• The Alto Mayo Forest Carbon Project, Peru

As part of the organization’s overall climate change strategy, Conservation International’s office in Peru is carrying out the Alto Mayo Forest Carbon Project in northern Peru to reduce deforestation in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest, an area that has been threatened by agricultural encroachment, disorganized settlement, illegal logging and the presence of the nearby Northern Interoceanic Highway. The project will also serve as an input to the development of a national Peruvian strategy on reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

• The Nhambita Community Carbon Project, Mozambique

Envirotrade has developed a business model using the sale of carbon offsets to support the conservation and management of existing forests and the planting of new ones. Envirotrade’s flagship Nhambita project has worked with communities for the past six years to rehabilitate and manage the forests on their land and introduce new, sustainable farming practices, which have had a dramatic effect on crop yields such as cashews and fruits, and provide healthy livelihoods for about 1,300 families.

• Kakamega Forest Again Project, Kenya

Making Connections is a company devoted to promoting the environmental basis of livelihoods. The Forest Again Project will reforest 500 hectares of a biologically rich, yet threatened rainforest in Kenya, provide over 100 jobs, and build the capacity of a local community organization (KEEP) to help local people develop non-timber sources of income

The funding will be used to help with the large up front costs to starting an offset project. The money will also be used to help achieve the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards for the project.

Likely to be based in Central Florida/Orlando area

11 May 2009

Reports to: Carbon Trust Florida Board

Background
Governor Crist has, by Executive Order, committed Florida to “becoming a leader in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases”. The Carbon Trust and State of Florida signed a Memorandum of Understanding in July 2008 with the purpose of cooperating “in developing strategies for the establishment of initiatives and organisations … to hasten the transition to low carbon economies”. The Governor asked the Carbon Trust to catalyse change in Florida because we are seen as experienced, independent advisors bringing differentiated, well proven offerings.
The Governor’s Energy Office and the Carbon Trust are working together to develop the ‘Carbon Trust Florida’ proposition and are planning to announce its launch in June this year.

Carbon Trust Florida (CTF) will be created in the image of the Carbon Trust, sharing its vision and objectives. CTF will help the State of Florida demonstrate leadership in moving to a low carbon economy and will aim to act as a model for other US States. CTF will deliver material, measurable carbon reductions and, based on a track record of success, will be seen over time by Florida’s businesses and government organizations as their leading partner in becoming low carbon organizations.

Specific CTF objectives will be tailored to meet Florida’s particular needs and resources over its first two years of operation these are to:
• Work with businesses and government organizations to implement energy, financial and carbon savings;
• Encourage the investment of CTF client companies in Florida into energy efficiency measures; and
• Develop a low carbon center of excellence in Florida by employing a local team.

Purpose and scope of the role
• Ensure the effective realisation of the CTF mission and realize growth opportunities
• Establish the CTF Office and lead the local team.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with both the State of Florida and the wider Carbon Trust team.
• Overall responsibility for delivering on agreements within budget and to plan.

Main duties and responsibilities
CTF set-up and management:
• Establish CTF as the first Carbon Trust Office in the USA.
• Develop and implement the business plan, including the development and delivery of agreed outputs to key stakeholders.
• Ensure that all employment, tax and legal requirements are met.

People management:
• Recruit and lead a local CTF team of 10-15.
• Manage the effective input of Carbon Trust staff in the UK.
• Procure, build and ensure effective management of 5-10 third-party consultants and contractors to support the delivery of energy efficiency advice to customers.

Service delivery:
• Develop and implement Carbon Trust services to meet the requirements of Floridian clients.
• Maintain quality of advice and customer satisfaction, as well as resolving any customer service issues.
• Build relationships with key customers and customer group through direct interaction, industry organizations and marketing activities (such as CTF and third-party events/conferences).

Collaboration with internal and external stakeholders:
• Ensure that the CTF Board, funders and other key stakeholders are provided with appropriate information to agreed timescales.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with key stakeholders in industry and government, helping to extend and enhance CTF’s reputation.

Strategic business development:
• Keep abreast of the latest developments in the Carbon Trust and consider opportunities for use within Florida.
• Prioritisation of new opportunities and securing financial resources to deliver against the agreed business plan objectives.

Key performance indicators
• GHG/Carbon, cost and energy savings made by clients, as well as their investment in energy efficiency measures.
• Cost effectiveness of savings made by clients.
• Number of customer assignments delivered (by service type).
• Client, staff and funder satisfaction levels.
• Additional funding secured to enable CTF growth.

Key skills
• Leadership skills to grow and motivate the core team, and third-party consultants, to deliver CTF objectives.
• Service management skills, including service development and quality assurance.
• Strong management skills: able to deliver consistently to time, budget and quality.
• Strong strategic business development skills and a proven ability to sell services to customers at a senior level with large organizations.
• Strong client facing skills will be required to engage effectively with senior government officials, client senior management and industry groups.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ease with public speaking, advocacy and working with media.

