Our in-house Sustainability team works closely with the One Carbon World organisation to deliver a multi-faceted programme focused on measuring and reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions which is designed to deliver outcomes beyond carbon-offsetting and Earth Capital has been awarded with Carbon Neutral International Standard status. The reporting is carried out in line with the requirements of the Green House Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard and is compatible with international standards ISO 14064 and PAS 2060.

Any off-sets were made through the following:

• Guanare Forest Plantations in Uruguay, South America on degraded grasslands under extensive grazing. The main objectives of this project activity are wood production, land restoration and carbon sequestration through afforestation. All practices follow Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) standard for sustainable forest management while enhancing biodiversity conservation by increasing the connectivity of forests and generating income and job opportunities for local communities in rural areas; 
• La Pitanga/Weyerhaeuser, a reforestation project in Uruguay, South America. This project lasts for 100 years, covers 18,000 hectares, and is verified by the Rainforest Alliance. The project is also certified by the FSC and they have been retired by VERRA, the World's largest environmental registry.
• The UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) platform enables emission-reduction projects in developing countries and operates under the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM is the main source of income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund, which was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Each project goes through a strict vetting process and is directly overseen by the United Nations.

Our work around our operational carbon footprint is consistent with the need for all businesses to transition to a net zero climate impact. The IPCC’s definition of carbon neutrality (net zero CO2 emissions) is “a state of balance between the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere and the CO2 removed from the atmosphere.” We continue to work with One Carbon World to measure, reduce and then offset our carbon footprint to attain Carbon Neutral International Standard status. The annual process of measuring and offsetting our carbon footprint has shown a substantial decrease year on year. 

In 2020, Earth Capital joined the UNFCCC’s Climate Neutral Now campaign affirming its commitment to zero-carbon operations.

Climate neutrality is a three step process, which requires individuals, companies and governments to:

• Measure their climate footprint;
• Reduce their emissions as much as possible;
• Offset what they cannot reduce with UN certified emission reductions

The work to optimise our investment portfolio on the pathway to net-zero is now the focus. Watch this space!