Climate-Neutral Certified
Domo® Sports Grass is a Climate-Neutral Certified organisation
Domo® Sports Grass is clearly committed to making a positive contribution to the environment, including being aware of our CO2 emissions. Through a combination of CO2 reduction measures and offsetting our remaining emissions, our organisation has been certified as carbon neutral.
What is climate neutrality and how does it work?
To be the first climate-neutral continent. This is the European Union's goal for 2050. It is an ambitious goal, but it has become a key pillar in the work of European organisations. The EU says that a continent is carbon neutral when it absorbs as much CO2 emissions as it produces (What is carbon neutrality and how can it be achieved by 2050? | News | European Parliament, 2023).
From this, it becomes clear that achieving climate neutrality consists of two components. The first and most important component is applying CO2 reduction released from direct business activities.This can be done, for instance, by switching to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. In addition, one can make efforts aimed at improving energy efficiency. The second component is about absorbing the amount of CO2 released from business activities. Offsetting is done through participating in CO2-certified projects. On top of that, carbon reducing activities are more beneficial in the long run than offsetting. Financial savings in energy costs is a simple example of this. The lower the CO2 emissions, the less effort needs to be made in terms of CO2 offsetting activities.
What is a climate-neutral certified organisation?
Climate-Neutral Certified is a label owned by Climate Neutral Group and issued by independent auditors. They help organisations reduce their climate impact, in line with the Paris Agreement (EUR-LEX - 22016A1019(01) - EN - EUR-LEX, s.d.) Being Climate-Neutral Certified as an organisation means that you can demonstrate that you are taking active steps to both reduce your CO2 emissions from business activities and offset the remaining unavoidable CO2 emissions with verified high-quality projects. So, it goes much further than just applying offsets to realise CO2 reduction. The independent auditors strictly monitor that the annual mandatory CO2 reduction measures are effectively implemented before granting their certification. As a result, the proportion of offsetting activities will gradually decrease over time as more measures are implemented.
What does this certificate means for you?
Opting for artificial turf from a certified carbon-neutral organisation presents numerous advantages for your
club or municipality. Firstly, it actively contributes to officially recognized efforts, thereby fostering a positive impact on the climate. This certificate therefore adds credibility to your club or municipality. Furthermore, it does not only align with the increasing societal value placed on sustainability, but can also serve as a compelling factor for athletes contemplating joining your sports club or to attract sponsors or investors.
Finally, by making this environmentally responsible choice, your club, or community becomes a trailblazer, setting an example for other clubs and municipalities. This leadership role encourages a collective commitment to eco-friendly initiatives, contributing to a broader movement of environmental responsibility.
How did we become and stay a climate-neutral certified organisation?
Becoming a Climate-Neutral Certified organisation did not happen overnight. We had to meet several criteria.
We had to:
- Measure your CO2 emissions;
- Made up a plan to annually reduce your CO2 emissions;
- Offset excess emissions through a verified carbon reducing project;
- Let do a check and verify these steps by an independent auditor.
Our approach to being and staying Climate-Neutral Certified?
A Climate-Neutral Certified organisation commits to taking real steps to reduce their own carbon emissions. Annually, the independent auditors check whether the organisation has effectively implemented the measures according to the reduction plan and whether these have indeed led to a reduction in carbon emissions. This is essential to remain Climate Neutral Certified. How does Domo® Sports Grass do this?
We reduce carbon emissions
Activities we do in reducing our carbon emissions:
- Simple short term actions by our colleagues: switching off lights and appliances at the end of the working day, not leaving doors and windows open in winter, sorting waste and making sustainable material choices
- Home-generated energy from solar panels, supplemented by green electricity
- Phased installation of LED lighting in all our buildings
- Moving to more sustainable vehicles and equipment in the long term
We offset carbon emissions
In partnership with the Climate Neutral Group, we support the *REDD+ Forest Conversation sustainability project in Brazil to protect the Amazon Forest. We believe it is essential to protect existing ecosystems rich in biodiversity. Thanks to this project, around 99,000 hectares of the Amazon Forest can be protected. The Amazon Forest has become a symbol and is known as the 'lungs of the earth'. This refers not only to the offsetting of CO2, but also to the wealth of plant and animal species that grow and live there.
How do we enable sustainability in our way of working?
Feel free to contact us
Do you have more questions about our carbon reducing plans? Or do you want more information about how Climate- Neutral Certified works? Fill in the form below and your representative will contact you shortly:
Frequently asked questions
Climate neutral vs carbon neutral
Climate neutrality refers to net zero emissions of greenhouse gases. The best known is undoubtedly CO2 and methane. CO2 is the largest, counting for about 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Besides CO2 and methane, there are many other lesser-known greenhouse gases that play a negative role in the greenhouse effect. However, the different types of greenhouse gases do not all have the same global warming potential, which is why their effect is also expressed in kg CO2 as this makes it easier to make comparisons.
The term CO2 neutral means that as much CO2 is absorbed as produced. Since all greenhouse gases are expressed in kg CO2, we can treat the terms Climate Neutral and Carbon Neutral as synonyms.
Source: Climate change: The greenhouse gases causing global warming | News | European Parliament. (s.d.). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20230316STO776….
Difference between climate neutral and net zero
These are synonyms of each other. Climate neutral means having zero emissions (net zero) of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Source: 2050 Long-term Strategy. (s.d.). Climate Action. https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/climate-strategies-targets/2050-….
What is climate neutral?
Climate neutral refers to net zero emissions of greenhouse gases. Achieving Climate neutrality is a goal the EU aims to achieve by 2050.
Source: Climate change: The greenhouse gases causing global warming | News | European Parliament. (s.d.). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20230316STO776….
What is Climate-Neutral Certified?
When you are Climate-Neutral Certified as an organisation, it means that you prove that you are consciously working on your carbon footprint. In generating a certificate, you have:
- your carbon footprint measured to know how much you emit when running your business activities;
- drawn up a reduction plan to reduce your CO2 emissions;
- chosen a sustainability project to offset the, currently, unavoidable CO2 emissions.
Source: Get Certified - Climate neutral certification. (2022, 16 november). Climate Neutral Certification. https://www.climateneutralcertification.com/ins-outs/.
Sources:
What is carbon neutrality and how can it be achieved by 2050? | News | European Parliament. (2023, 4 december). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20190926STO62270/what-is-carbon-neutrality-and-how-can-it-be-achieved-by-2050.
EUR-LEX - 22016A1019(01) - EN - EUR-LEX. (s.d.). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/NL/TXT/?uri=CELEX:22016A1019(01).