{"id":163188,"date":"2020-10-01T11:05:30","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T18:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=163188"},"modified":"2024-03-05T09:42:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T17:42:34","slug":"climate-neutral-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/climate-neutral-label","title":{"rendered":"Good Gear: \u201cClimate Neutral\u201d Label Helps Consumers Shop Their Values"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2017, Peak Design<\/a> founder and CEO Peter Dering wondered how many greenhouse gas emissions the company was responsible for as it sourced, made and shipped camera bags and packs to customers around the world. And what would it take for Peak to reduce its emissions and go carbon neutral?<\/p>\n

Turns out, Dering discovered, it didn\u2019t break the bank. After measuring the company\u2019s carbon footprint, he bought credits to offset the emissions Peak couldn\u2019t eliminate. It was the right thing to do given the climate crisis, Dering says now, so why weren\u2019t more companies doing it?<\/p>\n

At the time, Dering knew of only one other brand in the outdoor industry that had a net-zero carbon footprint: stove and electronics maker BioLite<\/a>. So over dinner one night, he and Jonathan Cedar, co-founder and CEO of BioLite, scratched out the idea for a new Climate Neutral<\/a> certification on the back of a napkin.<\/p>\n

\"Person

A label on a Peak Design product. Photo courtesy of Climate Neutral.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dering and Cedar wanted a new label to certify that businesses are carbon neutral, much like the USDA Organic<\/a> label certifies that food is grown without pesticides, among other things. Their new label would recognize companies that can balance out all their carbon emissions by removing carbon from the atmosphere\u2014typically by investing in projects elsewhere that install wind farms, remove heat-trapping gases from landfills, reforest lands or sequester carbon via farming practices. The label would then let consumers shop brands that align with their environmental values.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world needs a very clear and simple binary label\u2014which is: Did you pay for your carbon or didn\u2019t you?\u201d Dering says. Peak bought $113,400 in carbon credits to offset the emissions it couldn\u2019t reduce in 2019. Some of those credits were invested in a South Carolina project that converts waste into energy, he says.<\/p>\n

Since debuting last year\u2014at an outdoor industry panel hosted by pro rock climber Alex Honnold\u2014the independent nonprofit Climate Neutral has certified more than 146 brands<\/a> such as Vuori<\/a>, MiiR<\/a>, Rumpl<\/a> and Klean Kanteen<\/a>. To use the label, each company must measure, reduce and offset its emissions.<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n
\"Alex

Pro rock climber Alex Honnold (left) moderates a panel discussion about Climate Neutral with Peter Dering in June 2019.<\/p><\/div>\n

REI joins Climate Neutral<\/h4>\n

Last week, REI Co-op<\/a> become the latest company\u2014and largest brand\u2014to join Climate Neutral. As part of the co-op\u2019s climate commitment to halve its carbon footprint by 2030, REI President and CEO Eric Artz announced<\/a> that the co-op would be carbon neutral in its operations starting in 2020. That means the co-op will pay for each metric ton of carbon it emits from its own brands and operations, or roughly 250,000 metric tons.<\/p>\n

Artz says the climate crisis is the greatest existential threat to the future of the outdoors, and everyone has a role to play in the climate fight.<\/p>\n

To avoid major impacts on human health and ecosystems, global emissions would need to reach net-zero by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C\u00a0as outlined by the Paris Agreement, according to the 2018 report<\/a> of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.<\/p>\n

This year alone, larger companies such as Delta Airlines<\/a>, Apple<\/a>, Microsoft<\/a> and others have pledged to go carbon neutral by 2030.<\/p>\n

Private business can lead the way where public governments haven\u2019t been able to act, says Michael Vandenbergh<\/a>, co-director of Vanderbilt University School of Law\u2019s Energy, Environment and Land Use Program. \u201cIt\u2019s more likely that we will get public governance if companies play a leading role, commit to reduce their carbon footprint and convince others to do so as well, because that will reduce their incentive to lobby against federal action.\u201d<\/p>\n

How it Works<\/h4>\n

Companies go through a three-step certification process. First, they measure their carbon footprint each year. (Large companies must hire a third-party consultant to verify their footprint calculation; smaller ones may estimate using a tool provided by Climate Neutral.) Everything counts, though, from the time a product is made until it reaches a customer. From raw materials to office lights to emissions along the supply chain, including the energy powering overseas factories and fuel burned by cargo ships.<\/p>\n

Second, companies must offset the emissions they weren\u2019t able to eliminate by buying carbon credits. That money funds projects like reforestation that remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere and are verified by third-party certifiers such as American Carbon Registry and Gold Standard. Third, companies must create and implement a plan each year to reduce emissions. (To be re-certified annually, companies must report their progress on those goals.)<\/p>\n

