Can you be eco-friendly and efficient at the same time? Oh yes! We’re delivering speedily with our cars and serving our food in disposable packaging. And yet, we claim to be green because we compensate for it. Wait, what? Let us explain.

Here’s what we’ll look at:


Why do we do it?

When Smunch was first started, we put a lot of thought into how the food was supposed to be delivered. From the beginning it was clear that one of the main goals of Smunch is to offer bulk deliveries, allowing entire teams or even entire companies to enjoy lunch together.

However, bulk deliveries require a lot of space. In order to deliver the required amount of food (and make sure it stays hot!) it was soon clear that we had to go for vans. Additionally we use disposable (even if sustainable) packaging and, well - it doesn’t exactly put us in a good spot. 

But we are determined not to harm the environment - and we soon found a tangible, easy solution that helps us to tick all the boxes.

 

Smunch van

How do we do it?

In order to make our intentions a reality, we cooperate with Finnish carbon offset broker Karbonaut. The company was founded with the belief that changing our habits and letting go of our passions is a lot to ask. Instead, why not compensate for emissions in an easy way?

And that’s exactly what we do. Every year we calculate the amount of carbon dioxide we have produced through our cars, the shipping of our packaging from the producer to our hub, and our logistics equipment (such as our sanitizers and the paper we use for printing).

In 2019, our annual CO2 emissions amounted to 30 tons! So we paid Karbonaut to offset this accordingly.


Karbonaut certificate

What happens to the money?

But what happens to the money we pay them? That’s quite simple. Whenever a company or an individual makes a purchase at the Karbonaut webstore, the amount paid is invested in CER (Certified Emission Reduction) Units.



What is a CER Unit?

CER Units are tradable units that represent the equivalent of one tonne of CO2. By purchasing them, the money goes towards projects that are registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and that provenly help to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide produced on the planet.

The CDM is defined by the Kyoto protocol, a treaty first made in 1997 and currently signed by 84 countries who aim to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 

If you purchase one CER, the equivalent of one tonne of CO2 will be offset. The prices vary depending on what project the money goes towards.

 

Eco-friendly

What projects are supported?

Karbonaut has deliberately decided to only support Gold Standard certified projects, a certification attained by NGOs such as WWF.  These organizations make sure that the projects make measurable contributions to a sustainable development - and thus, a significant difference.

The main project currently supported by Karbonaut is located in India and aims to contribute clean wind energy to the grid. Not only will this help to ultimately reduce the usage of fossil fuels but it also creates valuable job opportunities in the area.

 

Wind park

How can YOU help make a difference?

Are you intrigued? Or suddenly thinking twice about your car or your overseas holiday? Well here’s some good news: Karbonaut isn’t only for companies. Every single individual can purchase CER Units from them. They also make an excellent gift for that person you’d otherwise give socks and chocolate to (and really, for anyone).

So what are you waiting for? Are we in this together?

 

Happy clean ordering!

The Smunch Team

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