At Carbon Neutral, we are committed to helping businesses integrate strategies to mitigate the climate crisis because sustainable practices need to be part of caring for our planet.

It’s easy at this time of the year to get lost in the environmentally damaging consumerism of the festive period, and with just over two weeks left, now is the time to act and give a more sustainable gift that’s really worth giving.

Choosing sustainable gifts is about considering each item’s health, environmental and social impact. As with all sustainable shopping, this includes where the product was made, the materials it was made from, how it is packaged, and any energy efficiency ratings. 

Sustainable gifting is an opportunity to take your sustainability journey a step further by actively supporting causes that you feel passionate about and minimising the amount of unwanted gifts and waste associated with the festive period.

At this time of the year, we must ask ourselves if our loved ones really need the gift we are buying them or if a donation or an e-card with the intent of them choosing their own gift would be more appropriate.

Here are some options for last minute sustainable gifts. 

Karst

A sustainable stationary and notebook company based in New South Wales invested in delivering products that are 100% tree-free.

Karst is passionate about inspiring others to do more and create more, but not at the planet’s expense. As a certified B Corporation, Karst is committed to the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. For Karst, this includes the carbon emissions involved in delivery, production, and even the elevator they ride at the office.

View their commitment to sustainability

Buy

Lightly

Lightly is a Melbourne-based online homewares retailer committed to creating products with care, intention, and gratitude. Since 2020, Lightly has committed to planting a tree for every online order over $50 in partnership with Carbon Neutral’s Plant-a-Tree Conservation Program.

“It’s always been our purpose of making sensory design accessible, and enriching people’s lives to recharge through these spaces. These sanctuaries and moments of rest make it possible to give back and fuel the earth.”

View their commitment to sustainability

Buy

Eco Modern Essentials

ECO. Modern Essentials are a Gold Coast based wellness brand specialising in 100% pure essential oils and blends to support health and wellbeing. 
 
With a firm commitment to enhancing the health and well-being of their community, ECO. Modern Essentials also ensure the preservation of the environment across their entire supply chain and operations. They continually strive to improve what they do in all aspects of the business. Here at Carbon Neutral, we also love that they acknowledge that they are not perfect (which of us is!) but they always strive to be better.

View their commitment to sustainability

Buy

Sheet Society

We spend one-third of our lives sleeping, so why wouldn’t you want to enjoy it in complete comfort?

Sheet Society is a Melbourne-based online retailer that believes in making better choices throughout the design, production and delivery processes. With Carbon Neutral, Sheet Society has offset 2,000 Tonnes of CO2 and is committed to working towards net zero emissions and addressing the climate crisis.

View their commitment to sustainability

Buy

Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor – Plant-a-Tree Program – Australia

We couldn’t provide a list of sustainable, festive gift suggestions without recommending our own trees!

The Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor is a program that is restoring the natural landscape and reconnecting habitats by linking small patches of remaining vegetation to create a 200km green corridor from inland to the coast. Planting trees in the corridor grows critical habitat for native wildlife on historically cleared land in a Global Biodiversity Hotspot.

You may be eligible to become a Carbon Neutral Partner* when you purchase this product.

This is not a carbon offset – please visit our offsets product page.

Buy

Biodiverse Reforestation Carbon Offsets – Australia

Biodiverse Reforestation Carbon Offsets remove CO2 from the atmosphere every day. This project is also helping to restore a native ecosystem. It enhances our shared natural capital with habitat restoration and land conservation and brings social and economic benefits. 

Surrender of Offsets
Carbon Neutral periodically surrenders offsets purchased online in batches. Therefore, the names of purchasing entities will not be identifiable and purchasers will not be provided with individual serial numbers for transactions made online.

Buy

But what effects are predicted with these soaring temperatures, which in 2021 increased from the heat an equivalent to 440 billion toasters running non-stop all year? Marine life would be deeply threatened, and its contribution to foundational food chains for humans would be massively disrupted. Storms, cyclones, and hurricanes will be more severe, leading to flooding, population displacement, and infrastructure destruction. Sea level rises are also already pushing small island nations to the brink.

