bikablo is Climate Neutral. What the Heck Does that Mean?

bikablo is Climate Neutral. What the Heck Does that Mean?

Summer droughts, rising sea levels, alterations to entire habitats: climate change is not some abstract threat conjured up by the media, hovering on the horizon. We are right smack in the middle of it. We can sit with our hands in our laps and lament the situation. We can point the finger at the polluters and the politicians. But, we can also do something about it. In this post, we are going to introduce a concept that does just that.

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What is CO2 compensation?

Admittedly: the whole thing is quite complex. But, actually, it’s also quite simple. Greenhouse gases (especially CO2 and methane), which are being emitted through industry, energy production, transportation, and agriculture are causing the climate to warm up. And our company, bikablo GmbH & Co. KG, is also a contributor: all of our team members drive to the office every day, our rooms are heated with natural gas, and even the manufacture of our computers consumes energy. And above all: our trainers and visualizers travel throughout Germany, Europe – and sometimes to other continents as well – for over 500 projects each year.

For years, as customers of Naturstrom, we have been using electricity generated from renewable energy sources; we ensure that our printed materials are created in a climate-neutral fashion; we use the Ecosia internet search engine; and, whenever possible, we travel by train.

Since 2018, bikablo has taken things even one step further: we are now compensating for our company’s “carbon footprint“. To do this, we have partnered with the Swiss foundation myclimate. Our goal: to offset the amount of greenhouse gases that we produce each year through reductions or savings elsewhere.

How exactly does this work?

  1. At year-end, we calculate our consumption.
    How much heat did we use? How much paper? And above all, how many miles did our 30-member bikablo team travel by train, car, and plane? This might sound like quite a complicated task, but our project management system actually makes it quite simple to track.
  2. Next, myclimate calculates how many tons of CO2 was released into the atmosphere.
  3. Then we pay myclimate the amount required to offset or save this amount of CO2 through one of their worldwide climate protection projects (“CO2 compensation”). These projects include a solar energy plant in the Dominican Republic, energy-optimized cookstoves in Rwanda, and a reforestation program in Uganda.
  4. We also include a small flat-rate climate surcharge on all of our invoices so that our customers, as users of our services, share the costs of supporting bikablo to be a carbon neutral organization.

 

The backbone of myclimate’s CO2 compensation program is a complex, internationally-recognized and certified calculation model. That makes participating a breeze. And more importantly, myclimate projects are not just helping to protect our climate, they also align with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals: they strengthen local communities, provide for education, ensure equality, and have a positive impact on local habitats as well as species conservation.

 

A myclimate partner project: locally trained technicians install solar panels on roofs.

We’re not doing this for a clear conscience. It’s still better to take the train than to fly. We see it as an investment in our collective future.

Did this blog post make you curious? You can become climate neutral too – as an individual, as an event organizer, entrepreneur or together with your employer. Initiatives like myclimate help you to do this quickly, easily and simply.

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