Today We’re Climate Neutral Certified
During Earth Week this year, here at Ski Butlers we are celebrating the fact that we’re officially Climate Neutral Certified.
Climate change is the single biggest threat to humanity ‑and directly is putting the $887 billion outdoor industry, the landscapes, and the wildlife that we love, at risk. But we have the tools to stop it. Solutions include divestment from banks that fund coal, gas and oil companies. Ski Butlers accomplished this in the Fall of 2021. Read more here:
Others solutions include the process to become Climate Neutral Certified. This is a months-long effort to measure, offset, and reduce our carbon footprint. Sustainability and the environment have been part of Ski Butlers DNA since day one, and while that journey can be found here, we are thrilled that continue that journey today by joining hundreds of Climate Neutral Certified brands in taking meaningful action for the climate.
Why now?
It’s no secret that 2021 was a challenging year for business. In the face of unexpected obstacles, radical pivots, and new ways of working, we’ve learned that we are able to face big challenges as individuals, a team, and a society. Globally, we emit almost 60 billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses every year.
If we don’t take responsibility for this problem now, then there’s no way we’ll hit the 2050 goals science tells us we need to achieve. These are make-or-break goals. Reach them, and we avoid the devastating effects of climate change. Miss them, and life on Earth will change for billions of people – forever.
We’re acting now because scientifically-vetted solutions to climate change exist, and they are accessible to brands like ours. As Bryn Carey, our CEO put it, “We want to be a part of the solution and one of the best ways to do this is for us to walk the talk and address our own carbon footprint through strategic business innovation.”
How did we get here?
We worked with Climate Neutral as we measured and offset last year’s carbon emissions, and identified ways to reduce future emissions. This process took a significant amount of time and resources from our team, but ultimately, it’s a reasonable cost compared to the thread of climate change.
Measure
We measured our 2021 carbon footprint at 691 tonnes. To arrive at this number, we looked at all of the emissions created from making and delivering our products/services, including our supply chain emissions, employee commuting, business travel, and utility bills.
The breakdown is:
- 205.62 MT CO2 in Scope 1
- 43.42 MT CO2 in Scope 2
- 442.11 MT CO2 in Scope 3
- With 224.7 MT CO2 in employee commuting
Offset
We offset these emissions by purchasing 691 verified carbon credits. This is the equivalent of offsetting 1,715,204 miles driven by an average gas-powered vehicle. These carbon credits supported a portfolio of projects including an EV Charging Offset project in California through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and a Texas based Wind Farm through Carbonfund.org.
Reduce
Last, but not least, we created Reduction Action Plans to help lower our emissions over the next 12 – 24 months.
Note: This is currently for our American locations only and we are working to include our Canada and European locations soon.
Reduction Measure #1
- Plan: We plan to reduce Scope 1 carbon emissions by 20% by Q4 2023 from CY: 21 baseline.
- Action: We will remove 10 light duty LPG vehicles from our fleet and introduce 5 new EV vehicles.
- Metric: We will track the reduction of miles driven on gas powered vehicles.
Reduction Measure #2
- Plan: We plan to reduce our carbon emissions from employee commuting by 25% by Q1 2024 from our baseline CY: 21.
- Action: We plan to execute pilot programs to encourage employee commuting through public transit, ride-share or other multi-modal options
- Metric: We will track the reduction through employee surveys.
What does it mean to be Climate Neutral Certified?
Starting today, our brand will bear the Climate Neutral Certified label. The Change Climate Project is a nonprofit committed to solving climate change by making carbon neutrality simple and accessible. The label is shorthand for the process outlined above. Together, Climate Neutral
Certified companies are working to eliminate more than 1,000,000 tonnes of carbon emissions — and we’re just getting started! To learn more about The Change Climate Project and other brands committed to climate action, visit changeclimate.org
To The Future
We’re thrilled to be in good company with this year’s Climate Neutral Certified brands. But we understand that this isn’t the complete solution. We believe it is our responsibility to now address policy on all levels of government. We need urgent climate policy to tackle climate change faster, which will be what Ski Butlers will be focusing on moving forward and we encourage all to join us on that journey.
