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EarthUP Launches a Way for Companies to Include Employees in Sustainability Efforts

EarthUP Launches a Way for Companies to Include Employees in Sustainability Efforts

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Nancy Marshall, Vice President, Marketing

+1 484.415.7603 or nmarshall@climeco.com

EarthUP Launches a Way for Companies to Include Employees in Sustainability Efforts

BOYERTOWN, Pennsylvania (Nov. 10, 2021) – ClimeCo, a leader in environmental market-based solutions and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) advisory, is excited about the launch of EarthUPa new software solution for companies and institutions of every size and across every sector to enhance their ESG efforts. For the first time, companies will be able to engage every employee in their sustainability efforts.

In today’s market, companies feel the pressure to set and achieve strategic goals that will make a difference in their environmental footprintThere is one area that sustainability leaders and teams should not forget to include in their journey towards net-zero – their employees.   

It is strongly advised for companies to include every employee in their ESG efforts,” said Stephen Bay, Co-Founder and CEO of EarthUP. “Companies that find ways to get all employees personally engaged in day-to-day corporate sustainability efforts, from all levels of the organization, will outperform their competitors. 

When it comes to including employees in efforts towards sustainability, many companies expect continuous internal engagement to be expensive and time-consuming. EarthUP’s SaaS software platform makes it easy for companies to offer comprehensive solutions and strategies upfront.Their platform connects employees values to companies corporate sustainability initiatives and vice versa, de-risking companies’ ESG efforts. With the SEC demanding that company’s backup their sustainability commitments with accurate reporting, EarthUP becomes a vital tool for those who strive to reach net-zero 

“We love how EarthUP increases the capacity of our sustainability team. They make it easy for us to provide resources to our employees, track the impact of the actions, and surface insights into how Interface can be more sustainable,” said Lisa Conway, Interface’s VP, Sustainability. (Interface is a current beta test customer of EarthUP.) EarthUP allows us to get employees personally engaged in Interface’s corporate sustainability efforts!” 

As ESG increases in importance, ClimeCo sees a great need for integrating EarthUP’s platform and its solutions. It will allow companies to truly understand their carbon footprint by incorporating their entire workforce, including employees working from home. Companies can offset these emissions and unlock ways to make sustainability personal to every employee in company-wide efforts to meet their ESG commitments. Moreover, by making sustainability unique to their employees, companies embed sustainability principles into the culture of their workforce, giving them a competitive advantage by surfacing insights and accelerating ESG initiatives. 

About EarthUP

EarthUP is a software company that simplifies sustainability for companies. Their SaaS platform makes it easy for companies to increase the capacity of their sustainability efforts by making it personal to their workforce. With EarthUP, companies surface insights from their employees on how to be more sustainable while finding allies for ESG initiatives. EarthUP begins this process with a materiality assessment of each employee, including baselining and reporting employees’ footprints. 

Try EarthUP for free by visiting our website, earthup.eco, and starting a free 30-day trial. If you have questions, please contact us at info@climeco.com

 

About ClimeCo

ClimeCo is a respected advisor, transaction facilitator, trader, and developer of environmental commodity market products and related services. We specialize in voluntary carbon, regulated carbon, renewable energy credits, plastics credits, and regional criteria pollutant trading programs.  Complementing these programs is a team of professionals skilled in providing sustainability program management services, and in the development and financing of GHG abatement and mitigation systems.

For more information or to discuss how ClimeCo can drive value for your organization, contact us at +1 484.415.0501, info@climeco.com, or through our website climeco.com. Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using our handle, @ClimeCo.

How Has COVID-19 Changed the Way We Think About Corporate Emissions?

How Has COVID-19 Changed the Way We Think About Corporate Emissions?

How Has COVID-19 Changed the Way We Think About Corporate Emissions?


by Derek Six, Chief Business Officer | October 22nd, 2020


Like many companies with office-based employees, ClimeCo has mostly had its staff working remotely over the past six months.  Over the next year, I suspect many firms will have some employees return to the office, but I think there will be a portion of office jobs that will permanently telecommute.  Both employers and employees have discovered that it is possible to be productive at home, and that the time saved from commuting is a valuable resource.  With more employees working from home now than before, I started to think about what carbon footprints may look like for companies and how this has likely changed since their employees have shifted from company facilities to off-site locations.


Emissions in 2020 vs. 2019

For many years, ClimeCo has committed to reducing its emissions as much as practical and to offset the rest each year.  I am guessing that when we perform our emissions accounting for 2020, the total will be substantially lower than in 2019.  Most of this will result from reduced travel to conferences and sales meetings, but a part of this will also be due to the lower use of electricity and natural gas at our office locations.  I think other companies will find the same when they do their accounting for 2020 – less energy used on-site; reduced heating and cooling costs; reduced purchases of office, breakroom, and bathroom supplies; and less spent on office space maintenance.

For companies that do extensive GHG reporting, this may bring cheers: “Look how much we reduced our emissions in 2020!”.  But is that true?  Or did we shift these same emissions to the homes of our employees?

Computers, monitors, lights, and coffee makers are buzzing between 9 and 5 each weekday at telecommuters’ homes across the country.  What responsibility do companies have for these employee emissions?  Even in “normal” times, should companies think more about employee emissions and employee health and sustainability issues than they previously have?  Could companies make a more significant impact by leveraging their size and scale to address employee sustainability issues at home?


Making a Bigger Impact

Stephen Bay, CEO of EarthUP, Inc., and Stacy Smedley, Skanska’s Director of Sustainability, recently introduced me to a new concept which they call “Scope 4 Emissions”.  For those of you unfamiliar with GHG reporting, companies typically have considered the following 3 Scopes described in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol:

  • Scope 1 – Direct Emissions: on-site fuel combustion, transport fuels for fleet vehicles, air conditioning leaks, etc., things that are under the direct control of the facility

  • Scope 2 – Indirect Emissions: purchased electricity, heat, and steam

  • Scope 3 – Other Indirect Emissions: business travel, waste, water use, purchased goods, services, etc.

Stacy and Stephen suggest that Scope 4 would include emissions from employee energy use, employee waste, and employee commuting.

Why is their concept of Scope 4 emissions compelling to me?  In times of COVID-19 telecommuting, the answer is easy – companies should take responsibility for the shifted emissions resulting from employees working from home.  But even in more “normal” times, I think there is still a compelling argument to do this.  Companies could make a significant impact on global emissions by assisting the employees to address household emissions.  A thoughtful strategy for doing this could include helping employees improve indoor air quality in their homes, reduce their energy bills and waste, as well as improve their quality of life, all while saving them money.

Many companies have found that reducing their corporate emissions by just a little bit is pretty easy and generally profitable, as simple solutions like installing programmable thermostats and more efficient lighting in the office can save them a lot of money; however, as the reduction goals become more ambitious, solutions tend to become more challenging.  Why not widen the net, so to speak, to allow companies to impact employees’ lives significantly?  Wouldn’t this lead to improved employee retention, reduced employee healthcare costs, and increased employee satisfaction and productivity?

For me, taking some responsibility for emissions of telecommuting employees is arguably necessary for any company committed to accurate GHG reporting, but taking additional responsibility for their employee emissions may be good business.

About the Author

Derek Six serves as Chief Business Officer at ClimeCo, where he leads the company’s cross-cutting business functions, as well as the firm’s ODS management program and private equity fund. He holds an MBA in investment management and portfolio analysis from Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business.