Carbon Neutral

Our commitment to finding solutions to reverse global warming extends throughout our company.

It's reflected in our investment criteria, our activism and education efforts, our partnerships in our regional community and in industry groups, and our consideration of our own direct impacts. In 1999 we embarked on a study to reduce or mitigate our climate impact. Two areas of concentration were selected: 1) emissions from energy use in our offices, and 2) emissions from commuting and work-related travel. We began our carbon mitigation program in 2000 and have been carbon neutral since 2001.

Green Energy Commitment

We purchase Green Tags for the majority of our electricity use. Green Tags are created when wind power or other renewable energy is substituted for traditional power. Other energy use is mitigated through our carbon offset program, such as natural gas or grid electricity at our smaller offices. We're working with our community of tenants on long-term renewable energy projects and carbon mitigation efforts; Sr. Sustainability Research Analyst Indigo Teiwes chairs the Natural Capital Center's Energy Committee.

Employee commuting

As a part of our company's benefits package, we provide incentives to minimize single occupancy vehicle travel by reimbursing the cost of public transportation or bicycle maintenance for employees. We also have a car-sharing membership to enable employees who take public transportation to use a car while at work.

Carbon Offset Program

What are carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets are investments in projects or activities that reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon offset projects typically store or absorb carbon dioxide (or other greenhouse gases) or avoid the emission of such gases through renewable energy projects or energy efficiency measures. Examples of projects range from increasing energy efficiency in buildings, factories, or transportation, generating electricity from renewables such as wind or solar, modifying a power plant or factory to use fuels that produce less greenhouse gas emissions, or putting wasted energy to work via co-generation.

Our carbon offset purchases primarily mitigate the emissions caused by commuting and business travel. Our goals are to avoid travel when possible (in exchange for increased teleconferencing), to shift travel to modes with less environmental impact (such using bicycles or public transportation for local trips), and to mitigate the carbon emissions associated with the travel that cannot be avoided. We recognize that some travel is necessary, such as occasional trips to see clients, attend conferences, or conduct site visits on companies in which we invest.

Through research into the emissions associated with different modes of transportation—air, auto, train, and other public transportation—and travel data collected monthly from employees, we calculate annually the total carbon dioxide emissions associated with our business-related travel. We then calculate a monetary figure based on these emissions, which is allotted to purchase carbon offsets. The cost of mitigation is surprisingly low so we multiply the monetary figure by a factor of ten, which represents the additional environmental impacts associated with travel. This final cost is then deducted from each employee's bonus as an incentive to minimize his or her own business travel.

Carbon offset projects are typically in partnership with The Climate Trust or Bonneville Environmental Foundation.