sector that reduces emissions from deforestation/degradation.

Gabon’s Application to ART TREES Program

Per TREES listing, Gabon presented its first summary on REDD+ safeguards to the UNFCCC. This information covers the period from 2016 to 2020.

Gabon’s application to ART TREES will cover its entire forest in the span of 23.5 million hectares. The historical reference period is from 2013 up to 2017 while its crediting period is from 2018 to 2022.

In connection, Gabon developed a document detailing its Safeguards Information System for REDD+ in 2020. It gathered and collated the information through a national consultation and validation process.

But the country emphasized that its system is not yet fully centralized.

Gabon’s acceptance into ART TREES makes the total count of jurisdictions listed to 14. While other nations that are part of the program are from Asia, Oceania, Africa, and South America.

The application process starts with submitting the registration documents. Then a third-party verification body will verify them for ART Board’s approval. Once approved, the applying jurisdiction will get its serialized TREES credits from ART.

The carbon credits produced by Gabon’s application to ART TREES are to meet its forest management agreement with Norway.

ART TREES operates within the voluntary carbon market. Within this market, projects that reduce emissions via REDD+ are the most popular.

In fact, they receive the highest prices and represent the biggest share of the market value. The image below represents this. REDD+ refers to nature-based avoidance.

Source: S&P Global

Gabon’s REDD+ Initiative Under CAFI

Gabon made a deal with Norway for $150 million of funding for forest management and conservation activities.

This agreement is under the multi-donor Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). CAFI supports central African nations with rich forests to pursue climate goals.

In 2019, Gabon and CAFI signed a forest management agreement for a 10-year period. This results in a deal obliging the country to reduce its emissions and increase CO2 absorptions through natural forests.

The government of Norway paid an initial $17 million last June 2021 for emissions cuts in 2016 and 2017 only.

Under CAFI, Gabon was the first African nation to get payments for REDD+ efforts.

Gabon is already absorbing about 140 metric tons of CO2 a year, making it a low deforestation country. Yet, CAFI said that its payment is still not enough for Gabon to unleash its full potential to cut emissions.

This is why new mechanisms are vital to providing incentives for high forest low deforestation (HFLD) countries. And so, Gabon’s application to the ART TREES program offers a good incentive for it to maintain its forest.

Meanwhile, Gabon is creating its national REDD+ registry to track payments from various mechanisms. Also, it has a climate change law requiring that all credits created must enter the registry.

Even if issuances are from voluntary carbon standards like ART TRESS, the government still has full ownership rights to them. This is because REDD+ is an initiative made through national policies and measures.

Conversely, a similar agreement between Norway and Indonesia ended last year due to delayed payment.

The results of UNFCCC’s analysis of Gabon’s application to ART TREES will be up this year and posted on the REDD+ information hub.

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Tesla Carbon Credit Sales Jump by 116%

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Tesla beat 1st quarter income expectations with more than double previous quarters’ carbon credit sales.

Tesla has been criticized for its previous years’ earnings being dependent on the sales of its carbon credits. These credit sales have been a major driver of Tesla’s profits over the years.

But since it separated reporting its regulatory credits from other sales, it showed that it’s profitable.

The carmaker revealed a big jump in its net income in its latest quarterly report. This is a plus for the company’s reputation as it managed to exceed Wall Street’s estimates. And this is amid the worst supply chain shocks hitting the entire industry right now.

Tesla’s profits on electric vehicles totaled $3.22 a share, beating the $2.27 estimates. Also, actual revenue rose to $18.8 billion, higher than $17.9 billion estimates.

Most interesting is its $679 million carbon credit sales. It’s more than double the prior quarter’s sales of $314 million and is even much higher than its Q1 2021 sales ($518 million). Its Q2 2021 and Q3 2021 credit sales are $354 million and $279 million, respectively.

The chart below shows Tesla’s regulatory credit sales since Q1 2021.

