As they say, one thing leads to another, and the relocation of the Political Intelligence Brussels office in June 2018 led the whole team to reflect on its consumption of CO2 emissions. To reduce emissions, conscious decisions and real, ongoing efforts have to be made by all PI-ers, including actions such as:
- Using natural materials for office supplies;
- Prioritising public transport and bike-riding;
- Conscious selection of our partners (i.e. our ecological coffee is delivered by bike);
- Encouraging minimal printing;
- Drinking tap water instead of using plastic bottles.
Although all of us continue to make concrete efforts in this, we have still had a negative overall climate impact, whether we like it or not. Consequently, to measure our climate impact in order to be better able to tackle it, we have carried out an evaluation of our 2019 CO2 emissions in partnership with CO2Logic, a Brussels-based agency offering climate and environmental advice to corporations.
CO2Logic helps us to calculate, reduce, and actively compensate for our local and global climate impact, validated by Vinçotte, an independent international certification body. The CO2Logic team partners with multiple environmental and social projects around the world, whose activities can help to reduce the impact of carbon emissions through offsetting.
In 2019, PI Brussels had 34t CO2 emissions, and the team got together to collectively decide on what project to support. Our 2019 CO2 emissions will be offset in a project that supports farmers in Zambia with agricultural methods that safeguard the forest and improve their livelihood.
Climate change is happening right now, and the consequences are already noticeable across the globe. There is an urgency to do everything we can to limit our carbon emissions.
So, let’s put our words into action and work to collectively reduce our CO2 emissions to make our planet a better place!
