Carbon emissions have quickly become an important way to measure environmental impacts. Global corporations have set annual carbon emission goals to help reduce their carbon footprint and mitigate potential environmental repercussions. As a pioneer in the Solid Waste Management industry, CIRT takes pride in contributing to a greener and more sustainable future. In doing so, CIRT has calculated their scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions for the year to date and purchased carbon credits through a company called Nori. To understand the impact of measuring carbon emissions, we first must understand what scope 1, 2, and 3 are.
Taking into account the different scopes gives corporations a more holistic understanding of their carbon emissions at every point in the value chain. CIRT’s calculations included emissions from the office space, computer electricity usage, and all business travel. Typically web infrastructure would also be included, but CIRT’s web infrastructure was already carbon neutral. We use Google Cloud Platform to host everything on servers that are entirely powered by renewable energy. After calculating the carbon footprint, generally in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), carbon offsets can be purchased. Carbon offsets are the reduction or removal of emissions of CO2e in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. While there are lots of resources and organizations for purchasing carbon offsets, CIRT chose to work with a company called Nori. Nori is extremely impactful because the carbon credits that they produce are transparent and verifiable. They also work with farmers to improve land management practices, such as restoring soil health. At a time when American farmers are experiencing financial struggles, purchasing Nori credits can be an effective way to support them and the environment. To learn more about Nori and how to purchase carbon offsets to reduce your carbon footprint, read here.
