Patagonia Sur (Chile) 

In FY 2012, Colgate began purchasing 5,000 tons of carbon offsets per year through Patagonia Sur.  The project is a reforestation project in The Patagonia Sur Nature Reserve in the Palena province of southern Chile.  As of 2019, approximately 70,000 native trees have been planted on roughly 428 acres of land through Colgate's investments.  The Patagonia Sur reforestation project achieved Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certification in 2012.  Importantly, the agreement creates academic opportunities for students and faculty to conduct research within the Colgate Forest and The Patagonia Sur Nature Reserve in general. 

For more information about the Patagonia Sur project check out the Patagonia Sur FAQs document

Renewable Energy Certificates-REC (United States of America)

RECs are characterized by the creation of renewable electricity whereby clean energy production displaces or reduces demand for more traditional carbon-intensive forms of energy. More specifically, RECs represent the environmental benefits (or attributes) received by the displacement of conventional fuel use, such as coal, oil, or gas. One REC is representative of one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity (1,000 kilowatt-hours) and allows the purchaser to support renewable energy production even though they themselves may not use the renewable energy. Colgate has chosen to purchase third-party certified RECs from organizations such as Greenlight Energy Group which is a best practice for institutions to mitigate its impacts associated with electricity consumption.  This offset strategy ultimate helps to support renewable electricity generation while ensuring Colgate achieves carbon neutrality by 2019.

RECs were purchased to offset Colgate's emissions in:

• 2013

• 2014

• 2017

• 2018