Peregrine carbon management strategy

CARBON CALCULATOR

WHAT DO WE DO IN OUR OFFICES?

• We currently use 100% green energy in our Peregrine offices worldwide.
• An independent audit is currently being conducted on our office in order to make sure we reduce our emissions to the extent possible.
• All our office paper is 100% recycled and is recycled through the waste stream.
• All the printers we use for Peregrine travel brochures are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited and operate under high environmental standards.
• The paper we use for all brochures comes from sustainable forests, and is produced by paper mills that adhere to strict environmental management systems.
• We endeavour to fly less for business, and achieve more on each trip.
• We offset all Peregrine work related flights, all our taxi travel, courier services and car mileage clocked up for work purposes.

WHAT ARE WE DOING IN OUR OVERSEAS OPERATIONS?

• We have conducted a complete audit of all our adventures overseas to get a better understanding of the impact these make in relation to greenhouse gas emissions.
• In 2009, we aim to neutralise all major emissions created by most* of our trips.
• Greenhouse gases emitted by transport and accommodation during most* of our trips will be balanced and reinvested in projects that offer Gold Standard (or similar) Carbon Credits and are aimed at ‘neutralising’ your contribution to greenhouse gases.
• We have established a set of guidelines for all our accommodation providers overseas on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• We also encourage travellers to achieve more on each trip by taking fewer and longer trips, and to offset the emissions produced by air travel.

FAQs

What is global warming?

Global warming, also known as climate change, is a change in our climate that means less stable weather, unreliable rainfall, more severe weather events and often higher temperatures. This impacts on peoples' health, water supplies, farm production and natural ecosystems. Unchecked, it will impact on insurance costs as fires and floods become more severe. Acting now is our best chance to slow global warming.

Global warming is caused by the rising level of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. CO2, or carbon dioxide, is one of the major greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. The energy we use day to day comes from burning fossil fuels, which emits CO2 into our atmosphere. Which means every time we boil a kettle, travel to work or use a computer, we are contributing to global warming. The average CO2 emissions for each Australian is 28 tonnes per year, enough to fill 65,000 wheelie bins with greenhouse gas.

We probably can't stop global warming, but one way to slow it is to reduce our carbon emissions - turning off appliances, cycling or walking more, using less power. But if we go one step further, and neutralise our emissions by purchasing carbon credits from renewable energy projects, we can help the renewable energy industry grow, put more green energy into the power grid, and really make a difference to global warming. This is the embodiment of our philosophy: Reduce, Renew and Offset.

Renewable energy is energy that comes from an unlimited power source, such as wind and solar. Renewable energy is also clean energy, which means no greenhouse gases are released in its production.

Carbon credits are like certificates that represent a reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Projects that prevent the generation of greenhouse gases or remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere earn these credits, which can in turn then be "sold" to other businesses and individuals to "offset" the emissions they generate. One carbon credit is the equivalent to a saving of one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2).

The funds received from the sale of carbon credits enable renewable energy companies to cover the additional cost of generating renewable clean energy. Essentially they balance out the higher cost of green energy production allowing it to compete with traditional coal generated power. Climate Friendly's carbon credits are sourced exclusively from new renewable energy projects that create electricity without any greenhouse gas emission.

This means when you neutralise your emissions with Climate Friendly you are going a step beyond canceling your emissions - by buying carbon credits from clean renewable energy sources you are accelerating the transition to a clean energy future and investing in the technologies that provide long term solutions of global warning.

GreenPower is the Australian Government accredited green power. Climate Friendly is an accredited GreenPower supplier. This means that when you neutralise your carbon emissions with us, you are buying accredited green energy credits from renewable energy projects to match your emissions.

If it is specifically your electricity use you are neutralising (rather than car or air travel), you can also think of it as putting clean, renewable energy back into the grid to replace the fossil fuel energy you have used.

Climate Friendly does not sell green energy credits bundled with your electricity, as your current electricity supplier might. We sell you green energy credits that, when matched against your current electricity use, becomes 'green power'.

Buying Climate Friendly's green energy credits separately from your current electricity supply is a fully accredited way to obtain GreenPower and earn the GreenPower tick of approval.

(The term 'green power' refers to power that is produced by a renewable energy source rather than from fossil fuel.)

Our two products are:

Our 100% Australian product

Our 50% Australian/50% International product is made up of

Why do I pay more for green power?

If you are paying us to neutralise your electricity use, you will still keep your existing electricity supplier. The Climate Friendly fee is in addition to your electricity bill. At the moment renewable energy is more expensive to produce than fossil fuel-based power. Your funds pay renewable energy companies the price difference between renewable energy and your current fossil fuel energy. However, Climate Friendly's green power costs up to 60% less than the usual extra cost of green power and offers the same quality. We make this possible by choosing projects that have cost-effective ways to save greenhouse gas. We also incorporate projects from around the world into our carbon credits mix to drive your environmental dollar further saving more CO2 per dollar.

I already buy green power through my electricity supplier. Why do I need Climate Friendly?

Climate Friendly doesn't only give you the opportunity to neutralise the electricity you use in your home or office, but you can also neutralise the carbon emissions from driving your car, your air travel, or any other item or event you wish to neutralise.

Also, the green power you purchase through your electricity supplier may not be climate neutral. Many green power products are made up of a mix of accredited and non-accredited green power. Most non-accredited green power sources are not climate neutral because they are business as usual and don't actually reduce Australia's current carbon cloud.

Climate Friendly's GreenPower is both premium quality and good value.

How is my money spent?

On average, two thirds of the climate neutral fee goes directly to our projects. The balance goes to the essential costs of providing a retail carbon credit service, including education, green jobs, newsletters, customer support, printed materials for customers auditing costs. This balance is similar to other retail carbon offset companies.

Is my purchase tax deductible?

If you are a business or sole trader, then business-related purchases are tax deductible and the GST (Australia) is fully rebated. If you are an employee, ask your company about whether they would consider creating a climate neutral salary package for staff.