Climate Outlook: An Encouraging Look at Corporate Action for Earth

Businesses are stepping up for the planet, investing in sustainable solutions and working towards decarbonization faster than any other period. Demand for carbon offsets is at an all-time high. Ecosystem Marketplace recently confirmed that the voluntary carbon market exceeded a record $1 billion worth of transactions in 2021, far outpacing any other year. The number of Cool Effect’s corporate partners from every sector continues to grow. They are moving towards decarbonization in creative and unique ways while offsetting what can’t be mitigated.

The types of businesses, their size and specific needs for offsets vary. For example, Cool Effect has had a number of creative production companies that work to reduce their impact while adhering to industry and union requirements on set. The Martin Agency has shared its ideas and solutions for decarbonization with others in the same sector. Working internally, the company made great strides toward reducing waste and lowering emissions on set, and then voluntarily offset the rest. Cool Effect recently partnered with Sitecore who has challenged itself to decarbonize operations fast but is not waiting for that herculean job to be completed. They have taken immediate action to reduce their corporate mandated travel and have offset what is unavoidable.

Cool Effect also partners with Airspace whose main purpose is to transport critical healthcare items like life-saving organs and other life altering cargo. This transportation is time-sensitive so Airspace must use the most efficient means of shipping possible. As a result, Airspace works with Cool Effect to offset all emissions that cannot be avoided. Corso created Green Shipping Protection which mitigates the impact to the environment while also protecting deliveries from loss or theft. These are just a handful of examples of companies large and small that are permanently reducing emissions plus investing in high-quality carbon offsets.

Corporate interest and purchase data from 2021 illustrate an encouraging trend for Cool Effect:

• In 2021 alone, the number of businesses reaching out to Cool Effect doubled. Donations toward Cool Effect’s portfolio of high-quality carbon-reducing projects across the globe increased by 164%.
• Individuals also stepped up with the number of people purchasing a personal offset increasing 317% in Q4 over previous quarters, while travel offset doubled at the same time.

It’s also important to showcase the impact that carbon offset purchases have had on Cool Effect carbon reducing projects. Carbon finance is a lifeline for these projects with communities in need across the globe. Highlights include:

• The Giving Trees: In 2021, this project has grown to 120,000 farmers in 4 countries who have planted over 22,300,000 trees. In total 7,800,000 metric tons of CO2 have been sequestered over the life of the project. All while returning 70% of proceeds after costs to the farmers.
• Watering the West: Foresters focus on sustainable forest management including thinning of trees. See first-hand the benefits and positive impact of proper forest management with this video of a portion of the Bootleg fire in South Central Oregon. In 2021, these credits certainly did not go up in smoke.
• Breath of Fresh Air: Now more than 1 million people benefit from cleaner air in rural Honduras. After 2 hurricanes and COVID, the project, amazingly, just built nearly twice the number of stoves as it did in 2019. All proceeds from the sale of carbon go to build more stoves, support 26 microenterprises and 212 full and part time employees.

These are just a few standout examples of the tangible impact that Cool Effect is seeing as a result of project support, and an encouraging sign for the months ahead.

Understanding impact has become a key factor for businesses; as they work toward net-zero commitments, many are looking for verification and impact of the carbon credits they’ve purchased. They’re asking questions about the science, the communities, and how each project is using their dollars, particularly at a time when carbon offset prices continue to increase.

“Businesses are looking to make a meaningful impact with their broader ESG goals. Return buyers are leading the way, but we expect to see a continued influx of new organizations investing in carbon credits as part of their path to reach net-zero emissions, and it’s an encouraging sign,” said Jodi Manning, Cool Effect’s VP, Director of Marketing & Partnerships. “In 2022, we need to continue to reduce more and reduce faster, building on the momentum from recent months. The relentless pursuit of a cooler climate is far from over.”

To learn more about how to partner with Cool Effect to develop a meaningful sustainability and carbon offset program, please visit cooleffect.org/for-business.