Global e-commerce has grown steadily over the past decade and changed the way we shop, ushering in a new era of consumerism. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the sector even more, leading to staggering records in online sales. But, the speed, efficiency, and convenience of online shopping – that many of us count as a blessing – comes with hidden costs to the planet.
Passionate about climate solutions and seeking a way to bring climate-conscious consumer culture to the online space, Steffen Burrows, Mark Jones, and Michael Pollock created CURBON. CURBON is a carbon offsetting plugin designed specifically for e-commerce sites and created with simplicity and ease of use in mind. The plugin – which takes just a few minutes to set up and go live – equips businesses to provide a carbon-offsetting solution to their customers at no added cost to the company.
An e-commerce purchase has product emissions, packaging emissions, warehousing, and delivery emissions. Of the 86 million tons of plastic packaging produced each year globally, not even 14% is recycled. In 2020, the shipping and return of products accounted for 38% of the total GHG emissions. The rise in popularity of express and same-day delivery amplifies this.
“I have often been shopping online and wanted a more sustainable option, but I have felt disempowered in my ability to make sustainable choices. Sure, one can choose to support more climate-conscious brands, but every product still has its associated emissions, and we need to account for that as a society,” says Steffen Burrows, co-founder of CURBON.
By harnessing data and insights developed by leading research institutions, the CURBON team estimates the emissions generated by the products and services of over 1000 product categories, both locally and internationally. They identify what products a particular store sells and match those products with the associated emission factor in their database.
After calculating the climate cost of each transaction, the CURBON team utilises verified carbon credits to offset the environmental impact of the online order. The carbon credits they utilise are audited and certified by The Voluntary Gold Standard and The Verified Carbon Standard. Steffen adds:
We believe in transparency and accountability.
For the consumer, the plugin allows you to choose to add a small fee – calculated based on its climate cost – onto your order at checkout, which will go towards one of CURBON’s offsetting projects.
Their projects are hand selected by their team of sustainability specialists based on their potential to offset carbon equivalent emissions and contribute to positive social change. The projects span across the globe – from a biodiverse reforestation programme in Panama, a wind farm project in Indonesia, to a Fairtrade® project for coffee farmers in Ethiopia.
But, their primary focus is on South Africa, where their projects reduce emissions whilst contributing towards socio-economic development. These include a community recycling project in Stellenbosch, a low-carbon housing project in Khayelitsha, and Wonderbag’s low-carbon cooking solution. Steffen explains that:
We see local climate projects as a way to positively contribute towards reducing the socio-economic crises in the country whilst reducing CO2 emissions.
According to Similarweb, Takealot had 13.9 million site visits in September 2022. Superbalist had 2.5 million in the same period, while smaller local brand Sealand had 6.4 thousand.
The carbon emissions from online shopping are, on average, 17% lower than those produced by in-store shopping. This is because e-commerce eliminates car trips and their associated emissions and reduces inventories, waste, and retail space. With the meteoric rise in popularity of online purchases, the impacts of online shopping should not be ignored.
CURBON’s carbon offsetting efforts are in pursuit of a net-zero future – one where there is a balance between the greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere and those taken out. South Africa is one of the highest global emitters. The global economy needs to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Steffen adds:
Carbon offsetting alone will not get us there. It needs to go hand in hand with reducing emissions of products over time. But, it is a cost-effective and accessible solution that brands can access right now.
Carbon offsetting should not be seen as a way to justify overproduction and overconsumption. Instead, producers and businesses need to focus on limiting the impacts of the products they put into the world. And as citizen-consumers, we can find ways to normalise climate-conscious online consumer culture. CURBON is here to guide us.
- Images supplied by Steffen Burrows
- CURBON is a key partner for the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards 2022.
- To learn more about CURBON, check out their website or visit their LinkedIn and Instagram page @curbon.io
