In celebration of Earth Day, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is thrilled to announce a significant step toward fully carbon neutral operations. Working in collaboration with Carbonzero.ca, ONC has purchased certified carbon offsets for all workplace, business travel and ship-related emissions for 2020.
In total, 694 tonnes of CO2 equivalent were offset through credits purchased to support the recently established Newfoundland & Labrador Climate and Ecosystems Conservancy Project, a greenhouse gas mitigation initiative that uses engineered wetland systems for wastewater treatment.
According to the United States Environmental Agency, 694 tonnes of CO2 is equivalent to:
- Reducing 2,806,951 km driving from an average passenger car
- Diverting 29,529 bags of waste from landfills to recycling
- Growing 11,475 tree seedlings for 10 years
- Carbon sequestered by 850 acres of forests in one year
What ONC activities are offset by this Carbonzero program?
- ONC's underwater installations
- All ONC work-related air travel
- Ship emissions from ONC’s six at-sea expeditions in 2020
- Emissions from ONC-owned vehicles, boats and fork lift
- As a University of Victoria initiative, all energy use for ONC buildings is being offset through their Sustainability Action Plan.
How does carbon offsetting work?
Carbonzero’s Signature Portfolio of carbon offsets is sourced from projects that are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. All credits from Carbonzero’s Signature Portfolio are quantified, verified by independent third parties and registered on the Canadian Standards Association Clean Projects registry or similar. This ensures that the carbon offsets selected by ONC are retired on our behalf and are therefore not being double counted by other offsetters. Find out more...
Why did ONC choose the Newfoundland Climate and Ecosystems Conservancy Project?
ONC was inspired to choose this Canadian project in alignment with growing collaborations between institutions and researchers on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In February 2021, ONC partnered with Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Marine Institute to successfully install the Atlantic coast’s first cabled observatory at Holyrood in Conception Bay, Newfoundland.
The Newfoundland Climate and Ecosystems Conservancy Project carbon offsets are the first ever to be generated in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The project treats wastewater and sludge from municipalities in an effective manner that eliminates the environmental impacts of discharging raw wastewater into watercourses and sea. The implemented wastewater treatment solution requires much less energy and produces less greenhouse gases, methane in particular, than typical wastewater treatment systems.
“Monitoring and observing the ocean has shown that over a third of the carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuels has been absorbed by the ocean, causing it to become more acidic and threatening the ocean food web,” says ONC’s president and CEO Kate Moran. “To break our link with these emissions, ONC now has certified offsets to address the emissions that we currently can’t avoid.”
