At Natusan, we care deeply about the impact that we have on the planet, and we work hard to ensure that our work has a positive effect on the environment.
From reincarnating by-products of sustainable forestry, to turning your cat’s waste into fertiliser, we are fully committed to reducing our carbon footprint, which is why we are proud to have partnered with Ecologi to make Natusan a Climate Positive Workforce.
Not only that, but we are purring with delight to be able to plant a tree for every single order!
What is a Climate Positive Workforce?
A carbon positive workforce is where every person in an organisation has their entire life’s carbon footprint offset. This includes time at work, business travel, and time outside of work.
This means that every Natusan team member offsets their entire carbon footprint, including emissions from homes, travel (not very likely at the mo’), food, hobbies and more!
Even though we have only just joined up with Ecologi, at the time of writing this blog we have already planted 929 trees, and reduced 8.83 tonnes of CO2e* - the equivalent of 21,907 miles by car, or 26 square metres of sea ice saved**!
Our Virtual Forest
Take a look at our “virtual forest” here, with details on species, location and the projects you are helping to support through Natusan!
Tree planting is a brilliant solution to tackle climate change and protect biodiversity, but the wrong tree in the wrong place can do more harm than good, say experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Scientists have proposed 10 golden rules for tree-planting, which they say must be a top priority for all nations this decade.
It’s now common knowledge that one of the best tools to tackle the climate crisis and keep our temperatures from rising above 1.5C is to plant trees. They are also crucial to preventing ecological collapse.
Projects Natusan have supported this month
Ecologi and their tree planting partner The Eden Reforestation Projects plant millions of trees around the world each month.
Each month, through Ecologi, we support a range of carbon reduction projects that are certified at the very highest level by Gold Standard and equivalent.
Here are two of the projects that Natusan is supporting this month.
Preserving the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in Guatemala
The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor stretches across Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and some southern states of Mexico, connecting habitats and areas of tropical forest together.
This corridor acts as a natural land bridge from South America to North America, allowing the movement of species between them. The corridor is home to multiple diverse biomes and contains between 7-10% of the world’s species.
Forests within this area in Guatemala are important nationally and internationally for the ecosystem services they provide. However they have experienced a continued reduction in biomass due largely to deforestation by small-scale farmers and medium to large scale cattle ranchers that have sought to expand their activities or have been displaced by agro-industrial expansion.
Climate solution #38 - Forest protection
In their biomass and soil, forests are powerful carbon storehouses. Protection prevents emissions from deforestation, shields that carbon, and enables ongoing carbon sequestration.
For each hectare of forest protected, the threat of deforestation and degradation is removed.
By protecting an additional 335-466 million hectares of forest, this solution could avoid carbon dioxide emissions totaling 5.5-8.8 gigatons by 2050.
Perhaps more importantly, this solution could bring the total protected forest area to almost 0.98-1.1 billion hectares, securing an estimated protected stock of 179-203 gigatons of carbon, roughly equivalent to over 655-743 gigatons of carbon dioxide if released into the atmosphere.
The benefits of forest conservation include biodiversity protection, non-timber products, erosion control, pollination, ecotourism and other ecosystem services.
(From drawdown.org)
(Photography: REDD+)
Providing clean energy through hydropower in Kanungu, Uganda
"Having lived over the border for many years, Uganda was a frequent destination of mine, whether for business or leisure. As a wildlife filmmaker, conservationist and general outdoor enthusiast, the Ugandan wilderness provided an obvious playground. It boasts the tallest mountain range in Africa, is the only country with two separate mountain gorilla populations, and it is law that for every tree felled, three more have to be planted in its place. It's my kind of country!"
The Kanungu District is located in the Western Region of Uganda. It has historically been an impoverished district with its population of 205,095 often experiencing power outages that disrupt living on a daily basis.
Energy poverty is one of the most significant challenges facing Africa today. In Uganda, only 46.25% of the population have access to electricity. Providing electricity access is crucial for poverty alleviation, economic growth and improving living standards.
Climate solution #48 - Small Hydropower
Small hydropower systems capture the energy of free-flowing water, without using a dam. They can replace dirty diesel generators with clean electricity generation.
Small in-stream turbines are different from large hydropower plants which often impede water quality and disturb fish migration.
Placed within a free-flowing river or stream, they capture water’s kinetic energy without creating a reservoir and its repercussions. The underwater analogue to wind turbines, their blades rotate as the water moves past, generating relatively continuous electricity.
No barriers, diversions, or storage are required, only limited structural support. No emissions ensue.
(From drawdown.org)
(Photography: Ishasha Small Hydropower project)
We are extremely proud to not only be supporting amazing projects such as these, but to do so with the help of our fantastic customers. Together, let’s strive to constantly lower our carbon footprints, and support projects that really make a difference both in terms of smaller communities, and the planet as a whole.
So next time you fill up your cat’s litter tray, you can feel paw-sitive that you are helping to create a better, greener world.
Learn more about our partnership with Ecologi here.
*The US Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions calculator estimates that 2481 miles (3992.7 km) emits 1 tonne of CO2.
**A 2016 research paper published in November’s issue of Science Magazine, found that the loss of Arctic sea ice had a linear relationship to CO2 emissions. This rate is 3 ± 0.3 square metres per tonne of CO2.
04/02/2021 by NatuTeam