2019
Offset Projects
Located in Waterloo, NY, this project captures landfill gas which contains greenhouse gasses such as methane and converts it into energy used for electricity generation. The project has the capacity to generate around 18 megawatts of electricity which is enough to power around 20,000 homes and businesses. The Seneca Meadows location is also a wetlands reserve which is home to 215 bird species that are protected and part of the LEED certified education center on site.
Spanning 14,546 acres in Prowers County, CO, this project helps to protect the site area from being converted into agricultural land which would destroy a massive carbon sink. Preventing this conversion also helps to protect the area's biodiversity and habitat which is important to many migratory birds as well as other wildlife. Maintaining this large ecosystem helps to mitigate the effects brought about by climate change and excessive CO2 emissions.
This project helps to counter environmental damage brought about by the growing palm oil industry by preserving 65,000 hectares of forest which in Borneo. The efforts of this project are not exclusively aimed at preserving biodiversity but also at supporting the community of residents that fall within the boundaries of the project area. These supportive elements include eliminating food insecurity, providing access to clean water, and providing sustainable avenues for economic growth. Investing in this project helps to offset emissions because the forest stores a great deal of carbon which would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere.
To reduce CO2 emissions through the combustion of fuel this project helps to provide low income individuals in the Henan Province in China with a low impact stove alternative. These cooking instruments not only help to reduce emissions but also help to eliminate a large chunk of annual costs that are associated with purchasing fuel for older stoves. The use of a cleaner method of cooking also eliminates air pollution in the households which has demonstrated to have incredible health impacts on members that spend the most time in the household.
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 the impacts associated with electricity consumption. This offset strategy ultimately helps to support renewable electricity generation while ensuring Colgate achieves carbon neutrality by 2019.
Greenlight is an all-female-owned REC marketing company that has helped to provide sustainable energy purchases for a multitude of clients such as Fortune 500 companies as well as college campuses.
In 2011, Colgate signed a 15 year commitment to invest and purchase carbon offsets through forestry mechanisms through the conservation organization Patagonia Sur. The entire premise of this project is based around a unique real-estate conservation model. The 225,000 trees that Colgate has agreed to help plant in the region will offset around 5,000 tons of carbon which is around a third of the university's overall footprint. This project has also implemented a learning component for students which has allowed for research to be done by the student body. Taking advantage of this partnership is intended to help further Colgate's mission to encourage sustainability to its community and to help reinforce its climate conscious agenda.
