Carbon Offsets - Sichuan Household Biogas Programme

Carbon Neutral & Carbon Offset

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Carbon Neutrality

Any kind of human activities is source of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions and those emissions are contributing to climate change. To slow down the trend of increasing CO₂ emissions released into the atmosphere and mitigate global warming, we should always try to reduce or eliminate the amount of carbon emissions we produce. Unfortunately, that is not always possible.

Private and public institutions have nonetheless the opportunity to reduce their environmental impact & those of their products/services and become Carbon Neutral by offsetting their unavoidable CO₂ emissions with carbon credits from high-quality emission reduction & renewable energy projects, like our Sichuan Household Biogas PoA, thus contributing to mitigate climate change and build a green & sustainable development. In doing so, they can also take the lead against competitors by powering-up their reputation!

Carbon Balance is a one-stop-shop service launched by UPM with the ambition to pave the way towards a low carbon development. The main goal of Carbon Balance is to assist UPM to realise its mission statement: delivering world-class carbon reduction certificates with high environment and social values to its clients with absolute reliability, as well as excellent one-stop-shop climate solutions with measurable results in terms of meeting its clients’ strategic need for environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Do you want to know more about your environmental impact and how to compensate it?

How does it work?

In order to determine the climate impact of a business operation, an office, a product or a service, you first need to estimate the carbon footprint of the object. The carbon footprint is a measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of an activity, considering all relevant sources within a spatial and temporal boundary. It is calculated as tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) using the relevant 100-year global warming potential (GWP100) of different greenhouse gases.

Building on the principle of the carbon footprint calculation, during the evaluation of the target’s GHG balance, all relevant sources of emissions caused by the production and/or operation of the considered object need to be taken into account. Emissions that arise during the production of processing inputs in the upstream chain, and emissions arising during the disposal and recycling of waste products are included in the balance as well.

1st Step: Definition of the Relevant Emissions & Data Collection (based on the GHG Protocol)
Hereunder example for service industry.

Footprint-e1401097487357

2nd Step: Calculation of the Carbon Footprint

During the calculation of the Carbon Footprint, all gathered data are weighted against relevant national or local emission factors as published by the local administration.
The Carbon Footprint value does not only give an indication of the impact on the climate of a business or product, it is also an important benchmark in the process of implementing low carbon measures as emission reduction initiatives and offsetting. The Carbon Footprint is as well the core-stone of the development of an efficient and realistic sustainability strategy.

3rd Step: Identify areas where you can avoid or reduce your emissions now and in the future.
Once those areas are identified, an action plan with short and long term goals could be drafted and implemented based on your corporate sustainability strategy and your business characteristics. These actions could be as straight-forward as making sure that lights in the office are switched off at night or bit more complex technically such as redesigning lighting and heating/cooling systems or relying only on renewable energies to power your manufacturing facility/data-center. However, it is proven that actions leading to a reduction / avoidance of emissions have also substantial financial benefits for corporations.

4th Step: Retirement of Carbon Credits and Offset
Once confirmed, it is possible to offset whole or part of the calculated Carbon Footprint. The Carbon offset will be implemented through the retirement of the corresponding amount of Carbon Credits (1 tCO₂e equivalent to 1 Carbon Credit) in the Project’s Carbon Credit Registry and the official confirmation of retirement by the respective registry administrators. Finally UPM will provide any offsetting party with a unique Carbon Offset Certificate.

Benefits of Carbon Footprint Calculation

Knowing your own Carbon Footprint helps companies gather information which will provide valuable insight into their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategy.

By evaluating it, companies can:

• Increase transparency to shareholders, clients and other stakeholders.

• Identify areas where there is scope for energy efficiencies which in turn can lead to both emissions reductions and cost savings.

• Define your sustainability road-map and fix targets for the future.

Benefits of Carbon Offsetting

• The objective is always to avoid or reduce climate changing GHG emissions. But when some emissions cannot be avoided, it is possible to offset them by supporting high-quality clean energy projects in developing regions.

• Offsetting your unavoidable emissions is the opportunity to reduce your environmental impact and become Carbon Neutral.

• Becoming a Carbon Neutral business can have positive impacts on your brand reputation and your business values, due to its strong appeal to increasingly environmentally and conscious and socially responsible investors, customers and staff.

Testimonials

Clients, partners, as well as professionals in the field of climate protection and renewable energy, they all have chosen to support the Sichuan Household Biogas Programme because it results in a win-win situation for all involved stakeholders: first, win for local communities which can have access to free, clean and convenient energy and get a better living environment and more resources, second, a win for the individuals or corporations engaging in this programme because they achieve their sustainability goals and commitments, and third, a big win for the environment, the climate and the well-being of future generations.

“The project does not only reduce carbon emissions but it also adds significant benefits to the poor farmers and helps to reduce the harmful methane from animal manure and the local air pollution by replacing coal with biogas. So It really provides clean and cheap energies to the families in Sichuan.”

Katarina TomoffVP Shared Value, GoGreen, Deutsche Post DHL Group – full video testimonial

“Such collaborative project meets the spirit of our national energy-saving and emission reduction policy. It also reflects our country’s positive attitude in coping with climate change. We will take domestic and international community’s attentions and supports as a motivating force to go forward to make the rural biogas work better.”

Zhou NanhuaDirector of Sichuan Rural Energy Office (SREO) – Full video testimonial

“The Sichuan Household Biogas PoA, developed by UPM and its Chinese partners, is the perfect example of a successful international initiative which answers local needs for better sanitation and water management systems and for free, clean and convenient energy sources, while contributing to a more global agenda – the reduction of GHG emissions and the mitigation of climate change.”

Prof. Heinz-Peter MangGuest-Professor and Senior Engineer at the CSES-University of Science & Technology of Beijing

“It is very important for us to do our best to respect and improve the environment of the country and local community where our resorts are. The voluntary carbon offset program proposed by UPM is not only having a positive impact on the global climate situation but has also a lot of additional and sustainable benefits for rural communities in China. Moreover, it is a good way for us to achieve one of our objectives, raising awareness about environmental challenges and ways to make things change.”

Vincent GrandsireGeneral Manager and Chef de Village at the ClubMed Dong’ao Resort