Qualifications and experience
• A bachelors degree is required, preferably in an engineering/technical discipline.
• Preferably an MBA or post graduate business qualification.
• Experience of building and leading a multi-disciplinary team, as well as ideally building an organization.
• Experience of delivering energy efficiency services gained from working in a consultancy/ESCO, utility, equipment supplier, corporate/government organization or similar environment.
• Experience of working with State/government bodies, ideally within a commercial relationship.
• Knowledge of a range of commercial sectors, ideally with knowledge of key Floridian sector (such as the hospitality industry).
• Good understanding of the climate change context within the US, and preferably Florida, is essential.
To apply for this position please send your résumé and covering letter to: carbontrustflorida@carbontrust.co.uk

CND: how many of your shoppers decide to ShopGreen?
Marea: Since integrating ShopGreen into our webstore (3.22.09), all but 3 customers have used it.  Thus far 90% of orders use ShopGreen.

The first step is that you have to offset 50% percent of your cars carbon footprint or $25.00 through the Colorado Carbon Fund. Then during checkout you have to click on the license plate option.

Take your receipt to the local DMV, pay $50.00  more that goes to the State, and you get the license plate. After the initail fees, there are no more costs or need to offset your car.

Check out the program here.

Many states, and now the federal government, are debating how to best reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One area of consensus is that emissions must first be measured before they are managed. In response to the need for complete and accurate data sets, state and federal governments are moving toward mandatory GHG reporting. In December 2008, the California Air Resources Board approved its final mandatory reporting rule. The US Environmental Protection Agency released a proposed Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule in March, and expects a final rule in late 2009. The proposed rule would cover 85 to 90 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions.

In this upcoming call, speakers will:

*Provide an overview and comparison of the two reporting programs
*Offer insight into how the programs will interact and affect business in the West
*Identify key design questions that have yet to be answered

Thursday, April 23, 2009
10:00am to 11:30am PST
Register here.

Today in a press release from TerraPass and Alamo (National and Enterprise) spelled some of the numbers out of the partnership. 175,000 customers paid $1.75 to offset their car rental, generateing $220,000. Alamo matched dollar for dollar, the project generated $440,000. The project balanced out 42,000 metric tons of carbon; which is like saving 4.8 million gallons of gas or 96,000 barrels of oil.

Right now you can purchase offsets in Alamo’s in Canada and the US, the program will be expanding to all Alamo’s throughout the world.

You can click the more button to read the press release

Rental Car Carbon Offset Program
Proves Most Popular With Consumers

More than 175,000 Alamo, Enterprise and National customers
participate in offset program

April 6, 2009 (San Francisco) – In the year since Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental launched a program that enables their customers to offset the carbon emissions associated with the average vehicle rental, more than 175,000 customers have participated. Alamo, Enterprise and National are owned by the Taylor family of St. Louis.

“We believe this is the most popular consumer opt-in offset program in the travel industry and quite possibly any industry,” said Erik Blachford, chief executive officer of TerraPass. “It’s certainly the most popular program we’ve seen, and participation continues to grow.”

TerraPass (www.terrapass.com) manages the certified offset projects funded by these voluntary contributions. In the program’s first year, approximately 175,000 Alamo, Enterprise and National customers paid $1.25 per rental to participate, generating $220,000 for offset projects. In addition, the companies’ charitable arm has made an equal match, bringing to nearly $440,000 the funds that will be directed to offset projects. This is part of the companies’ commitment to match customers’ offset purchases – dollar for dollar – up to $1 million.

The overall impact: More than 42,000 metric tons of carbon have been offset. Based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, that’s equivalent to saving 4.8 million gallons of gasoline and 98,000 barrels of oil.

By opting in to pay $1.25 per rental, customers fund several certified offset projects that work to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere – including farm power projects that turn animal waste into electricity, and gas-capture projects that trap and destroy methane gas produced by landfills. The largest of the TerraPass initiatives funded by the program so far is the Worcester County Landfill Gas to Energy Project on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that is one of the nation’s first projects to be validated under the internationally recognized Voluntary Carbon Standard.

“This used to be just another landfill,” said Lee Broughton, director of corporate sustainability for the companies. “Together with our customers, we have helped give it the financial boost it needed to incorporate equipment and generators that will allow this landfill to keep roughly 100,000 metric tons of carbon emissions out of the air each year.

Examples of smaller projects include the Scenic View Dairy facilities in western Michigan.  Credits from these projects are verified according to the Climate Action Reserve, a nationally recognized standard for voluntary carbon reductions.

“That is exactly the kind of impact we envisioned when we started this program a year ago,” Broughton said.

In the first year, the carbon offset program was offered at participating locations in the U.S. and Canada. Customers worldwide can quickly and easily purchase their carbon offsets while booking their reservations through call-in reservations centers or online at www.alamo.com, www.enterprise.com or www.nationalcar.com.

