We are Germany's first climate neutral tech accessories brand. Sounds great, but what exactly does climate neutrality mean? And how did we get to this point?
Our planet is in mortal danger. If we continue as we are, the 1.5-degree limit could be exceeded as early as 2030, ten years earlier than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted in 2018. But what is the 1.5-degree limit? It describes the goal of limiting the man-made temperature increase due to the greenhouse effect to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial temperature. The massive problems that nature and humanity will then face can only be guessed at by various scenarios. Man-made climate change is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, factory farming and the production and transportation of goods. We therefore believe that companies need to rethink and take responsibility. Also we at Woodcessories, an economic and yet sustainable company, deal with this issue and are always looking for new ways to improve, make our products more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint.
From the very beginning, it has been important to us to plant a tree for every product sold. Why exactly trees? Well, it's simple: Nothing really works without our forests. The German forest frees our atmosphere from up to 62 million tons of CO2 every year. At the same time, each individual tree can produce oxygen for 10 people per day or filter up to 100 kilograms of dust from the air each year. That's why protecting and preserving forests is important for combating climate change.
Our goal is to build a sustainable business model. Therefore, we have been working with the non-profit organization "Trees for the Future" since 2015 to contribute to forest protection and reforestation. For every product sold, we donate a tree that is planted in drought areas and helps restore biodiversity there. But forests aren't the only true environmental heroes. Did you know that bogs, which are found in Germany, are also very important for saving our climate? Because moors actually store twice as much CO2 as all the forests in the world put together. When the moors are deprived of water due to lack of precipitation, they are aerated and not only CO2 but also nitrous oxide escapes. This is up to 300 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide and thus the most harmful greenhouse gas!
As a growing company, we have asked ourselves whether reforestation alone is enough to stop climate change and still achieve the 1.5 degree target? Quite clearly: No! Reforestation and forest protection are a good start, but we wanted to go further. That's why we found the perfect partner in ClimatePartner to help us develop and implement climate protection strategies. It took many months of hard work, long meetings and above all a lot of coffee, but now we can proudly announce:
Woodcessories is now climate neutral!
Sounds great, but what exactly does climate neutrality mean? And how did we get to this point?
Our office and our organic collection, that means our organic cases for iPhones and AirPods as well as our Change Cases including cords are climate neutral from now on!
We sat down with ClimatePartner, calculated the CO2 emissions for our Office as well as our products and created our carbon footprint. To achieve this, we looked at and analyzed every step of the way, from how our team gets to our office, to the electricity we use, to the sourcing of raw materials, to packaging, to the disposal of your Woodcessories product. In doing so, we discovered a few places and processes that needed improvement and have optimized them so that they are now as environmentally friendly as possible. For example, we have shortened our transport routes and reduced packaging materials. Any emissions that we cannot avoid in this way are fully offset with the help of ClimatePartner by supporting climate protection projects. These climate protection projects save CO2, for example by reforesting forests, protecting existing ecosystems or replacing climate-damaging technologies with climate-friendly ones.
Thus, we were able to retroactively offset 22,362 kg of CO2 for the year 2021!
In the future, we will go even further together with ClimatePartner: Our goal is that soon all our products will be completely climate neutral!
Our climate protection projects
The projects supported by ClimatePartner are audited and certified according to strict criteria by independent third parties such as TÜV or SGS and must be clearly measurable, i.e. demonstrably save greenhouse gases. These include projects for reforestation, forest protection, the expansion of renewable energies or the general promotion of sustainable development by improving drinking water supplies, infrastructure and education.
ClimatePartner's carbon offset project guidelines are:
Additionality: Projects must rely on the additional financial resources from emissions trading in order to be able to demonstrate a verifiable countervalue for the CO2 savings achieved.
Exclusion of double counting: The CO2 offsets achieved may only be counted in one place. This excludes government-funded projects whose savings are already counted towards greenhouse balances for achieving national or EU climate targets.
Durability: All projects should be planned and executed over at least 30 years in order to make a demonstrable long-term contribution to environmental protection. This criterion is particularly important for reforestation and forest protection projects.
Regular review by independent third parties: All projects are regularly audited by independent third parties and the actual amount of CO2 saved is recorded in a progress report.
The evaluation is based on the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), of which each project directly supports several.
Which projects do we support?
We have chosen a total of three climate protection projects that are primarily dedicated to forest protection and the preservation of peatlands. They contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals primarily in the areas of climate protection, ecosystem protection and environmental education. With these projects, we want to protect not only the reforestation, but also the remaining stock of trees in order to preserve important habitats. Our focus here is particularly on regional climate protection initiatives in order to also promote our local forests and moors.
Peatlands for climate protection
Lichtenau, Germany
Rewetting and renaturation of the peatlands Eselsbett, Schwarzes Bruch and Sauberbachtal Bühlheim by Bergwaldprojekt e.V. The area provides habitat for many endangered plants and animals, but has been increasingly destroyed by peat cutting since the 19th century, which is why, among other things, the raised bog Schwarzes Bruch is damaged in large parts.
Red alder and marsh meadows for coasts and climate
Rostock, Germany
Protection of floodplains, moors and the sea in the flora-fauna habitat area "Moors and Forests of the Rostock Heath". Here, the Bergwaldprojekt e.V. promotes species worthy of protection, such as the red alder and rare orchids, and preserves endangered bog areas, which are an important basis for climate protection due to their storage of CO2 and methane and regulation of the water balance.
Açaí, more than just a superfood for Amazonians
Pará, Brazil
The "Várzea" ecosystem in Pará at the mouth of the Brazilian Amazon is something very special and is being protected from deforestation by Project Ecomapuá. The project also promotes alternative sources of income for one of the poorest regions in northeastern Brazil, including trade in the açaí fruit.
We are happy to be able to produce our sustainable products without any additional emissions from now on and you can be sure with every purchase that not only a tree is planted for you, but that you support one of three important environmental projects at the same time!
With our climate-neutral products, you can not only make your wallet happy on the upcoming Black Friday, but also the environment! So that you can secure the best discounts of the year without worrying, we have decided to plant not only one but two trees for every product sold!
