While the primary goal is to reach climate targets by extensively reducing carbon emissions, there is still an increasing need for offsetting, which presents an opportunity to ignite positive change through these investments.
One of the most promising trends in managing carbon offsets is adopting nature-based solutions. These solutions, as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are a means to 'address societal challenges through the protection, sustainable management and restoration of ecosystems, benefiting both biodiversity and human well-being'.
Eva Zabey, CEO of global coalition Business for Nature, explains the relevance of this approach:
“Nature-based solutions can provide a third of the climate mitigation needed, and the world’s oceans, plants, animals, and soils are estimated to absorb half of the human-related carbon emissions over the past decade.
Therefore, valuing and embedding nature in their decision-making will help businesses and economies reach their net-zero goals.”
She emphasises that rewriting our global economy’s ‘rulebook’ is essential to create a level playing field and enable business and finance to take action at the pace science demands.
According to the World Resource Institute (WRI), nature-based solutions include “activities such as forest conservation, restoration and the sustainable use of natural ecosystems to address critical global issues, from biodiversity loss and climate change to human health risks.”
Restoring biodiversity and improving livelihoods are becoming part of forward-thinking carbon management strategies, addressing multiple challenges with the same investment by simply setting different KPIs.
A trailblazer collaboration on the west coast of Ireland has been recently launched with the same mindset.
The Canopy Shopping Centre in Sligo forged an alliance with Hometree, a charity dedicated to establishing and conserving permanent native woodland in Ireland, by acquiring nearly 90 acres of land for restoration as part of their sustainability strategy and carbon management efforts.
“Carbon offsetting can seem distant, but we can make it more relatable with this model. We are also in a unique position to create something entirely new, which can also provide learnings and data to other companies,” said Neil Monahan, Director of The Canopy, explaining why they decided to collaborate.
Situated along the Easkey River in South Sligo, this land is a unique blend of peatland, blanket bog, pockets of ancient Hazelwood, and species-rich grassland.
Neil recalls that initially, they didn`t realise the magnitude of this project and all the positive `side-effects` that later justified their investment on multiple levels.
He shares: “At first, it was more about land restoration and planting. Then we realised the added benefits of having such rich biodiversity on site that we can further enhance and the opportunity to use this site for education and community engagement.”
Ray Ó Foghlu, Hometree's Development Lead, adds: "We hope this location will become a showcase site for us, and local landowners will see what is possible.”
He also emphasises that with these types of lands, preventing carbon from being released is the biggest win with restoration, saying:
“It`s like putting a cap on a bottle since peatlands are slow to capture carbon but quick to release it,” Ray says, adding that globally, only 3% of the land is covered by peatland, but it holds 30% of the carbon, making degradation a significant threat."
Neil admits that they are on the journey to fully explore the potential of a larger-scale sustainability strategy that would help them properly measure their impact across all main activities and engage their stakeholders, especially the shops operating in the centre.
Still, these initiatives have already proven that taking climate action locally as a business brings multiple direct and indirect benefits, including cost efficiency, brand awareness, and customer engagement, in addition to carbon management.
An increasing number of carbon offset projects are available that integrate reaching carbon targets with overarching societal and environmental factors. Still, nature-based solutions are seriously underfunded, and approximately $340-$467 billion is needed to fill the nature finance gap.
Based on the WRI recommendation, the Voluntary Carbon Market can channel further funding, and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) carbon credits “can help deliver global climate goals, foster the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems, and secure the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and local communities”.
In 2022, WRI published guidance on using NbS credits in the voluntary carbon market to help organisations best embrace this opportunity.
///
Written by Szilvia Szabo.
This article was brought to you thanks to our collaboration with Climate Journal and the Profit with Purpose digital magazine. Click here to read more articles like this.