INTRODUCTION FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES
The business of the future is sustainable
While sustainability issues vary among—and even within—industry sectors, climate impact is the common denominator for virtually every business on the planet. Taking climate action simply makes sense for business. Customers and investors are increasingly demanding accountability and meaningful climate strategies for companies to earn their loyalty. Gold Standard provides a number of practical and credible ways for business to solutions to businesses looking to reduce their climate risk and deliver a positive impact.
Take best practice climate action
Gold Standard worked with WWF and CDP to publish Corporate Climate Stewardship: Guidelines for best practice climate action to support companies in setting strategies in line with the ambition of the Paris Agreement. The guidelines highlight four key pillars to climate stewardship.
Reduce climate impact in line with science:
Quantify value chain emission reductions for recognition by GHG Protocol
Our ValueChange programme allows companies to measure emissions reductions that come from improvements in their value chain, from improved agricultural practices to energy efficiency measure made with suppliers. The methodologies are compliant with the GHG Protocol and reductions count toward Science Based Targets.
Making climate action simple for small and medium-sized businesses
The SME Climate Hub supports millions of SMEs as they commit to halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030, and race to net-zero emissions before 2050. Its pragmatic approach aims to remove the obstacles SMEs face as they take climate action — whether curbing emissions in their own business or getting green solutions to market — and help them unlock valuable incentives.
The initiative is a partnership between the International Chamber of Commerce, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and opens the doors for SMEs to join this UN campaign, which brings together an unprecedented coalition of real economy actors and 120 governments committed to achieve net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.
Offset unavoidable emissions with Climate+ projects
Small businesses can use our online marketplace to compensate for the emissions they have not been able to avoid. Gold Standard is considered the most stringent standard for carbon credits by many NGOs, including WWF and the David Suzuki Foundation.
Gold Standard-certified “Climate+” projects deliver benefits for climate protection--plus for local people and ecosystems. To earn Gold Standard certification, Climate+ projects must follow best practices for safeguarding principles and stakeholder inclusivity, plus measure and verify contributions to a minimum of three Sustainable Development Goals.
This means that for every dollar, Euro, pound or peso spent toward offsetting, more value is created for supporting local communities and protecting the planet.
Climate+ projects
FORESTRY
This nature-based climate solution not only absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, it creates local jobs in forest management and conserves vital ecosystems--protecting local biodiversity at a time when a million species are in threat of extinction.
COOKSTOVE
More than 3 billion people lack access to clean cooking solutions, leading to over 4 million premature deaths each year. These truly transformational projects help clean the air and save families precious time and money.
WATER
Water is the biggest global risk according to the World Economic Forum. These projects provide access to safe drinking water, improving health and living conditions and eliminating the burden on women and children of fetching water.
BIOGAS
A perfect example of a virtuous circle, biogas projects transform waste to a clean, reliable source of energy. On top of it all, residues from the fermentation process can be used as organic fertilizer, increasing crop growth and yields.
WIND
Beyond harnessing the natural power of the Earth for clean energy, wind projects provide new jobs in the green economy and help developing and middle-income countries become energy-independent.
Value created and SDG impact through Climate+ projects
By choosing Gold Standard-certified projects for your carbon credit purchases, you can drive positive change beyond climate mitigation. For each tonne of CO2 mitigated, projects deliver up to $465 in additional value toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SOURCES
The real value of robust climate action. A Net Balance report, 2014.
Valuating the benefits of improved cooking solutions: Impact data in high resolution. A Vivid Economics report. 2019.
Purchase high-quality RECs for Scope 2 emissions
Companies looking for their renewable energy certificate procurement to make a greater impact toward the clean energy transition can purchase Gold Standard Renewable Energy labels, which are issued with I-RECs.
