What Is Decarbonization & What Does It Mean To Be Carbon Neutral?
What Is Decarbonization & What Does It Mean To Be Carbon Neutral?
Author: Grove Team
While the emissions of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted by humans, have decreased over the last few decades, carbon still poses a massive threat to our environment.
Recent data from 2022 shows that US transportation, electric power plants, factories producing consumer goods, and other business sectors produced 6,343 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and equivalent compounds over the course of the year.¹
Once in the air, carbon absorbs and radiates heat, contributing to global warming patterns on the earth’s surface that disturb ecosystems and weather.²
That’s why, at Grove, we believe that if you want to make a positive impact on your home and planet, it’s important to address every unsustainable practice — even the practices that you can’t see, like the release of greenhouse gasses into the air.
At home, that could mean making small changes like choosing public transport over driving alone, turning off lights that aren’t being used, and supporting brands with sustainability initiatives.
However, for Grove and other companies, putting a dent in carbon emissions requires two large scale changes — committing to carbon neutrality and investing in decarbonization.
What do these terms mean, and how do they make an impact? Keep reading to explore each concept and learn what steps companies like Grove are taking to reach their sustainability goals.
What is decarbonization?
Decarbonization is when a business reduces its carbon emissions and the production of greenhouse gases through a variety of methods. This could be achieved by shifting toward facilities, business activities, and manufacturing processes that don’t produce carbon. This process can be time-consuming and riddled with challenges, requiring companies to invest in research, innovation, and unconventional production methods — but these obstacles only emphasize why decarbonization is such an important battle. Since most companies aren’t incentivized to invest in decarbonization, it’s often up to mission-based companies and nonprofits to lead the way.
What does it mean to be carbon neutral?
Carbon neutral refers specifically to balancing carbon emissions by helping to absorb carbon from the atmosphere through carbon offsetting projects. It’s important to note that carbon neutral doesn’t mean carbon free — which is when a company doesn’t emit any carbon during the manufacturing or operating process. Carbon neutral means the company emits carbon but takes action to offset the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Some companies only use carbon neutral to describe one particular sector of their business, for example carbon neutral shipping or a carbon neutral factory.
Since 2020, Grove has maintained carbon neutral shipping and operations, including facilities, business travel, remote work, employee commuting, and more. We are committed to decarbonization as our long-term goal, and partnered with the Science-Based Targets Initiative to meaningful climate reduction targets.
What are carbon offsets?
Companies invest in carbon offsets when they aim to achieve carbon neutrality in all or parts of their business. These carbon offset projects don’t just help the environment — they can create jobs, support Indigenous communities, and promote a greener economy overall.
A few examples? Here are three carbon offset projects Grove has supported:
Darkwoods — Boreal Forest, Canada⁴
This project conserves 156,000 acres of Boreal forest in British Columbia, avoiding 415,000 tons of emissions annually by protecting the forest against timber harvesting, road building, and other operations.
Acre — Amazon Rainforest, Brazil⁵
Although 90% of the state of Acre in Brazil is forested, current rates of destruction predict a decline to 65% by 2030. By granting land tenure to family farmers and providing agricultural training, this project prevents deforestation of over 250,000 acres while promoting sustainable livelihoods in its place.
Rimba Raya — Biodiversity Reserve, Indonesia⁶
The Rimba Raya Reserve, located on the island of Borneo in Indonesia, protects over 16,000 acres of tropical lowland peat swamp forests from palm oil harvesting. The project also engages local communities through education and agroforestry training, positively impacting 2,500 households. In addition, it has played a key role in protecting 105,000 endangered Borneo orangutans and is a vital buffer for the world-renowned Tanjung Puting National Park.
What should companies prioritize - decarbonization or carbon offsets?
While both play an important role in addressing climate change, decarbonization tackles the root cause by reducing or eliminating carbon emissions directly at their source. Verifiable carbon offsets do not shift the moral responsibility of reducing a company’s emissions to others, nor should they exist as a standalone strategy to meet climate goals. Carbon offsets should play a supporting role when companies are unable to decarbonize a specific aspect of their business. For many companies like Grove that make and sell consumer products, the majority of their carbon emissions stem not from immediate operations that are within their control, but rather from both upstream and downstream sources. This means these companies may have limited direct control over decarbonization themselves, in which case carbon offsets become a meaningful way to address their carbon footprints.
Moving toward a circular business model
Another way to meaningfully reduce a company’s carbon footprint is to reuse materials rather than produce new materials. For many companies, this means more refillable products and reusable containers that keep packaging in rotation and prevent the need for new packaging. And while many recycling plants are far from 100% efficient, providing consumers with easy, effective ways to recycle products can also make a huge difference.
A few ways Grove is investing in circularity:
Continue to invest in refillable or reusable product solutions over single-use
Use recycled materials whenever plastic, whether this is recycled aluminum, glass, or plastic over their virgin counterparts
Maintain take-back programs for hard-to-recycle items and packaging
Continue to partner with our industry on scalable, cross-brand solutions
One easy way you can make an impact
As you continue to make sustainable choices, big or small, to reduce carbon emissions, support brands that are doing the same. Consuming consciously shows businesses that decarbonization and carbon neutrality are worth the investment. Together, we can make strides toward a carbon-free future.
Sources:
1 U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). (2024). Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2022. Retrieved December 17, 2024, from www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2022
2 Rebecca Lindsey. (2024). Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Retrieved December 17, 2024, from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide#.
3 Climate Impact Partners. (2024). The CarbonNeutral Protocol. https://www.carbonneutral.com/the-carbonneutral-protocol
4 Climate Impact Partners. (n.d.). Darkwoods Forest Conservation, Canada. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://www.climateimpact.com/global-projects/darkwoods-forest-conservation-canada/
5 Climate Impact Partners. (n.d.). Acre Amazon REDD+ portfolio, Brazil. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://www.climateimpact.com/global-projects/acre-amazon-redd-portfolio-brazil/
6 InfiniteEARTH. (n.d.). Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://rimba-raya.com/
