FLOCERT is carbon neutral

FLOCERT has been offsetting its carbon emissions since 2013. To us, doing so is a no-brainer. After all, the producers we work with are often hit the worst by the climate crisis and it is our vision to create a world in which all producers can enjoy secure, sustainable livelihoods. As a social business, we invest in maximising positive social and environmental impact. So offsetting our carbon emissions with carbon credits from a Fairtrade Carbon Credit project fits perfectly to our philosophy.

For 2017, FLOCERT had overall compensated 890 metric tonnes (MT) and for 2018, 987 MT of carbon dioxide. That is even more than the calculation results! These calculations took into account the FLOCERT head office in Bonn, as well as the Regional Offices in Bangalore (India), Cape Town (South Africa) and San José (Costa Rica).

They included all emissions that the company and its employees caused in order for FLOCERT to operate. This means: travelling for audits and other business trips, electricity and heating consumption as well as staff commuting.

To compensate for these emissions and become carbon neutral, we used carbon credits generated by the Fairtrade Carbon Credit project “Bagepalli Coolie Sangha: Biogas project”.

Located in the Karnataka region in India, it equips peasant families with biogas units as alternative to their wood and petroleum fueled stoves. Almost 10,000 households will thus be able to convert organic waste previously left in the streets into a source of cooking fuel, thus replacing kerosene and wood as sources for cooking and water heating.

Impressions from the biogas project (photos by: Jonneke Oskam/ FairClimateFund)

Besides reducing carbon dioxide emissions, using the biogas units allows the families to save the money they would otherwise spend on kerosene and the time they would need to collect wood. It also significantly reduces respiratory problems and other diseases due to the complete reduction of indoor smoke. In addition, using the organic waste from the streets improves the hygiene situation and reduces environmental pollution. And the slurry, which is the rest product of the biogas unit, can be used as fertilizer for agricultural activities.

Click here to learn more about the project.