Tesla’s regulatory carbon credit sales account for over 20% of its profits this quarter. Tesla has warned that carbon credit sales in the future will fluctuate and decline.

Tesla’s Regulatory Carbon Credit Performance

Tesla has earned billions already through its regulatory carbon credit sales. This allows other automakers to meet emissions regulations and avoid billions in fines.

Tesla has been receiving emissions credits from various local regulations sources like California’s ZEV program. These credits are then sold which helps the company’s bottom line.

Tesla has been getting paid by other carmakers for selling its carbon credits for years whose names used to be a secret.

But a report from Bloomberg revealed two famous names. These are General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). About how much exactly they’re buying, it’s between them and Tesla.

So far, it’s only Tesla that’s selling a lot of regulatory credits within the industry. Others even speculated that Volkswagen is also buying credits from Tesla to offset its huge emissions credit shortage in China. While others are striving to be at par with Tesla’s all-electric car production.

What Comes Next For Tesla’s Regulatory Carbon Credits?

Governments are tightening up their regulations to decarbonize the automotive industry. This is because of the urgent need to tackle climate change and the industry’s huge emissions.

In a sense, this seems to drive Tesla’s carbon credit sales further up in the coming years. Plus, the company remains the most-valuable zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) maker by volume.

Unfortunately, other major automakers are also catching up on their own ZEVs programs. It means that they will rely less on Tesla in meeting the regulatory carbon credit cap.

For instance, Europe’s Stellantis that owns FCA (once Tesla’s biggest buyer of carbon credits) planned to sell more of its own ZEVs.

In fact, it had significant emissions reductions in 2021 with its electrification ramp-up. This involves its battery electric vehicles and low emission vehicle programs.

The European carmaker also pledged to reach net-zero by 2038 through various measures. These include energy efficiency, renewable energies, technological innovations, and carbon capture and storage.

Considering this, it appears that Tesla has to continue its efforts to have more deliveries to its customers and do better in reducing costs.

Still, will Tesla’s carbon reduction initiatives produce more regulatory carbon credits?

Tesla’s Net-Zero Strategy

Tesla’s all-electric car lineup has been helping cut down emissions in the industry. This is a big part of Tesla’s mission to speed up the transition to a sustainable energy ecosystem.

Yet, the carmaker remains less transparent of its decarbonization strategies. It still has not made any public commitment on net-zero or carbon-negative targets.

What is only shared so far is its plans to make EVs more available to consumers by using profits from new models to make subsequent models less costly.

Currently, the carmaker is providing energy generation and storage products using solar power. It also has a network of Supercharger stations for EVs across North America, Europe and Asia. These contribute to Tesla’s regulatory carbon credit generation.

But for its clear and detailed net-zero roadmap like Stellantis has, the public is still waiting for Tesla’s disclosure.

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Carbon Project Developer Earns Unicorn Status, Partners with Swisscom

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South Pole, a Swiss carbon project developer, earned a Unicorn status while partnering with Swisscom.

Unicorn is a term used to refer to startup companies with a value of over $1 billion without going public. Any startup dreams to reach this valuation status and South Pole recently got it.

Carbon offset prices have increased by over 400% in the past year. This boosted the valuation of firms in the space while enticing lots of investments.

Swisscom’s minority investment in South Pole is one of them.

South Pole’s Carbon Project With Swisscom

South Pole started operations in 2006. Since then, it financed about 1,000 emission reduction projects in over 50 countries.

The company said that its founders and staff hold the majority share in the business.

After raising a couple of huge investments this year, the South Pole was able to reach more than $1 billion in value.

Some of them are from Singapore’s Temasek and the US’ Salesforce Ventures in February. And now, the climate solutions company is entering another partnership with Swisscom.

Swisscom is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. It took a minority investment in South Pole through a partnership on data digitization and sustainability.

World’s Largest Carbon Project Developer

In 2021 alone, South Pole closed deals to create over 60 new carbon projects worldwide. And it still aims to develop as many or more projects in 2022.

