A greener Christmas: We are climate positive!

At Way2Global, Christmas is getting greener. In 2018 we created our own company forest in Kenya, in 2019 we and our B Corp colleagues signed the NetZero2030 pledge at COP25, and in 2020 we donated our forest trees to customers to build a sustainable supply chain. This year we have decided to reward ourselves with the great achievement of carbon neutrality and to become climate positive.

One of our core principles is to offer services that combine high quality and sustainability, which is why we have run the Green Translations project for three years.

We have always been committed to consolidating our internal and external practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: office efficiency, employee accountability and training, smart working incentives, reduced use of paper, strict limits on business travel, etc.

Moreover, in 2021 we decided to collaborate with Rete Clima, a technical organization that has been assisting companies in their sustainability and decarbonization efforts for 10 years. This was to update our carbon footprint assessment and to support two international environmental protection projects by cancelling carbon credits for management of our climate-altering emissions.

The combination of these actions has enabled us to become a climate positive company today, i.e. a company that can generate a positive climate impact. Partly through supporting carbon sequestration projects, we have managed not only to offset carbon emissions associated with our business, but also to help remove more carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases from the atmosphere than we generated during our business year.

We have always believed that companies play a key role in the future of the climate and as a committed benefit corporation we want to be agents of change and an active part of the drive toward a more sustainable economy.

This is why we have decided to become Climate Positive, an important step of responsibility towards climate protection goals.

Offset projects

We support the following carbon offset projects: Maisa REDD+ Project and Allain Duhangan Hydropower Plant.

Maisa REDD+ Project

This project’s mission is to protect the Belém endemic centre, an area of immense biodiversity within the Brazilian Amazon, which is currently threatened by deforestation. Funding this initiative means supporting constant monitoring of the area with modern technological equipment to ensure the safety of various fauna and flora species, including many endangered species:

• 28,753 hectares
• 128 plant species of which 8 are at risk of extinction
• 350 animal species of which 29 are at risk of extinction
• 67,458 tons of CO₂ emissions reduced per year

The Maisa REDD+ Project also includes development of economic activities that promote forest conservation, such as harvesting acai berries or other non-timber forest products, more sustainable farming practices and strengthening local producer cooperatives. The project aims to prevent the deforestation of more than 15,000 acres of Amazon rainforest over the next 30 years.

• Trains local producers on sustainable forest management
• Creates new income opportunities for struggling families
• Preserves biodiversity
• Identifies possible sources of deforestation using satellite imagery

Allain Duhangan Hydropower Plant.

In an effort to reduce northern India’s dependence on fossil fuels, this project supports operation of the Allain Duhangan hydroelectric plant, which generates enough energy for the region and protects the unspoilt natural habitat of the Kullu district in the state of Pradesh.

The Allain Duhangan hydropower complex has achieved its goal of reducing the district’s dependence on fossil fuels in the least environmentally invasive way possible, using hydropower as a cleaner, more efficient alternative energy source.

• Reduction of 494,668 tonnes of CO₂ per year
• ISO-certified environmental management
• Permanent elimination of fossil fuel costs

The initiative includes support for environmental, social, health and land safety issues. Considerable investment in the project has improved nearby infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. Consequently, the education level has significantly improved, as has health care and the general well-being of local communities.

Sectors involved in the project

• Land acquisition and resettlement
• Fishing and river hydrology
• Forest conservation
• Labour influx in construction