The study used a combination of autonomous buoys and ship-deployed sensors spread out across the globe to take measurements, a collaboration involving thousands of researchers in the field and in the lab. Their analysis illustrated that the fastest warming took place in the Atlantic, Indian, and northern Pacific Oceans. This pattern of heat increase allowed the researchers to directly map the rise to human greenhouse gas emissions. Even with urgent climate action, they forecast the trend to remain over the next few decades.

Abraham concludes that, “We took the Earth’s temperature – and the Earth’s fever is getting worse.”

Read the Guardian story and the original study.

Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the UN Climate Conference:

1. Deforestation

One of the first announcements at COP26 was 141 countries agreeing to end global deforestation by 2030. The declaration commits to “working collectively to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation”.

Importantly, countries that are deforestation hotspots such as Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed the agreement. The pledge seeks to create holistic stewardship of forests across the world, by taking action in sustainable production, infrastructure development, trade, and greater support for Indigenous peoples and local communities.

However, like most of the commitments made at COP, words need to be backed by action. The drivers behind deforestation, like beef and palm oil production, need to be tackled for this pledge to make a real change.

2. Coal

We’ve been mining coal for thousands of years and using it to generate power since the late 19^th century. The canary has been singing for many years now that our dirtiest fuel source needs to be a thing of the past, and last week more than 40 countries agreed that using coal as a fuel source to generate electricity must come to an end.

Large coal-using countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Korea all signed the agreement to phase out coal by 2030 or 2040, deeming it essential to limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Disappointingly, some of the world’s largest coal-users like the US, China, and Australia were missing from the agreement. However, coal is quickly becoming more expensive than renewable energy and this economic reality means many investors have already jumped ship.

3. Methane

Methane warms the climate about 84 times more than carbon dioxide, but methane also remains in the atmosphere for around 12 years compared to the hundred-year presence of CO^₂. This means cutting methane emissions now could have a rapid impact on reducing global warming whilst CO^₂ emissions take longer to be reduced.

Under the Global Methane Pledge announced at COP26, more than 100 countries have agreed to shrink their methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This was backed up by commitments of US$325 million from foundations and philanthropy groups.

Australia is once again lagging behind the rest of the developed world by not signing the pledge and making no commitment to cut its methane emissions, despite having one of the highest global per capita methane emissions from its large coal and agricultural industries.

It’s especially disappointing because the solutions to reduce methane are within reach. One great innovative example is Australian company Sea Forest who have developed agricultural feed supplements from seaweed that reduces livestock methane emissions by up to 98%. Sea Forest’s seaweed was used to feed the sheep used for cotton by Carbon Neutral partner M. J. Bale in 2021.

4. Shipping

The global shipping industry pumps out more than a billion tonnes of CO^₂ emissions every year, making up around 3% of the global total. Twelve countries, led by Denmark, announced an ambitious target at COP26 for global shipping to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and setting new reductions targets to be met by 2023.

The Clydebank Declaration was also signed by 19 countries, including Australia, to commit to so-called ‘green shipping corridors’ of zero-emission fuel routes with port infrastructure and technology developments such as hydrogen fuels. Such a route is being proposed for Australia’s iron ore shipping journey to Japan, which is the most heavily emitting route on the planet.

Critics say the plan is more likely to sink than stay afloat, criticizing it for lack of detail and immediate short-term actions to be taken. Along with aviation, the shipping industry still has a long way to go to align with the reductions required to reach a 1.5°C goal; of the 50,000 ships currently in international trade, only 200 will be ‘green ships’ by 2030.

5. Finance

Like most things in politics, money runs the show. Climate finance, which is transnational flow of money from developed to developing economies, was a key undercurrent of most discussions and agreements at COP26. These issues are particularly pertinent, as it’s developing countries that are tipped to face the worse effects of the climate crisis such as more intense droughts and fiercer floods, and developed economies that are most responsible for emissions.

