10/15/2019

These Entrepreneurs Made Their Companies Carbon-neutral

Climate Neutral certifies companies have a carbon footprint of zero

It's easy to tell if products are organic, Fair Trade certified, or made in America--they often bear a certification stamp to prove it. Why isn't there an equivalent for companies to disclose their impact on climate change? 

That was the thinking that prompted Peter Dering and Jonathan Cedar to create Climate Neutral, a nonprofit that certifies companies as having a net carbon footprint of zero. Launched on September 23, the company looks at everything from the raw materials businesses use to their supply chains to their office energy consumption. Forty-four companies have worked with Climate Neutral to become certified as carbon-neutral in 2020, including drinkware maker Klean Kanteen and sneaker company Allbirds.

Dering and Cedar are both founders who continue to run their own for-profit businesses. Dering founded San Francisco-based backpack and camera equipment maker Peak Design in 2011, while Cedar founded the outdoor equipment company BioLite in 2012. The Brooklyn-based startup makes products that sustainably produce light, heat and energy, and has been offsetting all of its emissions dating back to its founding, at a cost of less than $20,000 annually.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.