achieved Carbon Negative status for our operation!
Genashtim was set up to operate 100% virtually, enabling our diverse team members from the marginalised communities to perform effectively from the safety, comfort, and convenience of their homes. This work culture inadvertently contributed to reducing carbon emission and cost.
Based on the first-ever Home Emissions White Paper published by EcoAct, in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group, a resource that is endorsed by the B Corp Climate Collective, Genashtim has a carbon-negative reading, at -639.44 kg of CO2 annually, based on 135 employees worldwide. In other words, Genashtim had not only offset our already low carbon released from our operation, totaling at approximately 16.8 tonnes, or the equivalent to carbon released by 4 average persons per year in 2021, but has also offset an additional 639 kg of Carbon through the use of solar panels, and factoring in the matured trees our team members have planted within their property.
How do we calculate it?
Our methodology involves 3 steps which are:
1
Identifying the total energy used (in kWh) by all Genashtim staff
2
Determining the CO2 released based on this figure
3
Identifying the amount of carbon offset based on the solar panel and trees planted by our staff
01
Step 1
Identifying the total energy used (in kWh) by all Genashtim staff members.
Identifying the total energy used (in kWh) by all Genashtim staff members. We have adopted the methodology proposed by the Home Emission White Paper which concentrated on energy usage from office equipment, and home heating or cooling, whichever one applies. In other words, we are only tracking equipment used by our staff which are namely laptops and fans.
Hence, the following is a summary of our calculation:
- Daily working hours for 135 staff members, in which 111 are employed full time, working 8 hours and 24 part-time, working 4 hours, resulting in 984 total working hours spent per day.
- Total energy consumed is the average Wattage of devices, consisting namely of 60w laptops and 55w fans, multiplied by 984 working hours equals to 113.16 kWh.
02
Step 2
Determining the CO2 emission based on the total Power consumed.
To determine the total Carbon Dioxide (CO2) released by Genashtim’s operation, we multiplied the total energy consumed in step one with the Carbon Intensity Factor i.e the CO2 released from 1 kWh energy generated by the power plan. Based on this, we have determined that Genashtim produces 72.46 kg of CO2 daily, or 16,810.56 kg or 16.81 tonnes per year, after multiplying our staff members’ 232 total working days yearly.
Important Note: The explanation and calculation above have been simplified for a better understanding of our methodology. To view the full details of our calculation, please click HERE.
03
Step 3
Identifying the amount of carbon offset based on the solar panel and trees planted by our staff.
To calculate the carbon offset, we ran an Employee Survey to determine the number of matured trees planted by all Genashtim staff members as well as the solar panel system installed in their homes. Our survey shows that there are a total of 1013 trees planted by our staff members, and a 5 kW solar power system was installed and utilized by a team member.
To estimate the amount of CO2 absorbed by a matured tree, we have adopted the configuration proposed by Ross Bernet, Forestry Specialist at One Tree Planted, which is about 10 kg annually. Hence, our total carbon offset based on trees is 10130 kg or 10.13 tonnes of CO2 in 2020 by factoring in the 1013 of these.
As for the solar power system, we have utilized the CO2 Emission Reduction Calculator by Solar Mango to determine the Solar Panel Calculation by selecting the capacity of the solar panels, the average power production of the solar panel, the estimated number of days with 6 hours of sunshine per region and finally the CO2 emissions reduction value. A 5kW solar power system provides approximately 4kWh per day x 6 hours x 305 days = 7,320 kWh. This would result in a CO2 emission reduction of 7.32 tonnes per year. In total, Genashtim have reduced 17450 kg or 17.45 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Based on the result, Genashtim has achieved carbon negative by not only offsetting 16.81 tonnes of CO2 released from our operation, but also prevented an additional 639.44 kg of CO2 from being released to the environment.
Henceforth, we are targeting to have our carbon-negative status certified and approved by the relevant global certification body within 2022.
Please click HERE to view the full details of our calculation and HERE to learn more about the methods we have used. To learn about net Zero, Carbon Neutral, Carbon Negative and more, please click HERE.
