Toshiba announce first carbon neutral EPOS and Auto ID products

The Toshiba Carbon Zero Scheme in partnership with co2balance, a leading provider of voluntary carbon offset, is rolling out across the different Toshiba divisions and is managed in line with the internationally recognised ‘Gold Standard’, an independent standards body that verifies voluntary carbon projects.

The system measures the unavoidable carbon produced during the manufacturing and delivery processes and balances it by reducing carbon output elsewhere. In this case, Toshiba will pay for an equivalent amount of energy efficient stoves in Kenya, replacing the need for traditional open fires, meaning a 70% reduction in the use of firewood and the resulting carbon production.

Aside from the carbon reduction benefits, the scheme managed by co2balance, provides a number of social benefits improving the lives of communities across Kenya including:

• Reduced deforestation and degradation of surrounding forests
• Reduced soil erosion and nutrient loss
• Reduced risk of flooding
• Reduced poverty, as the efficient wood stove reduces annual expenditure on cooking fuels
• Reduced adverse health effects associated with indoor air pollution
• Reduced cooking and wood collection time; householders can spend more time on other household tasks, as well as schooling and supervising children
• Reduced exposure of firewood collectors (mainly women and children) to hazards in remote areas
• Reduced burns and injuries from exposure to an open fire

‘Toshiba TEC is very proud to be involved with The African Energy Efficient Stove Project in Kenya. We do take our C02 production responsibilities very seriously,’ said Paul Reynolds, Senior Manager at Toshiba TEC.

What is carbon offsetting?

Carbon offsetting exists as a means to do something about residual carbon footprints. It works by helping businesses to assess the size of their residual carbon footprints and then invest in projects around the world that save the emission of, or absorb, an equivalent amount of carbon. Through this process, they balance out their unavoidable emissions and become CarbonZero.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases produced and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.

co2balance undertake a full Greenhouse Gas Audit in accordance with the internationally-recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the ISO 14064 standard. A carbon footprint report to this standard can be used in corporate reporting, in the knowledge that the methodologies employed are accepted across the world.

Carbon Offset Projects

The most popular and effective, carbon management project from co2balance is the African Energy Efficient Stove Project, which prevents the release of carbon dioxide by building energy saving cooking stoves to families in Kenya. The stoves replace fuel intensive open fires (similar to camp fires) and reduce the amount of firewood needed for cooking by 70% - this in turn prevents the release of carbon emissions through the reduction in burning firewood. This project is being expanded across Sub Saharan Africa and to the Indian sub continent.

In addition these projects benefit from the CarbonTrack system, which allows clients to track the projects using GPS co-ordinates for each of the energy efficient stoves we install via Google Earth.

How additional are the projects that you run?

‘Additionality’ is an essential component of any carbon offset project. This means that the project must not have gone ahead but for the investment of the funds from carbon offset clients. It must represent new activity over and above the baseline or ‘business as usual’ scenario. In order to make this easy to demonstrate and transparent, co2balance’s in-house carbon offset projects are at least 50% funded by carbon offset payments (and are currently 100% funded). This guarantees that the project would not have happened but for the carbon offset investment. We are not aware of any other offset provider with such a high standard.

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