Where Does Your Money Go?
Platypus uses three different carbon offset organizations to distribute your money - Offsetters, Less Emissions Incorporated and Native Energy.
Offsetters invests in the highest-quality carbon reduction projects available in Canada, such as ground-source heat pump systems in British Columbia. Less Emissions
is a Canadian company that invests in international projects that are Gold Standard certified (the highest grade of international certification). And Native Energy
invests in North American carbon-reduction projects through an ingenious system of buying a project's anticipated carbon credits (see below for more details).
Platypus retains a portion of the donations we receive to cover minimal operating expenses. Because Platypus is a not-for-profit
company, all money left over after these expenses are paid must be distributed as per Canada Revenue Agency requirements.
We at Platypus specifically decided to be a not-for-profit company in order to (we hope) instill in our customers the confidence that their money is going to the right place. We also plan to ask for an annual audit for maximum transparency.
Below is a pie chart of the organizations we use to distribute the money, as well as a more detailed description of each organization.
Offsetters is a British Columbia-based organization that invests in high-quality carbon reduction projects, both Canadian and international. They differ from
other Canadian carbon offset companies (such as Zerofootprint) in that they do not invest in tree planting, which is generally viewed as an ineffective means
of carbon reduction.
An example of an offsetters-sponsored project is the installation of a ground source heat pump in the Piccadilly Terrace Retirement Residence in Salmon Arm, BC.
Offsetters helped pay for the cost of installing a ground source heat pump, providing a climate-friendly energy solution for the building. The system provides
clean, affordable and reliable heat to all the facilities.
Less Emissions Incorporated - www.less.ca
Less is Canada’s only provider of an EcoLogo-certified carbon offset program. All Less offsets are derived from Gold Standard-certified projects as endorsed by leading environmental groups, including World Wildlife Fund International.
An example of a Less-sponsored project is the Malavalli Renewable Power Plant in Karnataka, India. The project uses waste from crop production – sugar cane matter and coconut fronds – to generate electricity. Prior to this project, this waste was either burnt in the fields or left to decay, releasing carbon dioxide and methane. In addition, the Malivalli project enables local farmers and labourers to become entrepreneurs through the sale of their crop waste.
To see a short video about the Malivalli project, click here:
www.less.ca/projects/malavalli_vid.cfm
Native Energy provides under-funded green projects the capital they need to be completed. They do this by purchasing up-front all of the anticipated carbon offsets generated over the lifespan of the project. That capital is then used to complete the project. It makes possible projects that otherwise would be too debt-intensive to complete. It would be like me paying you for twenty years’ worth of hats in advance, and you taking that money and building a hat factory, except the hat factory is actually a wind turbine or a manure management facility that immediately reduces the amount of carbon being emitted into the atmosphere.
An example of a Native Energy-sponsored project is the Wray School District Wind Turbine in Colorado. The Wray School District was hoping to build a turbine that would power 270 homes, but found themselves 14% short of the total funding they needed. The project was at a standstill until Native Energy purchased all the anticipated carbon offsets over the lifespan of the turbine. That money allowed the District to begin building the turbine.
To see a short video about this project, click here:
www.nativeenergy.com/pages/a_wray_of_hope/362.php