NEUTRAL IS NOT ENOUGH.
Climate+ is the action of going beyond net zero. It means doing more than just offsetting your carbon footprint - by creating an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
We know that one of the most sustainable and cost-effective ways to accomplish this is by planting trees. Climate+ is a community of tree planters, rehabilitating our Earth, and having fun while we’re at it.
How can we do better?
There’s no such thing as a perfect environmentalist, don’t be discouraged by your ability to make meaningful changes. Big change can start as as small as:
- Turning your thermostat down by 2 degrees.
- Wearing clothes more than once before washing them.
- Bike, walk or ride the bus to work!
- Switch over to LED bulbs and smart appliances.
- Try buying local, seasonal fruits and vegetables.
- Use waxed cloth instead of plastic wrap for food.
- Remember your reusable bags, mugs and cutlery for all outings.
The impact of trees
Did you know that trees combat climate change? We have tonnes (literally) of excess carbon dioxide in our air. Trees do something called ‘sequestering carbon’, it’s their way of cleaning our air, and eliminating harmful elements from the earth. They do that by absorbing the C02, and storing the carbon. Not only do trees sequester carbon, they also produce oxygen. Next time you’re outside, take a nice deep breath of fresh air, and thank the nearest tree.
As we work to fight global warming, we can also thank the trees for cooling our earth. They provide shade, and their leaves release water vapor, cooling the planet even more. Just ten trees can offset the impact of a weekend road trip, a lifetime of iphones or even your drunken 2am hamburger habit.
Why trees
Tree planting has a meaningful impact that reaches far beyond carbon sequestration. They provide homes for wildlife, and in areas like Madagascar, the crab and fish populations provide additional food sources and income for the locals. In addition to the environmental benefits, we employ people from local communities. This extends our impact far beyond environmentalism. These are the building blocks of a long lasting and sustainable restoration project.
We recognize that there are lots of ways to offset carbon, but are confident that our tree planting initiatives provide the most meaningful, holistic and verified impact on our Earth.
What does offsetting mean to tentree?
To tentree, neutrality isn’t change, so ‘offsetting’ means going beyond neutral and doing something positive for our planet. We don’t agree with the idea that simply doing no harm will equate to change, we’re here on this beautiful earth, ready to do some good.
We want to make offsetting easy, understandable, accessible, fun, and impactful. Our climate+ packages aim to do just that.
Where do we plant your trees?
Our Earth Day Climate+ packages will allow us to work with our partners to plant many species of trees including mangroves in the coastal regions of Madagascar and Indonesia. Mangrove trees are one of the most efficient carbon sequestering trees in the world and planting them provides much more than a carbon impact for our planet. We are incredibly grateful for our planting partners, like Eden Reforestation Projects who are on the ground making things happen.
The Math
This climate+ package includes one month of driving, eating, shopping, phone use and household energy use.
| Driving | 0.3179 MT C02 |
| Food | 0.2083 MT CO2 |
| Energy | 0.625 MT CO2 |
| Phones | 0.5833 MT CO2 |
| Shopping | 0.69 MT CO2 |
| Netflix | 0.144 MT CO2 |
| Total | 2.5685 MT CO2 |
Driving
Assuming the average Canadian drives 15,200km per year, we divide that number by 12 months and see that people drive 41.643km per day
15,200km / 12 months = 1,266.67 km per month
The average car uses about 404 grams of CO2 per mile. To translate from miles to kilometres, we divide miles by 1.609, and simultaneously divide grams by 1.609. This means the average car uses about 251 grams of C02 per kilometer.
(divide by 1.609) 1: 404grams (divide by 1.609)
0.6214: 251grams
Then we multiply 251 grams of C02/kilometer by 1,266.67 kilometres to see how many grams of CO2 are used per year.
251 grams of C02 / kilometer x 1,266.67 km = 317,934.17 grams of C02 per month
In order to change grams to metric tons, we multiply grams by 0.0000001. Here we get 0.3179 MT CO2 per month.
317,934.17 grams CO2 x 0.0000001= 0.3179 MT C02 per month
Food
The average person, with a diet including meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables and cereals emits 2.5 tons of CO2 per year.
This means that over one month an individual would emit 0.2083 MT CO2
2.5 MT CO2 / 12 months = 0.2083 MT CO2 per month
Energy
The average household emits 7.5 MT of CO2 per year including laundry, showers, heating and cooling and appliances.
This means that over one month an individual would emit 0.625 MT CO2
7.5 MT CO2 / 12 months = 0.625 MT CO2
Phones
If a person uses their phone for one hour per day over a year they would emit 1.4 tons of CO2.
The average person spends 3-5 hours per day on their phone. Which means over a year the average individual would emit 7 tons of CO2 for phone usage.
1.4 tons CO2 x 5 hours = 7 MT of CO2
If we divide 7 MT CO2 over a year by 12, we get emissions per month.
7 tons CO2 / 12 months = 0.5833 MT CO2
Shopping
Let’s assume the average person shops for clothing about once per month.
We know the average plane emits 115grams of carbon per kilometer, let’s assume the clothing came from 6000km away.
115 grams CO2 per km x 6000km = 690,000 grams of CO2
In order to change grams of CO2 to metric tons of CO2 we use the conversion factor 0.0000001
690,000 grams of CO2 x 0.0000001 = 0.69MT CO2
Netflix
Every half hour of Netflix watched emits 1.6kg of CO2. Since the average person watches 1.5 hours of Netflix per day, we multiply emissions per hour, by hours per day to get total emissions per day.
1.5 hours per day is equal to 3,30 minute segments.
1.6kg CO2/ half hour x 3 half hours = 4.8kg CO2 per day
Over one month we would emit 144kg CO2.
4.8kg CO2 x 30 days = 144kg CO2 per month
In order to change kg of CO2 to metric tons of CO2 we use the conversion factor 0.001
144kg CO2 x 0.001 = 0.144 MT CO2
Total
In total over one month the average person would emit 2.5685 MT CO2
0.3179 MT + 0.2083 MT + 0.625 MT + 0.58333 MT + 0.69 MT + 0.144 MT CO2 = 2.5685 MT CO2
Link - Food Emissions - https://www.greeneatz.com/foods-carbon-footprint.html
Link - Phone Emissions - https://nypost.com/2019/05/01/a-year-of-cell-phone-use-emits-as-much-CO2-as-two-round-trip-flights/
Link - Household Emissions - https://www.ccfpd.org/Portals/0/Assets/PDF/Facts_Chart.pdf
Link - Carbon Emission of Planes - https://www.carbonindependent.org/22.html
Link - Carbon Emissions of Netflix - https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/half-hour-of-netflix-leads-to-emissions-of-1-6kg-of-co2-equivalent-climate-experts-11572240109579.html
Link - Average Time on Netflix - https://time.com/4186137/netflix-hours-per-day/
