Today’s Solutions: November 02, 2024

When it comes to offsetting carbon emissions, Microsoft has set a new precedent for companies around the world. Instead of trying to offset more emissions than it produces on a yearly basis, the company has committed to erasing its historical carbon footprint. In other words, Microsoft will capture an amount of carbon equivalent to all the carbon it has emitted since 1975, the year the company was founded.

Microsoft was a lone wolf when it kickstarted this initiative, but now another company has followed suit: Denmark-based skylight manufacturer Velux, which plans to offset its emissions from the last 79 years to become “lifetime carbon neutral”.

The company calculates that it will need to capture some 5.6 million metric tons of CO2 to do so. Now, you might be asking: how can a company calculate all its emissions? The fact of the matter is that no standard methodology exists, and it’s fairly impossible to accurately estimate past emissions. Past energy consumption data is also not available, which makes things harder. But Velux plans to share the methodology it used with other businesses.

To offset emissions, Velux is working with WWF to support forest projects in Uganda that help protect existing forests and grow new trees in forests and in plantations. Meanwhile, in Myanmar, the company is funding projects that protect forests that play a key role in biodiversity.

Perhaps we should tell Velux to sponsor carbon-capturing seagrass meadows, which we wrote about in the top story of today’s daily. 

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

This heartwarming Danish ad breaks down the ‘Us vs Them’ narrative

It’s rare that we publish a story about an advertisement, but then again it’s rare that an ad stirs so much emotion within its ...

Read More

NOAHs: Charlotte has a formula for long-lasting affordable housing

We recently shared how empty retail space could be the solution to California’s affordable housing crisis. Across the country in North Carolina, the city ...

Read More

A seat at the table for underrepresented communities

Climate change is already affecting all of us—however, those that bear the brunt of these consequences are predominantly from low-income, marginalized, BIPOC communities. So ...

Read More

Expanding democracy: Michigan opens new doors for formerly incarcerated voters

Malijah Gee's path from incarceration at the age of 17 to imminent freedom reflects the longing for a voice that has been suppressed for 36 years. ...

Read More