As we become more and more aware of the negative human impact on the environment, it is important that we take steps to lessen said impact. Through research into less damaging materials for manufacturing, reductions in travel distances for consumer products & much more - companies & individuals are taking bigger steps than ever before to reduce their carbon footprint.

At Tuff Pets, we want our products to have as little negative impact on the environment as possible. We designed our Poop Bags to be as pollutant free as we could but it’s not possible to remove all harmful substances & processes from any manufacturing process. To counter this, we’ve teamed up with Climate Partner who specialise in helping companies & their products become Carbon Neutral, and Tuff Pets are now officially Carbon Neutral. 

Who is Climate Partner?

Climate Partner was founded in 2006 in Munich, Germany with the vision to embed climate action into all corporate activity. Climate Partner helps their clients to calculate and reduce their carbon emissions & offset their unabated carbon emissions. 

One of the best things about working with Climate Partner is their transparency. In their own words:

“When you partner with us, our carbon neutral label guarantees transparency and credibility: consumers can use a company’s tracking ID number to trace reduction measures, the chosen carbon offset project, the amount of CO2 compensated and more information such as the Sustainable Development Goals of the project.”

Climate Partner also practises what they preach. All of their office locations are within public transport distance of the city they’re situated in, the company provides access to bicycle leasing through work & their Munich headquarters is an internationally recognized benchmark in sustainable building. You only have to look at their travel policy, which even pre-pandemic was to travel as little as possible, dealing with their clients via email & video call where possible.

For anyone interested, you can find Tuff Pets’ carbon offsetting information here:

www.climatepartner.com/tracking/20618-2211-1001/en

The projects we sponsor

We decided on 3 projects which we’d like to help fund to neutralise our Carbon Emissions:

• Carbon Offset with Ocean Protection - Worldwide

The first project takes place all across the globe. For the carbon offsetting side of this project, this is what Climate Partner has to say:

“This carbon offset project uses solar power to produce renewable energy (climatepartner.com/1429). It involves the installation of solar PV modules in the three Indian states Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra and has a capacity of 225 megawatt hours.”

What really drew us to this project in particular was the second part of the deal. For every 1 tonne of Carbon the we at Tuff Pets offset, Plastic Bank collect 10kg of plastic from the world's seas. Not only is this a set in the right direction for protecting our environment, but the plastic collection projects employ low income people in developing countries, paying them in food, medical services and much more. 

• Afforestation - Dingxi, China

One of the countries in which a lot of the world's emissions are focused is China, and it felt right to fund a project there in the hope of improving the environment for the local people. This is what Climate Partner had to say about the project:

“This project located in the city of Dingxi in the central part of Gansu province, China will contribute to a healthier environment by increasing forested areas in previously barren lands. The afforestation, reforestation, and re-vegetation activities are expected to increase forest cover by 49,060 hectares over the project lifespan. This also positively impacts biodiversity due to the planting of indigenous tree species that will offer a healthy habitat for native plant and animal species. The project’s regenerative activities will develop healthy ecosystems which contribute to saving approximately 45,600,530 tonnes of CO2 over the project lifespan.”

Forests are a great means of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide as they operate as massive carbon sinks. As well as filtering the air and soil, they provide a habitat for wildlife to flourish, protect & nourish the soil & store water to prevent flooding. 

 - Biomass Fossil Fuel Phase-out - Soacha, Colombia

The final project we decided to fund focuses on helping communities move away from carbon emitting fossil fuels with biomass. Biomass refers to organic materials such as tree branches, leaves, sawdust, wood chips & coconut shells. As these are of a biogenic, non-fossil nature, they can be used to generate renewable energy. One effective way to generate less harmful energy, among others, is to fire kilns using biomass as this prevents smoke & large quantities of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.

“Soacha is a fast-growing suburb in the metropolitan area of Bogotá. Young people from rural areas try their luck there; others had to leave their villages during the civil war. Countless simple mud brick houses are being built, and brick kilns make a good living. Since coal is cheaply available in Colombia, nearly all of the region's brickyards use it to fire their kilns. 

Except for the Santander brickyard, that is. Its owner, Miguel Diaz, has converted his business so that it operates modern, energy-efficient kilns – and he also runs them with up to 80 percent renewable biomass. This way, the brickyard saves around 18,470 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

This exclusive Climate Partner carbon offset project was the first project in Colombia to receive Gold Standard certification.”