At PLATFORM, we contribute 1% of our revenue to carbon removal
We believe businesses can play a critically important role in helping fight climate change. After doing much research on purchasing offsetting carbon credits and donating to tree-planting organisations, PLATFORM decided and is proud to fund next-generation carbon removal.
We are proud to be part of Stripe Climate to help combat climate change
Reducing our future carbon emissions is not enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change, GIGATONS of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere and ocean need to be permanently removed. With so much information out there about different ways to fight climate change, we wanted to explain why we chose this collaboration vs. the alternatives out there.
Why Don’t We Buy Carbon Credits or Carbon Offsets?
Carbon credits or carbon offsets, for those who don’t know, are rights or certificates that companies or individuals can buy that are tied to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or an increase in carbon storage, usually through land restoration projections or planting of trees.
Carbon credits are controversial for a couple reasons. Firstly, critics say this allows businesses to continue or increase harmful environmental practices and then simply pay to “offset” these emissions instead of taking steps to actually reduce their impact. For example, shipping products around the world because they are “carbon neutral” after buying carbon credits.
Secondly, there is some question around the true value of carbon credits as the projects they are meant to fund have often produced little to no environmental benefit at the source. Investigative reports by Bloomberg and other news outlets determined that the quality of the carbon-reduction projects “have often been underwhelming with offset projects frequently delivering far fewer climate benefits than advertised.”*
Why don’t we donate to plant trees or reforestation?
Natural solutions are a great way to help combat climate change and deforestation has greatly contributed to the climate problem. However, planting trees and reforestation also has its limits:
First, depending on the trees, it can take up to 50-100 years for them to reach the full effect of removing CO2 from the atmosphere, precious time that we do not have in this quickly evolving issue.
There is also the unexpected side-effect that re-planted lands are actually darker and therefore absorbs heat and warms the local climate. Another consideration is the significant amount of water and nutrients int he soil that tree-planting requires. Moreover, fire hazards can be a problem, which can be especially worrying since this would then release the stored CO2 in the trees.
What is carbon capture and storage (CSS)?
Carbon capture and storage is all about using different technology to capture CO2, which can be achieved in two ways: at the source, where up to 90% of carbon dioxide emissions are removed onsite at plants and industrial facilities, or directly from the air. In both cases, the captured CO2 can either be reused for industrial purposes or transported to a safe place (stored deep underground) to prevent it from re-entering the atmosphere.
On our journey to a greener future, we are focusing on funding new, efficient technology to remove carbon by working with Stripe Climate.
What does Stripe Climate do?
Stripe Climate funds new technologies for atmospheric carbon removal that are often overlooked, but are crucial for long-term climate goals. They’re all about finding new ways to fight climate change with a clear, research-backed, and collaborative approach, making sure funds go to projects with the potential to make a big impact.
By joining Stripe Climate, PLATFORM becomes part of a coalition of businesses intent on doing good for the planet by accelerating carbon removal to fight climate change.
