Carbon neutrality: Why transparent and traceable climate action initiatives are critical

• Businesses need to get involved in climate action 
• Initiatives to define and clarify the term carbon neutrality are needed 
• ClimatePartner's carbon neutral label offers transparency and traceability 

"ClimatePartner welcomes open discussions around how the term carbon neutrality is both defined and used," says Moritz Lehmkuhl, Founder and CEO of ClimatePartner, commenting on the current initiative of Deutsche Umwelthilfe DUH.  

The German Environmental Organisation has criticized carbon neutral labels and how they are being used, taking the stance that they provide insufficient information about the climate action contribution of the respective products. 

Since 15 years, ClimatePartner has stood for transparent and effective climate action. It considers the general criticism of the DUH as damaging as it does not consider those companies that make a big effort to be transparent and effective in how they take climate action. 

ClimatePartner’s label provides a tracking ID, with all details on how carbon neutrality has been achieved, so consumers can clearly and easily see the measures taken "This transparency is comprehensive and currently unrivaled," emphasizes Lehmkuhl. 

ClimatePartner is critical of any exaggerated or misleading marketing claims in climate action. There is a gigantic funding gap for global climate action – both on a state and a corporate level. On the political side, the United Nations see the promised annual amount of $100 billion for climate action in developing countries, of which many experts claim that it is only the minimum of what is needed, still failing to be reached. To compensate this, climate action requires additional funding and contribution from the industry on voluntary level." For this reason alone, all initiatives and measures that give security of action to all those involved in decision-making and planning are important," says Lehmkuhl. 

ClimatePartner closely follows current socio-political developments and is also actively involved in them: our international teams work on the further development of our protocol and software solutions offering around the calculation, reduction and offsetting of greenhouse gas   emissions to enable as many businesses as possible to take climate action. In addition, with a team of international experts ClimatePartner develops high-quality carbon offset projects around the world that demonstrably save emissions and support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). 

ClimatePartner is involved in numerous bodies such as the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), the CCS+ initiative for the development of methods for CO2 recovery, the Greentech Alliance as well as the working group for the definition of the international standard ISO 14068 for carbon neutrality. It recently co-initiated the School of Sustainability, an online education platform to engage and train employees on all relevant aspects of sustainability. It provides additional support to companies with their climate action strategy and sustainability transformation. "We are open to discussions, because effective climate action is hinged on transparency and cooperation," concludes Lehmkuhl. "We would be pleased to see constructive dialogue, rather than sweeping generalizations that do not move us closer to pressing targets." 

For more information on ClimatePartner's carbon neutral label and its criteria, visit: https://www.climatepartner.com/en/carbon-neutral-label