A new organization called Climate Neutral created a tag that informs consumers about brands’ carbon footprints. Here’s what you need to know.
Climate Neutral is an independent nonprofit working to fight climate change by helping companies go carbon-neutral. The group’s mission is to give brands the tools to measure, reduce, and offset their carbon emissions.
Today, Climate Neutral announced its Climate Neutral Certified label. The label will appear on the packaging and tags of brands with a net-zero footprint starting in early 2020.
Of course, companies must achieve a net-zero carbon footprint for “upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions” to become certified. Once a company qualifies, they may use the Climate Neutral label on their product tags, packaging, and brand website.
Practically speaking, this means reaching net-zero emissions in the manufacture and distribution of a brand’s products. To reach net-zero, brands will buy carbon credits to offset their impact.
Why Brands Should Care About Their Carbon Footprints
Seventy-six percent of Americans view climate change as a crisis or major problem, according to a poll by the Washington Post. Climate Neutral hopes it can help corporations offset carbon emissions created during production. Its slogan, “Reduce What You Can, Offset the Rest,” is good motivation for companies to take direct action against emissions.
And even if a company doesn’t have a product, it still has emissions and a footprint.
“Consumer brands today offer many credentials to a prospective buyer,” said Austin Whitman, CEO of Climate Neutral. “But none of them directly addresses the brand’s climate impact. Even worse, most brands don’t know how much they contribute to climate change.”
How Brands Can Get ‘Climate Neutral’
Outdoor brands who currently practice sustainable methods and believe they qualify can contact the company to have their carbon footprint reviewed. Or companies can use Climate Neutral’s calculator to determine their total emissions and make a plan to achieve the certification.
The calculator — which uses Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards — will be available to everyone online in December. Climate Neutral not only looks at a brand’s total carbon footprint but also its direct and indirect emissions.
Outdoor brands already certified include BioLite and Peak Design. Other brands committed to go net-zero for 2019 include Nomad, LifeStraw, Rumpl, and Gear.com. To read more about how you can get involved as a consumer, click here.