The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change called for US$700 billion in climate finance every year from 2025 to help the continent adapt to climate-caused damage and loss. At 2009’s COP15 in Copenhagen, rich countries agreed to commit $100 billion annually, but they’ve failed to deliver on their promise and delivered only around $80 billion.

New finance goals were also proposed for climate adaptation separate to emission reduction as adaptation is urgently needed while climate targets continue to fail to be met.

Australia committed $500 million of climate finance on the first day of COP26, with funds to go toward projects in the neighbouring Indo-Pacific region. Pacific countries like Fiji have criticised Australia’s meager emission reduction targets in the past, as they face potentially huge consequences from the climate crisis. Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, delivered one of the most powerful moments of COP26, stating that a 2°C rise in global temperature would be a “death sentence” and called for more funding to small island nations on the frontlines of climate change.

Positives steps forward or a global COP out?

Many more issues were brought to the table at COP26, such as carbon trading and electric vehicles, and a lot more developments undoubtedly took place behind the scenes.

The ultimate mission of COP26 was to ‘keep 1.5 alive’, and 137 of the 197 UNFCCC countries have now pledged net zero targets, (only 13 of which have been legislated).

The scientific community and other critics say world leaders have missed the opportunity to use COP26 to spark the change that’s needed to protect a planet on the brink; even if all commitments promised at COP26 are met, temperature increase by 2100 will overshoot 1.5°C and hit 2.4-2.6°C above pre-industrial levels. Perhaps this should come as no surprise when the largest delegation present at the conference was the fossil fuel lobby.

Despite the promises of progress, the question remains whether real action will be delivered before it’s too late.

On Sunday, more than 25,000 representatives from around the world converged in Glasgow, charged with the small task of negotiating, discussing, and planning the future of the climate of our planet.

Glasgow is the 26^th iteration of the Conference of Parties (COP), and is taking place from October 31 to November 12.

The history of COP

COPs serve as an annual meeting to assess progress in addressing the global challenge of the climate crisis under the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995, and the conferences have had a chequered history. The 2009 COP in Copenhagen ended disastrously, after a leaked draft agreement that placed unfair burdens on developing nations spiraled talks into disarray and drew controversy.

This ‘Danish text’ was also criticized for abandoning the Kyoto protocol; an agreement reached in Japan at the 1992 COP that set in place greenhouse gas reduction obligations, emissions trading, and clean development mechanisms.

COP21 in Paris in 2015 signalled another global landmark with big implications for this year’s conference. Since the industrial revolution, global temperatures have risen by about 1.1°C, and about 1.5°C in Australia. In Paris, global governments made legally-binding commitments to limit global temperatures to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, whilst trying to pursue a lower increase of 1.5°C.

However, the national targets made by individual countries are non-binding, and widely recognised as scientifically inadequate. If these nationally determined contributions are met, global temperatures would rise by more than 3°C by 2100. At such an increase, catastrophe looms in the form of more severe weather events, land degradation, extinction and rising sea levels.

The broad acknowledgement that these 2015 pledges lacked any real strength spurred the decision to require each nation to refresh their targets every five years. That five-year milestone arrived in 2020, but the pandemic led to COP26 being postponed until 2021.

Why is COP26 important?

Despite COVID-19 pauses, greenhouse gases hit record levels in 2020, and are increasing at a higher rate than ever before.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in August this year concluded the window for limiting temperature increase to 1.5°C is narrowing fast.

Due to the fact that greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere for nearly a century, global emissions need to peak as soon as possible then be reduced dramatically this decade so that cumulative levels don’t surpass the 1.5°C threshold.

COP26 hopes to focus on how these lofty goals will be achieved by countries working together toward solutions, across issues like climate financing, the phasing-out of coal and agricultural emissions.