“We have long been committed to managing our business sustainably and for the long haul, and this offset program is one more way to deliver on that commitment,” said Andy Taylor, the companies’ chairman and chief executive officer. “We have collaborated with our customers and together have begun addressing the parts of the world we touch with our business, and we are grateful to our customers for sharing in that responsibility by making this simple and sustainable choice to benefit the environment.”

The $1.25 offset charge represents the cost of offsetting the CO₂ impact of the average rental vehicle operating in the company’s fleet. TerraPass calculated the dollar amount, based on the average vehicle fuel economy, miles driven per rental and number of days per rental over the past year for the combined Alamo, Enterprise and National North American fleet.

About TerraPass

Launched in 2004, TerraPass Inc. works with developers of greenhouse gas reduction projects to bring to market verified carbon credits. The company is also a leading retailer of carbon offsets and consumer energy efficiency products through www.terrapass.com. Individuals, families and businesses who are balancing out the global warming impact of their flying, driving and home and office energy use have collectively made more than 150,000 purchases of carbon offsets from TerraPass and its partners. Together, TerraPass carbon offsets have funded reductions of over 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of climate change. TerraPass works with clean energy and carbon emissions reduction projects throughout the U.S., including wind power, farm power and landfill gas capture. One hundred percent of TerraPass carbon credits are verified against a broadly accepted standard by independent, third-party verifiers. For more information, visit www.terrapass.com .

About Alamo, Enterprise and National
The Taylor family of companies has the rental car industry’s most comprehensive environmental sustainability platform. In addition to its carbon offset program, initiatives include embracing new, clean technologies; operating the world’s largest fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles; funding research into renewable fuels; and supporting conservation efforts. In recent months, the company added 5,000 new gas/electric hybrid vehicles to its nationwide fleet, more than doubling the number of hybrids it owns. In addition, the company’s charitable foundation has pledged $50 million to plant 50 million trees over 50 years through the 50 Million Tree Pledge, a public/private/nonprofit partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service. All told, over the past several years the Taylor family and their company have contributed or pledged more than $120 million to environmental initiatives. For more information about the full environmental platform, visit www.keystogreen.com.

From there blog:

Enter to Win an Energy-Efficient Appliance of Your Choice (an Energy Star refrigerator, washer, TV, etc.)

Visit ShrinkYourFoot.org from now until April 30th, purchase BEF Carbon Carbon Offsets or sign up for the BEF e-Newsletter and automatically be entered for a chance to win a brand new, energy-efficient appliance of your choice.   Current newsletter subscribers can enter to win by sending an email to contest@b-e-f.org.  See below for the official contest rules.

Some other organizations that have recently launched their blogs could take a great lesson from Carbonfund.org’s blog. I bet if you called their communications guy, Ivan Chan, he might give you a few pointers!

Check their blog here, see if something about it looks familar?

After reading the press release about this it really made me think more about dual verification and the benefits of it. I sent over a few questions to Eric Carlson the CEO of Carbonfund.org and he was nice enough to send a fast and great response to my questions.

CND:What is the benefit of getting dual validation?
EC: The benefit of getting dual validation is that it shows, unequivocally, the project has numerous backers from a carbon technical standpoint as well as biodiversity, community, etc. As you know, our mantra is ‘third-party, third-party, third-party. This answers the question “Is it real and who says so?”. Dual validation to two well-known standards answers that question in an ironclad way.

The dual validation is also a nail in the coffin to those who feel reforestation and other land-use sequestration projects do not make good carbon offsets. It’s never been a good technical argument considering the UN Clean Development Mechanism, World Bank, Voluntary Carbon Standard, American Carbon Registry, Chicago Climate exchange, California Action registry, Joint Implementation, EPA Climate Leaders and Dept. of Energy all support sequestration, but its detractors have made good hay out of it. We hope that with projects like Tensas the benefits of land-use sequestration projects is just that much more obvious.

CND:Was one more difficult then the other?
EC: Neither was more difficult than the other because we designed the project with both elements in mind from the beginning. The technical carbon assessment was based on great science that is well-known and understood (and another reason why the critics are off base). And the biodiversity elements have always been important to our work.

CND: If organizations continue to get dual validation, would this be an argument for having only one set of standards?
EC: It could be. I think the push for a single, government-backed standard comes less from an actual difference in the quality of the standards and more from the confusion that is caused in the marketplace by having so many. Journalists aren’t necessarily experts on carbon offsets and they get a lot of conflicting messages, with each standard believing and vocalizing that they are the best. They also hear a lot from those who use no standards at all but yet try to market their was into the quality column. Dual validating projects is meant to clear away these arguments, from the standards developers competing with the other standards developers and the offsetters trying to confuse the businesses and the media to gain market share. In this way, a single standard would settle this.