Cleveland Carbon Fund announces new grants up to $10,000

The Cleveland Carbon Fund issued a press release today announcing the availability of new grants for projects that reduce carbon emissions and have beneficial local impacts. Grants for up to $10,000 will be available to fund carbon reduction projects in the Cleveland area.

Projects will be competitively selected based on the amount of greenhouse gases reduced and community benefits. Past projects have included home weatherization and energy efficiency projects in Cleveland neighborhoods.

Applications are due March 16th at 5pm and can be found online at www.clevelandcarbonfund.org.

BrownFlynn is a proud community partner of the Cleveland Carbon Fund, and Margie Flynn, Principal & Co-owner, is a member of the Fund’s Advisory Committee. Founded in 2009, the Cleveland Carbon Fund is the first community-based carbon reduction fund in the United States. It invests in local community projects that reduce GHG emissions and spark economic development in Cleveland. Founding partners include Cleveland Clinic, the City of Cleveland, the Cleveland Foundation, the George Gund Foundation and GreenCityBlueLake (Cleveland Museum of Natural History).

The Fund provides an option for anyone who wants to reduce carbon emissions in Cleveland to have the power to do so. Individuals and corporations are encouraged to calculate their carbon footprint on the Fund’s website and make a tax-deductible donation to the Fund. Donors can be assured their contributions are making sustainable, positive change in Cleveland area neighborhoods, as the money collected goes to implementing local projects that reduce the overall carbon emissions of the Cleveland area.

Walmart announces GHG reduction goal

Last week Walmart announced it will eliminate 20 million metric tons of GHG emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. This goal represents one and a half times the company’s estimated global carbon footprint growth over the next five years and is the equivalent of taking more than 3.8 million cars off the road for a year, according to a press release issued by Walmart and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Walmart worked with EDF to develop an approach that looks at their supply chain on a global scale. Other advisors have signed on to identify projects, track and measure reductions, engage suppliers and ensure proper procedures are followed for each GHG claim. The program has three main components: Selection, Action and Assessment. For the Selection component, Walmart will focus on product categories with the highest embedded carbon. For the Action component, products must reduce GHGs in either the sourcing or end-of-life disposal, Walmart must demonstrate it had direct influence on the reduction, and show how the reduction wouldn’t have occurred without Walmart’s participation. For the Assessment component, suppliers and Walmart will jointly account for the reductions, and ClearCarbon will perform a quality assurance review of those claims to ensure the process is correct. PricewaterhouseCoopers will then assess under consulting standards to make sure the process is correct.

This announcement by Walmart is a clear indication that suppliers need to act fast in order to compete in their supply chain.

Sustainable Laughs

Our good friend Deb Gondek, Sustainability Director at Rich Products Corp., sent the links for these videos to us, and we had to share them…

Do any of these characters remind you of someone at your office?

Cleveland Carbon Fund

Have you heard of it?

The Cleveland Carbon Fund is breaking new ground in the carbon reduction market. As more individuals and corporations around the globe are motivated—either by personal passion or regulation—to be better stewards of the environment, reducing carbon emissions has become a viable choice for citizens and businesses to undertake. As the first, community-based, open-access carbon reduction fund in the United States, the Cleveland Carbon Fund offers a structured, highly transparent alternative for the public to easily play a role in reducing carbon emissions by supporting community projects that foster positive economic, social and environmental development.   

Visit their website for more information, clevelandcarbonfund.org!