The EU, US, UK, and other countries have stepped-up their climate commitments in the lead up to Glasgow, leading to the most significant jump in ambition by more countries than ever before.

UN representatives, scientists, and global leaders have conceded that even these new commitments will fall short of what is required, but they do expect significant progress and momentum to keep the goal of 1.5°C alive.

Australia recently announced its target of net-zero emissions by 2050, but made no changes to its heavily-criticised 2030 emission reduction target. Australia’s net-zero plan, based on existing policy or technologies that don’t yet exist, has been said to have “all the strength of a wet paper bag” by Murdoch University fire ecologist Joe Fontaine.

Nature-based solutions are one of the big-ticket items on the COP26 agenda as they are universally regarded as one of the most crucial components of the climate toolbox. Projects of this type protect and restore ecosystems.

Native reforestation and soil carbon projects have been flagged by Australia as key to its net-zero transition. Projects like our Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor continue to grow and sequester significant amounts of carbon. Recent research from ClimateWorks Australia suggests Australia’s land and agriculture could sequester four times as much carbon as they are currently.

Carbon trading was first proposed at COP3 in Kyoto, and is also marked as a focus for discussion in Scotland. The carbon market has expanded massively in recent years, including in Australia where it is entirely voluntary, with the exception of large emitters. Other regions such as the EU and New Zealand have compliance carbon markets, and whether our market will continue to remain voluntary in the future could be uncertain after COP26.

Year upon year, these seeds and seedlings will become vital animal habitat, and food sources, restore the soil, and capture carbon emissions from the atmosphere to become their roots, stems, and leaves. This establishment is the kick-starting of a long process of reforestation.

Planting took place in our Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor, a reforestation project aiming to create a 200km corridor of native vegetation on degraded land. We’re partnered with hundreds of businesses and organisations to plant trees in the Corridor to provide nature-based climate solutions.

This year’s planting season was helped by the big rains brought by Tropical Cyclone Seroja. The opportunity to plant on moist ground was seized, giving the seeds and seedlings the best chance of establishment.

Planting at our Red Plains property comprised just shy of 500 hectares on a mix of clay, gravel, and rocky soils that required different and targeted restoration planning. Our planting team has a deep knowledge of the landscape and how to restore it to a thriving woodland ecosystem.

At all planting areas, a mix of both seeds and seedlings are planted. Longer-living overstory species like eucalypt and malaleuca can find it difficult to regenerate by seed, and so were raised as seedlings in the nearby Parnells Nursery in Tincurrin. Carbon Neutral has developed successful direct-seeding methods over the last 20 years for many species planted as seed.

The Wilton Wells and Hillview properties had extensive planting in 2020, and so less planting occurred in 2021. Insect and weed monitoring will be ongoing as the vegetation continues to establish in the coming years.

We’re always looking for ways to improve and build on our planting approaches, and this year was no different. Different site preparations and seed mix combinations were trialled with the aim of getting the best survival rates through the intense heat of the WA summer.

We’re looking forward to planting even more trees in 2022!

How important is restoring ecosystems and biodiversity to halting climate disruption?

Why is this decade being declared as #GenerationRestoration? 

Last week we were privileged to hear an insightful perspective on these key questions in a presentation given by Dr Andrea Hinwood, the Chief Scientist of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Carbon Neutral hosted the event in Perth along with Clayton Utz and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy. There were representatives from across the environmental, energy, mining, and consulting sectors attendence, all eager to engage in exciting and constructive discussions on climate solutions.

Dr Hinwood’s global experience at the interface of the environment and human health means she understands how important it is that people and communities sit alongside business and industry in tackling climate change. She highlighted how UNEP is playing a vital role in bringing the science of climate, and its urgent reality, to nations, organisations, and environmental projects all over the world.

