carbon offsetting
Each time we heat our homes, take a flight or drive the car, CO2 is added into the atmosphere. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that is released when fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are burnt. We can all take simple steps to reduce the amount of CO2 we produce, but we can’t reduce it completely. Charity Challenge has drastically reduced the carbon footprint of its UK operations, and are making a huge effort to do so in their destination countries too. We are also investing to offset the emissions from the international flights required to take part in our challenges.
air travel and climate change
Tourism is the single biggest service industry in the world.(1) It accounts for 10.4% percent of the world GDP and 8.2% of total employment worldwide which is equal to 231.2 million jobs.(2) For many developing countries, tourism is one of the main sources of foreign exchange.(3) Therefore, reducing travel to these countries is not a long term solution to climate change. Any potential solution to global warming comes at a cost; investment in renewable energy, cleaner technologies, waste reduction processes, and so on.
For every participant taking part in a Charity Challenge, we offset the emissions of their international flights. By joining up with Climate Care we will be investing around £60,000 over the next two years into projects within their portfolio, which involves renewable energy, energy efficiency, and forest restoration. The projects that we will be supporting are:
Orb Solar project - The Orb Solar project, now running across several states in India, reduces emissions through the use of solar hot water and solar electric installations, making full use of the most powerful source of renewable energy available.
Mulan Wind project - There are 20 wind turbines in total, each standing 50m to the top of the tower and rated at 600 kW in capacity. The total wind farm generates approximately 25 GWh of electricity each year, offsetting an estimated 28,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The emission reductions are made by reducing the amount of electricity that would have been generated by conventional fossil fuels such as coal or gas.
Nahar Biomass project - Using the locally sourced rice husk, which would otherwise be left as waste, the Nahar Spinning Mill can now convert this waste biomass to meet all its energy requirements. The project has involved the installation of a 5 MW rice husk-fired boiler, designed to burn 100% rice husk waste to generate clean renewable electricity and steam. This is a flagship project and many more factories in the Punjab region are likely to consider using rice waste to generate sustainable power for their operations.
Mani Hydro project - Water from the river is diverted steeply downhill via a 400m slope which surfaces at the power plant and is directed through two 7 MW water turbines. Production peaks during the rainy season (April to July), and on average produces 60GWh a year, the equivalent to supplying around 14,000 average homes in the UK with clean, renewable electricity.
Cambodia Stoves project - The project involves replacing the traditional Lao stove with an efficiency of 25% with an improved Lao stove having an efficiency of 29%. Although the gain in the efficiency may seem small, this gain leads to a cut in the demand for charcoal by 21%. The project therefore reduces greenhouse gases used in both charcoal production and the use of charcoal during cooking.
If you want to learn more about Climate Care and offsetting, please click here.
