How does a small non-profit that offers professional learning opportunities throughout Vermont take steps to become carbon neutral in its operations? This is what we have been doing:
Commitment
At its meeting on December 12, 2018 the VT-HEC Board of Directors adopted a commitment to minimizing our carbon footprint with the goal of overall carbon neutrality. This statement commits the VT-HEC to assessing the effects program activities have on the environment and to explore, develop and adopt policies and practices to reduce and/or offset that impact. The statement commits the VT-HEC to seeking strategies to lessen its impact on the environment by reducing related travel, conserving energy, reducing waste generation, etc.
Collecting Data
First, we needed an idea of what our impact on the environment actually was. We have only a small office and we don’t consume or produce quantities of concrete products. So, what data did we need to estimate the environmental impact of our operations? Beginning in January 2019 we began collecting data to help us calculate the carbon footprint of the 80+ workshop offerings we were putting on in FY19. We collected data and researched:
What We Found
Taking the data we collected on events from January 1 to July 1 we attempted to estimate what the full year would look like for those factors. We figured:
Estimating Our Carbon Footprint
Using a variety of calculators found on the internet we came up with these estimates of the carbon footprint for our workshop days.
Possible Strategies
We also asked participants if they would be willing to use a car-pool app and if they would attend an offering that was streamed to a closer location to cut down on their miles traveled:
What’s Next
We will share the results of our explorations and effort with the hope that it might be useful to others who are trying to do the same. Thanks for working with us and helping us to reach our goal.
Mailing Address: PO Box 285, Montpelier, VT 05601
Phone: (802) 498-3350
Email: [email protected]