Dr Hinwood underlined that we are at a crucial point where many of our planet’s environmental indicators (other than just temperature – such as wildlife populations and air pollutants) are at thresholds where acting decisively in this decade is essential for a sustainable future for humanity. She shared that this is why 2020-2030 is marked as the United Nations ‘Decade of Ecosystem Restoration’ and why we need a #GenerationRestoration.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom – her perspective illustrated how UNEP is already overseeing big strides being taken by a growing international movement to address climate change in business investment and in culture. Dr Hinwood also signalled to the recent agreement of the European Union to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030, putting it on track to reach climate neutrality by 2050. 

The co-benefits of ecosystem restoration and protection were also discussed and emphasised, such as the increased inclusivity and equality of regeneration projects and how much we rely on the biodiversity provided by the natural world. 

Questions from attendees discussed how cultural and social shifts are integral in accompanying shifts in climate disruption, and the ideas and practices organisations should adopt to make meaningful change on their climate impact. 

Carbon Neutral’s Head of Corporate Sustainability and Climate Strategies Dr Marianne Dahle also spoke during the evening and introduced Dr Hinwood. Marianne shared her insights on the shifting business landscape as more and more businesses and organisations are acting to implement meaningful climate action.

The evening’s themes continued to bubble into engaging conversations following Dr Hinwood’s presentation, with key members of WA industry sharing their insights backed by one central idea – we all need to work together on this one. 

Carbon Neutral would like to thank Dr Andrea Hinwood for her presentation, and extends its gratitude to Clayton Utz, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, and all event organisers.

We are well underway into a sixth major extinction event, with global populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians dropping by 68% between 1970 and 2016.

In April of this year 13000 scientists from 153 countries agreed it has become time to replace ‘climate change’ with ‘climate emergency’ in their writing, discussions, and media outreach. When there’s a change in the weather, maybe we’ll try to remember to take our umbrella with us. When it’s an emergency, it’s time for bigger actions and tough decisions to be made. 

The problems are glaringly obvious in our own backyard. In September 2020, Australia was singled out by the United Nations for all the wrong reasons; we are the global leader in mammal extinctions.

It’s not rocket science

Carbon emissions must be drastically reduced if we are to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees C by 2050, a key threshold recognised by governing bodies across the globe and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

However, current trends suggest we’re well on our way to surpassing 1.5°C, with emissions spiralling and reductions lagging far behind. We need to find a way to capture carbon already in the atmosphere whilst also shrinking future emissions. 

Capturing carbon has been a hot topic of climate discussions for a long time. It seems like every week a new idea for capturing greenhouse gas emissions appears. Often the wild, planetary-scale technologies such as injecting millions of tons of sulphuric acid into the stratosphere to reflect the sun’s radiation, seem reminiscent of The Jetsons or a high school science fair. 

We may need these far-flung ideas one day if we surpass 1.5°C, but if we do the consequences will be devastating. By then, millions of people living on low-lying nations, farmers reliant on stable weather, and children unexposed to new diseases will be facing enormous risks. 

It becomes crystal clear then that the time for change isn’t in the future, it’s right now.

Luckily, one of the largest carbon drawdown mechanisms on the planet is available to us right now, and they’ve already had hundreds of millions of years of practice – trees.

Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere using a special chemical called chlorophyll in plant cells.

Captured carbon dioxide is used by the plant to grow, and this releases oxygen into the air for organisms to breathe.

Carbon that has become leaves, stems, bark, and branches fall from the tree, ending up in the soil.

Carbon can remain in the plant and soils for millennia, forming food and habitat.

Capturing carbon, but so much more

Since 2008, Carbon Neutral’s reforestation projects have planted more than 30 million trees and shrubs across 14000 hectares. This is Australia’s largest carbon sink, and the first to achieve Gold Standard biodiverse offset certification.

One million tonnes of carbon will be stored by the trees and shrubs that have been planted already, and this will only grow as the project continues to expand each year as more businesses take action on their environmental impact.

But there’s even more to the magic. Whilst taking up huge amounts of carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, trees form the vital component of land ecosystems that allows life to flourish.

