Today, Venom Power announced the release of its new Eco Alkaline™ batteries. These eco-responsible batteries feature:
- Zero mercury
- Zero cadmium
- Zero lead
- Zero carbon footprint, courtesy of Carbonfund.org’s product certification program, featuring the first carbon neutral label in the US.
The Venom Power Eco Alkaline batteries have been certified carbon neutral after a detailed product life-cycle assessment. The assessment tracks carbon emissions, identified areas for emissions reductions, and offset the emissions that could not be avoided – like emissions generated in the manufacturing process.
Venom chose to support our Paso Pacifico Return to Forest reforestation project. Validated by the Rainforest Alliance to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards with Gold Distinction, the Return to Forest Project is helping to reforest as well as reconnect critical biological corridors along Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. The project also brings economic opportunities to local communities while sequestering about 170,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Venom’s Eco Alkaline batteries are progressive, high quality consumer batteries with dependable performance. The batteries will begin shipping to retailers throughout North America during the fourth quarter this year. To learn more, please visit: www.venom-group.com.
Read more about our product certification program here.
The IPCC estimates that deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for 20% of global warming pollution; meaning any comprehensive solution to global warming must incorporate a way to reduce our emissions and keep trees in the ground. Emissions trading schemes like RGGI and CCAR already incorporate provisions that allow for forest based carbon offsets, and in the voluntary carbon market foresty related carbon offsets have been popular for years for a variety of reason. But what does the future hold for trees in the world of carbon offsets? A new survey seeks to shed light on exactly that question.
A survey released by EcoSecurities, Conservation International (CI), ClimateBiz and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) entitled The forest carbon offseting survey 2009 overviews the entire background of forest carbon offsets and provides great insights on what the future might hold. The highlights and insights from the survey include:
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Avoided deforestation (91%) and reforestation with native tree species (89%) were rated the most desirable forestry projects in regards to carbon results;
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South America (78%), Africa (71%) and South East Asia (69%) are the three most desirable regions to purchase forest carbon credits;
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The Clean Development Mechanism (64%) and the Voluntary Carbon Standard (60%) were rated as the most desirable standards when purchasing forest carbon offsets;
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Participants highlighted the most important factor when purchasing forest offsets are carbon standards (91%), closely followed by experience and credibility (87%);
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In comparison to Europe (19%), companies in North America (50%) are much more willing to pay up front for carbon credits that will be generated more than five years from now;
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Benefits to local communities (89%) and the global scale of the problem (77%) have been the key motivational factors for adopting offsets from forest carbon projects.
This survey reinforces some of the anecedotal evidence that Carbonfund.org has been compiling from its donors for years. The forest based projects that our donors choose to support have strong community co-benefits, are validated to the highest third party standards (some are validated to two!), and produce real and additional reductions in global warming pollution.
By recognizing deforestation’s role in global warming and understanding the preferences of the people supporting these projects, we can work to develop more projects that meet environmental goals and appeal to donors. Fighting global warming will require a lot of wind turbines and solar pannels, but it will also require us getting dirty, planting trees, and helping communities in the process.
Our project in northeastern Louisiana, the Tensas National Wildlife Refuge Reforestation Project, has become the first reforestation carbon offset project in North America to achieve dual validation to the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) as well as the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards with Gold Distinction. This is a huge milestone not only for the organization, but for reforestation offset projects.
The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization with a climate initiative to validate and verify carbon offset projects, provided third-party validation that the project meets the two standards.
“Carbonfund.org’s first-ever CCB Gold and VCS dual validation project is a major milestone for the carbon offset industry, making Tensas among the highest quality, scientifically validated carbon reduction projects in the world,” said Carbonfund.org President Eric Carlson.
He continued, “Deforestation is responsible for about 25% of global warming, meaning reforestation and forest preservation are critical solutions to solving global warming. By providing the highest quality offsets through projects such as Tensas, Carbonfund.org is enabling individuals, businesses and organizations to take responsibility for their carbon footprint, and reduce and offset their climate impact.”
VCS validation ensures that the project is designed to deliver real, additional, measurable and permanent carbon offsets. Because the land in the Tensas Project has been deforested and fragmented for over 50 years prior to the project, it is considered an afforestation-type project.
“We are delighted that this robust project restoring native forest is the first to be validated against the CCB Standards in North America,” said Joanna Durbin, Director of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance. “The Tensas Project is a great addition to the growing worldwide portfolio of multiple-benefit forest carbon projects using the standard.”
