Dive Deeper on Elevate Youth's Carbon Neutrality!

 

Here at Elevate Youth - we tend to always focus on the positive.  So yes, there is a problem and we are at a crux point but the great news is that we have a chance to make a difference and effect change. Rick Crawford is a force and he’s helping to grow awareness surrounding the climate change movement, especially within the fly fishing industry. Rick is the President of Emerger Strategies and started the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance because climate change is the single greatest threat to fish on the planet. We joined forces with Rick and are the first nonprofit in Massachusetts, to our knowledge, to go carbon neutral. I’m very proud to be working with Rick and extremely grateful to be a part of the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance.

Our Footprint

Carbon Neutral is a term used to describe the state of a business, where carbon emissions have been balanced out by funding an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere in the world. Elevate Youth is officially carbon neutral for the 2022 year and we will continue to keep up this status as long as our organization is in existence.

Our carbon footprint follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard, and in an effort to provide you with a relevant, complete, consistent, transparent and accurate greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, I’m sharing the official methodology:

Operational Boundary: In order to set our operational boundaries, we must report our Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions) and are voluntarily reporting our Scope 3 (indirect emissions). For more information on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions follow this link.

  • 2019 Scope 1 emissions: 2.6 mtCO2e

  • 2019 Scope 2 emissions: 0.8 mtCO2e

  • 2019 Scope 3 emissions: 15.7 mtCO2e

  • Carbon Footprint: 19.1 mtCO2e

Below is a summary of our carbon footprint:

  • Stationary Combustion: We accounted for 47.9872 kWh / month of electricity for 2021 and 2022, as heat and electricity are combined. 

  • Mobile Sources: We accounted for 2,915 driving miles in 2021 and 3,603 driving miles in 2022 in the Ford Transit. 

  • Purchased Electricity: We accounted for 47.9872 kWh / month of electricity for 2021 and 2022, as heat and electricity are combined.

  • Purchased Goods & Services: We accounted for purchased EY swag. 

  • Fuel & Energy-Related Activities: We accounted for 6,850 client driving miles. 

  • Inbound Shipments: We accounted for all inbound shipments (by weight), but not enough to be material. 

  • Waste Generated in Operations: We accounted for 1800 lbs of trash sent to the  landfill in 2021 and 2022. 

  • Business Travel: We accounted for 80 miles driven for the Mass Trails Conference in 2022. 

  • Employee Commuting: We accounted for 22,300 commuting miles. 

At EY, we are very conscious of what we consume and very carefully choose the companies that we purchase equipment from.  At this time I do not have any economically viable alternatives to eliminate or further reduce my fuel and energy usage so I have elected to purchase carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality. The carbon offsets I purchased are from the Tri-City Forest Project in Massachusetts, which is a 6,500-acre watershed area that consists of hardwoods, spruce-fir and other shrub species that sequester large amounts of carbon.

Takeaways & The Value of Going Carbon Neutral

It’s been an exciting process to dive into my carbon footprint and I’ve realized several hidden benefits.  We now have intimate knowledge of how our organization burns GHG which has spurred ideas of how to further reduce our GHG footprint.  Going carbon neutral has started many interesting conversations with different brands, nonprofits, young people, and friends.  Our small step here will hopefully have a ripple effect helping other orgs to feel confident about making the decision to go carbon neutral.  As a climate change advocate going carbon neutral has helped us “walk the walk” and puts action behind words.  The status of our organization being carbon neutral will help legitimize our participation in future conversations around climate change whether it’s advocating on the hill or talking about these issues with local leaders.  The status of our organization being carbon neutral has a small impact but if we can get momentum and encourage a cultural shift our communities and planet will see great benefit. 

We promise to keep trying, keep spreading the word and to do the very best we can to operate our business in a way that will help solve problems, not create them.

GO Carbon Neutral - Calling all guides, shops, brands, and nonprofits: Learn more and chat with Alec & EY team about their experience going carbon neutral and how you can as well: alec@elevateyouth.org  or reach out to Rick Crawford at Emerger Strategies.  Small steps lead to big change. 


 
Sophie Gould