“It’s amazing, the capacity that nature has to heal itself.”

– Paul Leadley, Professor and Director at Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

By planting a mix of more than 60 native tree and shrub species, sourced from localised seed banks, the re-planted woodland becomes a thriving habitat. The image of row upon row of a single tree species planted in monoculture is nowhere to be seen. 

Underground, amidst the tangle of roots and microorganisms, these restored ecosystems recycle nutrients and reduce salinity. One of the biggest problems the Wheatbelt faces is rising water tables and erosion of soil. The re-planted vegetation combats both these issues; more water can infiltrate the enhanced soil structure, and once its there can be retained far longer to grow the plants above the surface.

A biodiverse home to thousands

Australia’s southwest is recognised as a Global Biodiversity Hotspot – one of only two in Australia. For hundreds of millions of years these ecosystems have been home to thousands of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. And now, the Corridor is helping bring many back from the brink of extinction.

Why a corridor? It’s like having the grocery store on your doorstep, rather than a two hour road trip away. The re-planted pockets are connected to remnant bush and conservation reserves, preventing the isolation that can lead to species decline. This lets animals move between a larger area to access food and water, disperse pollen, and provides a buffer to external threats which can also be more easily managed. 

As the ecosystem grows over time, carbon emissions from the atmosphere become stems, bark, and leaves, building up shelter and food sources for wildlife. The endangered Western Spiny-tailed Skink or Meelyu relies on this biomass year-round in the form of log ‘castles’ to nest in hollows and fallen branches. 

Monitoring projects undertaken at Hill View and Terra Grata (two properties in the Corridor where revegetation has been underway since 2010) have been tracking the restoration of these ecosystems. Birds and plants of local conservation significance like the Malleefowl are continually being recorded, with biodiversity rising and rising.

Our responsibility

Ecological devastation continues to wreak havoc, but one of the steps we have the power to take today is using the natural carbon cycle of trees to make a difference right now.

Carbon Neutral’s Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor also tackles a second problem by creating biodiverse and sustainable native habitat for WA’s endemic species, many of which are under threat.

So far, hundreds of Australian and international businesses have contributed to the recovery of the endangered Malleefowl, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, and Western Spiny Tailed Skink by offsetting their emissions in the Corridor project whilst restoring native ecosystems at the same time.

“To care about climate change, we don’t have to be a certain type of person or live in a certain place or vote a certain way: all we have to be is a human living on this planet, and we’re all that.”

– Katharine Hayhoe, Co-Director of Climate Centre and professor of political science at Texas Tech University

The problem of the climate emergency can seem daunting, downright scary, and a threat already too big to be stopped. But projects like this represent an exciting opportunity to claim responsibility over our environment and everything we share it with. 

The solutions are within our reach, and acting now through contributing to the growth of Corridor might just let us stand a chance.

Sources

Fischetti, M 2021. ‘We Are Living in a Climate Emergency, and We’re Going to Say So’, Scientific American, viewed May 17 2021, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-are-living-in-a-climate-emergency-and-were-going-to-say-so/

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2019, IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, viewed May 17 2021, https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-4-sea-level-rise-and-implications-for-low-lying-islands-coasts-and-communities/

Shark Bay World Heritage. ‘Spiny-tailed Skinks’, viewed June 8 2021, https://www.sharkbay.org/publications/fact-sheets-guides/spiny-tailed-skinks/

United Nations Secretary-General. ‘Remarks to the One Planet Summit’, United Nations, viewed May 21 2021, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2021-01-11/remarks-one-planet-summit

The ABC recently featured a news article on Australia’s carbon market and highlighted our biodiverse reforestation project at the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor. 

Since 2008, we have planted 30 million native trees and shrubs to create one of the largest biodiverse reforestation carbon sinks in the world. 

As pressure builds on the Australian Government to do more to tackle climate change, a growing number of businesses are taking the initiative, volunteering to curb their carbon footprint and offset their emissions.