The firm holds a market share of about 20%, making it the world’s largest carbon project developer. It focuses on Asia where sources of carbon credit supply are huge.

While the company also trades carbon offsets, it’s not its core business. It uses trade only when offloading surplus volumes to intermediaries.

Likewise, it trades to buy certain credits on behalf of its business advisory clients.

Shifting its focus: From trading to providing solutions

Originally, South Pole’s core business was on carbon project development. But in the recent decade, the firm managed to create a massive climate solutions business.

This involves providing advice to about 3,000 companies on how to cut down their emissions.

Renat Heuberger, the company’s CEO, said that,

“The market value was solely in the upstream 16 years ago but it began to shift to the downstream from 2012.”

Currently, each of the two businesses (creating carbon projects and providing climate solutions) takes half of the firm’s activities. So, there’s now a balance between the two income streams.

Earlier this year, the carbon project developer made two key investments that boosted its market value. It acquired Carbonsink in Italy and invested in Sweden’s GoClimate.

The present partnership with Swisscom is on climate solutions. It is to help speed up South Pole’s investments in digitization and let its clients decide on a bigger scale.

Though trading carbon is one of its business activities, the company’s aim is more than that. It plans to focus on climate solutions where long-term investments from companies are pouring in.

After all, the biggest trend right now is investing in massive carbon reduction and removal solutions.

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Del Monte Foods Joins The Race to Net-Zero by 2050

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Del Monte Foods, a manufacturer of plant-based foods, pledged to be net-zero by 2050 in line with the Science-Based Targets Initiative’s (SBTi) Standard.

Del Monte Foods has been providing plant-based food products for over 130 years. It owns a portfolio of popular brands like Del Monte®, Contadina®, College Inn®, S&W®, and Joyba.

As Growers of Good, the company’s core purpose is to create a healthy and more hopeful tomorrow. And a critical part of that is its recent commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Del Monte Foods Key Initiatives Towards Net-Zero

To achieve its net-zero goal, Del Monte Foods promised to have measurable near-term targets. These include its science-based 2030 goals to reduce the Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in line with the 1.5°C warming limit.

Molly Laverty, ESG Manager at Del Monte Foods, said,

“It’s exciting to be aligned with the most aggressive path to net-zero… The food industry has an important role to play in reducing GHG emissions, and we commit to doing all we can to hasten progress.”

Currently, Del Monte Foods already made significant strides on its journey to decarbonization.

Here are the most important ones outlined in its 2021 ESG Report

Streamlined operations footprint

This includes stopping emissions not needed from facilities that operate at less than full capacity. For instance, replacing CFC refrigerants with a non-warming alternative like ammonia.

As a result, the firm achieved maximum output, electricity savings, and lower operating costs.

Doubled capital investment in production operations

This involves adding automation and other technologies that reduced waste and improve production efficiency.

An example is installing a water recycling system. It reuses the water that conveys foods, leading to a reduction in water usage of 1,000 gallons per day.

Invested in renewable energy

Del Monte Foods installed a 3MW solar array at its Hanford, CA facility, one of the company’s biggest sites. It generated 3.3 million kW hours of electricity that avoided 749 metric tons of CO2 equivalents.

Increased use of rail

The firm used rail by 20% more in the past year. It also optimized truck transportation by raising average truck miles per gallon by 14.3%.

Reduced food waste

This pioneering initiative involves diverting over 25 million pounds of food from landfills. It was due to upcycling efforts and food donations done by the company for 2 years.

The upcycled products are put in a can and given to those facing food insecurity.

How Del Monte Foods plans to reach net-zero

A lot of companies are buying carbon credits to offset their GHG emissions as one way to hit net-zero goals. Del Monte Foods doesn’t go for that but rather opted to cut the bulk of its existing emissions.

The company prefers this approach in line with the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi) criteria. One major component of it is reducing at least 90% of baseline emissions.

