We offset our emissions with the energy forests of Wald21 – with Safe Water Cambodia, we take it one step further
Daily trips to the office, heating in winter, a server with a cold storage room: Through our work at BonVenture we cause the equivalent of around 51 tons of CO2 every year – even though we actually want to stop climate change. We have now resolved this contradiction as far as possible. From now on, we are offsetting all our emissions.
However, we don’t just offset once, but twice. Why is that? The usual climate gas offsetting projects usually take place in developing countries. To do this, you buy CO2 certificates that are withdrawn from trading (they are “retired”), and the money is used to implement a climate protection measure. We have chosen certificates that will give more people in Cambodia access to clean drinking water. But in addition, we want to compensate our emissions in a way that is more tangible for us, where we also cause them: in Germany. That’s why we have created a BonVenture energy forest in the Allgäu region of Germany, thus saving the same amount of climate gases once again. We can implement this with our own portfolio company Wald21.
CO2 compensation with a regional focus: the Wald21 energy forests
At WALD21, the CO2 calculation goes like this: farmers plant small groves of fast-growing trees – mostly poplars or willows – cut them down every 3-5 years and process them into wood chips. The wood chips are used for heating, replacing oil heating. The oil remains in the ground and from now on, when heating, only the CO2 is produced that was drawn from the atmosphere by the trees in the years before. Our Wald21 forests are located near Landsberg and Buchloe (Bavarian Swabia).
Energy forest of willows
Energy forests – here of willows – are a gentle form of agriculture. They improve the habitat structure and thus lead to greater biodiversity. Not only in comparison with conventional agriculture, but also in comparison with almost all other renewable resources.
BonVenture-Energy Forest
Satellite map of one of our energy forests located in Bayerisch Schwaben. The Wald21 GmbH is based in Uffenheim (Mittelfranken).
Harvesting the energy forest
The wood is chopped into chips directly at the harvest. A short time later a new generation of trees is planted.
CO2 compensation x2: Safe Water Cambodia
The second project through which we compensate our emissions is in Cambodia. Through Gold Standard, one of the leading certification platforms for carbon reduction projects, we support the social enterprise Hydrologic, which has so far reached nearly two million Cambodians with its ceramic water purifiers. Because water no longer needs to be boiled, air pollution from wood burning is reduced, household fuel costs are lowered, women and children save time, and Cambodia’s endangered forests are protected. The project creates rural jobs in filter manufacturing and distribution. 47% of Hydrologic’s staff are woman, including 60% of managers and 60% of rural sales staff.
Hydrologic is also working with a microfinance institution to sell filters on credit, making them affordable to more Cambodians. This project will provide access to safe drinking water in sufficient quantity to an estimated 1.7 million people in 312,000 households over a 7-year period.
