You may have already heard about carbon credits, right? But do you know what it works for in practice? Why are companies that announce commitments to the environment, such as iFood, increasingly turning their attention to carbon credit as an alternative to neutralization?
The answer lies at the very origin of carbon credits, which are generated by environmental projects that capture carbon dioxide gases. greenhouse effect or that avoid and even reduce their emissions. Credits can only be traded on the carbon credits market if they have been certified by an international carbon certifier.
Credits from forest conservation projects acquired by iFood under the Entrega Neutra program, part of the iFood Regenera commitment, were certified by Voluntary Carbon Standards (VCS). Each carbon credit is equivalent to a ton of carbon captured, which also helps combat deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.
To balance the equation between CO2 emissions from deliveries via polluting modes and preserving the environment, iFood acquired carbon credits equivalent to more than 115 thousand tons of CO2. In practice, this means protecting 1,250,000 square meters of the Amazon Rainforest in the second half of 2021, an area the size of 125 official football pitches.
With this initiative, mediated by the startup Moss – specialized in environmental projects and the carbon credit market – the idea is to preserve the forests in one of the regions with the greatest deforestation in the Amazon biome in the country: in the so-called “arc of deforestation”, a strip that goes from Pará to Maranhão.
Projects benefited
One of the projects benefiting from the acquisition of carbon credits made by iFood is the Fortaleza Ituxi Farm, in Lábrea. This small city in the south of Amazonas, affectionately known as “Princesinha do Purus”, has an agricultural tradition and is one of those that suffer most from deforestation in the region, especially due to the expansion of livestock farming.
The Fortaleza Ituxi Farm has 150 thousand hectares dedicated to environmental preservation. To avoid deforestation, the project has encouraged sustainable management since 2013 and has enabled the local community to economically exploit forest resources in a balanced way, both in livestock farming and in the cultivation of açaí and nuts.
Today, Lábrea workers receive technical training in sustainable livestock farming and forest management; In the future, the project is considering installing a small factory for processing non-wood products and a seedling production nursery.
“When we started, they were dismissive of the project. They told me to deforest everything and raise cattle. Today they come to me asking about how they can invest too”, comments Ricardo Stoppe Jr., owner of Fazenda Ituxi. “If the financial viability remains with the sale of carbon credits, I really believe that the Amazon can be saved.”
This is one of several projects that Moss works on in its environmental preservation axis through the negotiation of carbon credits. It falls into the REDD category (acronym in English for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), which is the focus of iFood's actions as it offers an economic incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - especially those that can be avoided. with the reduction of deforestation.
Like the other projects endorsed by Moss.Earth, Fazenda Fortaleza Ituxi went through a due diligence process and is certified by VERRA, the largest and most important carbon emission reduction certification body in the world.
By purchasing carbon credits to offset your CO2 emissions, iFood helps combat deforestation in the Amazon and keep forests alive that will capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere naturally, today and in the future. “Protecting the Amazon forest is protecting Brazil’s main asset against climate change. To combat deforestation, we want to work with projects focused on conservation and forest management and that value the bioeconomy in their region”, says André Borges, head of Sustainability at iFood.