The table below shows the firm’s carbon footprint from 2019 up to 2021 per emissions scope.

Scope 3 data presented in the report reflects employee travel only.

It appears that the company has a long way to go in cutting its Scope 1 emissions.

And so, Del Monte Foods plans to invest more in areas where it can achieve massive reductions and make more progress toward its net-zero pledge.

These include carbon footprint in both direct and indirect operations, Scopes 1 and 2. In particular, the company seeks to invest more in the following:

Renewable energy,
Automation,
Transportation efficiency,
Regenerative agricultural practices, and
Eco-friendly packaging innovation

Regenerative Agricultural Practices

This initiative involves investments in sustainable agriculture and biodiversity protection among partner growers. Key measures include:

Regenerating topsoil by rotating crops, using cover crops, and applying organic compost.
Analyzing new plant varietals to ensure they adapt well to the local environment.
Employing integrated pest management to reduce pesticide runoff into waterways.
Banning pesticide application when pollinators are present.

Eco-friendly Packaging Materials

A big aspect of Del Monte Foods’ net-zero promise is reducing its footprint in packaging. Hence, the firm will invest more in new materials and redesign the existing ones.

Part of this effort is developing a compostable fruit cup using bioplastics. Also, a fruit cup that contains post-consumer recycled content.

The ultimate goal is to use much lesser pounds of materials for packaging. Also, the firm will opt for packaging that uses a higher ratio of recycled materials.

After Del Monte Foods had registered its net-zero commitment with SBTi, it will then create specific 2030 emissions reduction targets.

Once those interim targets are official, they would be another important corporate net-zero report to watch out for.

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Marsh McLennan Reveals Commitment to Net-Zero by 2050

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Marsh McLennan, one of the world’s largest professional services firms, recently revealed its pledge to be net-zero by 2050.

The $80 billion firm provides services insurance brokerage, risk management, talent management, investment advisory, and management consulting.

It serves both commercial and consumer clients from 130 countries.

Part of its four businesses is helping clients pursue smart climate transitions. And the firm does it while also committing itself to fulfill low-carbon strategies.

The CEO, Dan Glaser said,

“Just as we advise our clients on how to execute the profound transformations required, we are committing to chart our own path to net-zero at Marsh McLennan.”

The company laid a path to net-zero across its operations by 2050 while aiming reduction of 50% by 2030. This target is set to align with the Science-Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) criteria.

Marsh McLennan Net-Zero Pledge Highlights

In 2020, the firm committed to reducing its emissions from Scopes 1, 2, and 3 (business travel) by 15% below 2019 levels by 2025.

The following chart shows Marsh McLennan’s carbon emissions (in metric tons CO2 equivalents) from 2019 to 2021 by emission scope.

It also indicates the firm’s emission intensity by headcount for the same period.

The table below defines each of the company’s scope emissions as shown in its 2021 ESG Report.

How did the global firm manage to hit its emission reduction target of 15% that quick?

Here are a couple of efforts that Marsh McLennan did that are paving the way to its net-zero commitment.

Making offices smarter (Scopes 1, 2)

In 2016, the company launched its Smart Office workplace initiative, allowing 51 offices to reduce their CO2 footprint.

It does so by using fewer resources and energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems.

Greening pantries (Scope 2)

In January 2021, Marsh planned to stop single-use plastics in all its office pantries by 2022.

At the end of 2021, 50% of its global offices have achieved this goal by asking workers to bring their own utensils, mugs, and water bottles.

A sustainable approach to travel (Scope 3)

This climate effort is in line with Marsh McLennan’s Green Traveler program. It educates colleagues on the sustainability of their business travel decision.

It also offers colleagues tips on how to make sustainable choices while flying, staying in a hotel, and renting a car.

Managing technology sustainably (Scopes 1, 2)

Marsh develops and delivers sustainable IT solutions that preserve resources and cut emissions. These include e-waste recycling, maintaining energy-efficient data centers, and reducing physical infrastructure.