Our General Manager, Georgiana Rogers, spoke to ABC reporter Claire Moodie about the growing number of enquiries we are receiving from concerned business owners wanting to reverse the harmful effects of climate change. 

The science [on climate change] is now pretty much universally accepted,” Ms Rogers said.

“If businesses are wanting to get investment from capital funds, they are increasingly being asked what are they doing about the climate,” she said.

View ABC’s video below or read the full article; Demand soars for carbon offset services as Australian businesses take lead on climate change.

Architects Declare Australia is an initiative formed by Australian architects declaring a “climate and biodiverse emergency” and encouraging their industry peers to work towards net-zero emissions.

The initiative calls for the construction industry to strengthen their work practices, understand and account for the carbon emitted throughout the entire building process as well as the operational carbon of the building on its completion.

Carbon neutral by 2020

Recognising that the building and construction industry impacts on our ecosystems, the 900+ signatories are leading the way for more sustainable architecture and urban design.

Architectural practices on the signatory have committed to a 3-step process towards becoming carbon neutral by the end of 2020:

1. Switch to certified green power by 30 January
2. Conduct an audit to measure their carbon footprint by 30 June
3. Purchase carbon offsets by the end of 2020

Measuring your carbon footprint

A carbon audit to determine your carbon footprint is a straightforward process and involves answering a series of questions to determine the scope of your business.

The following are some of the questions you will be asked to provide details on:

1. The number of full-time equivalent staff that you employ.
2. How many permanent office locations do you have in Australia?
3. Do you have any serviced locations or remote workers?
4. How many flights for business purposes do you take in a month/year? Do you use a corporate travel agent?
5. Does the company have fleet vehicles? Do you use fuel cards?
6. How many taxi or rideshare trips do you take for business purposes in a month/year?
7. When would you like to start the process? After 30 June?

Please note the answers to the questions may differ slightly currently due to the COVID-19 environment.

Reduce and offset

The cost of a carbon audit will vary depending on the size and number of locations of the business. At the time of writing an audit will cost approximately AU$1600 for an architecture firm of 12-20 people based in one location.

After measuring you can implement changes in your business to reduce your carbon footprint and offset your unavoidable emissions through purchasing carbon credits.

Contact us to discuss measuring your carbon footprint and view our projects with available credits to offset your emissions.

Concrete. The main ingredient is cement, and is a huge source of carbon emissions globally. How do you overcome this as a skatepark builder when it’s the primary material you use? 

Brad Kasch, Director of Drover Projects, is finding ways to reverse some of the effects concrete has on the climate and hopes to lead the way for others in the construction and building industry.

Based in central Victoria, Drover Projects specialise in skatepark construction and bespoke energy-efficient housing with projects across Australia. Cement and concrete comprise a large percentage of their construction materials.

Measuring footprints

This presents a quandary for Brad who builds skateparks which require a much stronger concrete and therefore create more CO2 emissions. Conscious of the impact his business and construction projects has on the environment and determined to make a difference he investigated the embodied energy of concrete.

To offset for each project, Brad measures the larger emissions such as the embodied energy of concrete, fuels from fleet and equipment. He then adds a significant amount of tonnes to the total measured in the project to ensure that he accounts for all other (scope 3) emissions.

For each project that is completed by Drover Projects, Brad offsets his greenhouse gas emissions through the purchase of carbon credits. In the last year Drover Projects has offset 2,000 tonnes.

This is an enormous commitment and dedication to addressing the climate crisis by Brad, and we are proud to have Drover Projects as a Gold Partner.

Advantages for business

Addressing climate change as part of your business plan is a smart move and can be advantageous when applying for tenders. More and more, we see climate mitigation measures included in the success criteria for local government and private business tenders.

Thanks to Brad’s forward-thinking, he and his company can proudly promote their environmental awareness. Knowing that when they pour the concrete for a new skatepark, they are not only creating a public space for everyone to enjoy but have mitigated the carbon emitted during its construction.