To offset<\/a> its 13,423 metric tons of emissions in 2019, for example, drinkware maker Klean Kanteen bought $68,452 in credits that funded farming, landfill and transportation projects that remove carbon from the air. \u201cWe believe what we can\u2019t reduce we should pay for. We own it. It\u2019s our responsibility,\u201d says Danielle Cresswell, senior sustainability manager for Klean Kanteen.<\/p>\n

\"Klean

Klean Kanteen label now carries the “Climate Neutral” label. Photo Courtesy of Klean Kanteen.<\/p><\/div>\n

Klean Kanteen has worked to reduce its emissions by installing 216 solar panels that generate enough power to run its Chico, California, operations. It\u2019s also worked with distributors to switch to less packaging. But to shrink its carbon footprint further, the company will have to look at changing its material and product design and engaging with overseas factories to be more energy-efficient\u2014and those efforts will take time, Cresswell says. Offsets, on the other hand, are an immediate way to do something now while supporting a price on carbon and helping consumers raise their voices on the issue of climate change, she says. Through these methods, Klean earned its Climate Neutral label last year.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a financial incentive to reducing emissions, too, and brands like Klean are finding that, while it can be challenging, it\u2019s also a strong driver of innovation. When you pay a price each year to offset the carbon emissions released, Cresswell says, it creates an incentive to shrink your carbon footprint. \u201cIt can\u2019t just go away when other things come up,” she says.<\/p>\n

But offsets aren\u2019t without criticism. Some say it\u2019s an excuse to buy your way out of polluting. Austin Whitman, CEO of Climate Neutral, counters, \u201cWe\u2019re at least ensuring that some mitigation takes place now, while companies are required to file reduction plans with us talking about how they\u2019re going to reduce their emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cWe would much rather see a company offset its entire carbon footprint today than make a promise that it\u2019s going to reduce its emissions over 20 years. What happens if they don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Product

Rumpl blanket with Climate Neutral label. Photo courtesy of Rumpl.<\/p><\/div>\n

Rumpl, a 15-person company that makes outdoor blankets, paid $17,944 to offset<\/a> 3,844 metric tons of carbon emissions in 2019. Meanwhile, the brand has been working to reduce emissions by redesigning its shipping box and talking to trading partners along the supply chain about energy efficiency, among other efforts, says Patrick O\u2019Neil, operations director for the 7-year-old company based in Portland, Oregon. The company plans to increase use of post-consumer recycled material with the aim of 99 percent PCR by 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are real projects out there that are continually emitting carbon that we can take action on,\u201d O\u2019Neil says. \u201cOf course, we need to reduce, but there\u2019s no reason that companies should not be investing in offsetting that carbon.\u201d O\u2019Neil says he hopes consumers will start to look for those Climate Neutral tags before they buy.<\/p>\n

Some consumers may see the label, know it\u2019s good for climate and make their purchase without thinking much more about it\u2014and that\u2019s fine, Whitman says. But for consumers who want to dive deeper and learn what a brand is doing on climate change, they can get that information online<\/a> at a level that has not been available before, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses [should just] volunteer to do it,\u201d says Dering, of Peak Designs. \u201cBecause it\u2019s the right thing to do.”<\/p>\n

\n

For more stories of brands doing good work, visit our\u00a0Good Gear<\/a>\u00a0landing page.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2017, Peak Design founder and CEO Peter Dering wondered how many greenhouse gas emissions the company was responsible for as it sourced, made and shipped camera bags and packs to customers around the world. And what would it take for Peak to reduce its emissions and go carbon neutral? Turns out, Dering discovered, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9145,"featured_media":163225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685,1465],"tags":[795,1812,724,1944,1484,591],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-163188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-rei-news","tag-climate-change","tag-co-op-brands","tag-gear","tag-good-gear","tag-staff-society","tag-sustainability"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/climate-neutral-label","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Good Gear: \u201cClimate Neutral\u201d Label Helps Consumers Shop Their Values","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/climate-neutral-label","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/climate-neutral-label"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/09\/Climate-Neutral_package.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/09\/Climate-Neutral_package.jpg?fit=1024%2C683"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phuong Le"}],"creator":["Phuong Le"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["climate change","co-op brands","gear","good gear","staff society","sustainability"],"dateCreated":"2020-10-01T18:05:30Z","datePublished":"2020-10-01T18:05:30Z","dateModified":"2024-03-05T17:42:34Z"},"rendered":"