Other key initiatives of Marsh McLennan toward net-zero commitment

To reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the company highlighted the following steps in its ESG Report.

Embracing learning opportunities (launched a 3-part webinar series focused on building sustainability efforts)
Building a global green team network
Strengthening environmental efforts in local communities
Helping clients implement climate and sustainability solutions

Finally, Marsh McLennan seeks to help protect the environment through sustainable investment.

The firm commits to aligning its portfolio decarbonization with a science-based net-zero target by 2050.

This applies across its multi-asset, multi-manager client portfolios in various regions worth $80B. These are in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Likewise, the company aims to reduce portfolio emissions by at least 45% on Dec 2019 baselines.

All these initiatives make Marsh McLennan closer to its goal of accelerating climate impact.

It is now part of the global movement to create solutions to keep warming below 1.5°C.

The post Marsh McLennan Reveals Commitment to Net-Zero by 2050 appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Indonesia Government Confirms Suspension of Validating Carbon Projects

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The government of Indonesia has officially confirmed its suspension of validating some carbon projects.

Last week, the carbon credit issuances in the country were on hold due to regulatory concerns. It involved the 2021 credit issuances associated with a project in North Sumatra.

And according to the report by the Environment and Forestry Ministry or KLHK, there are other carbon projects included, too.

Carbon Projects Failed to Meet Indonesian Regulations

The main reason for the suspension of validating carbon projects in some regions is their failure to meet regulations.

In particular, carbon project validations in Sumatra and Kalimantan are halted. KLHK stressed that all carbon projects in Indonesia must abide by the forestry and climate change regulations.

Also, developers have to enlist their projects in the National Registry System (SRN).

While some carbon initiatives in Indonesia are regulatory compliant, others need more adjustments. And the forestry ministry has been clear about taking firm actions against non-abiding carbon projects.

For example, KLHK canceled self-declared carbon projects in Sebangau National Park last year. Then again, it terminated another carbon project proposed on the same site by an international organization.

Moreover, a similar project in Batang Gadis National Park, North Sumatra was also stopped this year. It’s for the same reason: failure to comply with the laws.

More recently, KLHK requested the RER Carbon Project developers to halt validations. The RER or Riau Ecosystem Restoration project aims to conserve a peat forest in Sumatra.

Despite operating for many years, the RER carbon project validation is also under suspension.

The Director General said that the project’s validation report didn’t provide correct information about its compliance. Plus, it did not consult with the ministry first before finishing its documents.

The official stated about carbon projects in Indonesia,

“Measures to tackle carbon emissions must have clear ultimate goals, not just fashionable ones… Their implementation must align with the level of commitment concerned.”

Hence, the RER project has to meet Presidential Regulation No. 98/2021 and other relevant laws first. This Presidential Decree regulates carbon trading using emissions trading and offsets.

Its issuance is vital to meeting the nation’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal by 2030. It’s the same for achieving its net-zero target by 2060.

Indonesia’s Hope for More Green Investments

KLHK’s strict measures are crucial to educating all players on Indonesian carbon markets. Abiding by regulations is very important to avoid suspension of carbon projects validation.

More so, the country aims to be a reference and destination for low-carbon investments in major sectors. These primarily include energy, manufacturing, and transportation.

Its recent partnership with Singapore on creating carbon-related projects and boosting carbon credits is an example.

The forestry ministry also wants to avoid double-counting on its NDC achievement. Otherwise, carbon projects in Indonesia will cause unwanted effects on climate change efforts.

The country’s NDC target is to reduce emissions by 41% by 2030. This goal is not affected by carbon trading activities in the market.

Meanwhile, the government hopes that investments in green projects in Indonesia will rise. This is due to more demand for green projects like electric cars and renewable energy.

In connection, reports suggest growing fundraising from carbon pricing ($52 billion in 2020). But for Indonesia to leverage the fund for carbon projects, it needs strong policy support and accountability.

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