By Kristen Cugini & Jill Rathke
Sol Methods is dedicated to working our enterprise in ways in which safeguard the planet and uplift individuals, the interior employee-led Sustainability Activity Pressure (STF) is one instance of this. STF helps the corporate’s bold carbon discount targets – at company and project-level – and affords instruments for workers to cut back their carbon footprint at work and residential. Since 2019, Sol Methods’ STF has calculated its carbon footprint, applied methods to cut back emissions, and developed a method for remaining emissions. For the previous 4 years, Sol Methods has bought carbon offsets for over 100% of our Scope 1, 2 and three GHG emissions. Most just lately, we bought 195 carbon credit to offset 110% of our 2023 emissions and stay carbon destructive. Sol Methods has gone a step past simply offsetting our Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions, buying carbon credit that exceed our emissions to be licensed as Carbon Impartial Plus by Carbon Footprint, Ltd.
Power Effectivity Carbon Credit: To deal with 2023 emissions, Sol Methods chosen carbon credit from an vitality effectivity venture on the College of Illinois-Champaign. For this venture, the college reworked its excessive energy-use buildings to cut back vitality, lower on-site coal use and fuel cogeneration services, and applied lighting retrofits. Sol Methods is devoted to buying high-quality, traceable carbon credit – this venture is registered with the Verified Carbon Customary (VCS), a crediting program that certifies carbon discount and elimination from initiatives that meet high quality requirements.
Sol Methods & The College of Illinois: The College of Illinois vitality effectivity venture aligns with our ongoing collaboration with the College on Photo voltaic Farm 2.0, a 12.3 MW photo voltaic venture, developed and financed by Sol Methods, that options pollinator habitats and zero-waste development. Buying these credit permits Sol to help the College’s total sustainability, scale back carbon emissions, and function a mannequin for related initiatives. This partnership exemplifies Sol Methods’ dedication to championing sustainable practices at instructional establishments.
Transparency and Accountability: Sol Methods overtly shares particulars about our carbon footprint and buy of carbon offsets. We imagine that transparency is important in constructing belief with stakeholders and setting a constructive instance to encourage different firms to undertake related practices. Beneath now we have included a breakdown of Sol Methods’ carbon footprint in 2023. Enterprise journey continues to be nearly all of emissions; the Sustainability Activity Pressure is persistently in search of methods to chop emissions right here earlier than using carbon offsets. 
Setting a Customary for Native Neighborhood Impression: Sol Methods’ collaboration with the College serves as a mannequin for different mid-sized renewable vitality builders. By offsetting our personal carbon emissions by way of investing in initiatives related to the communities our initiatives are in, Sol Methods reveals that firms of all sizes can contribute to a sustainable future with constructive native affect. In coming years, Sol Methods plans to seek out extra methods to cut back our emissions and stay carbon destructive by sourcing prime quality carbon credit from US-based initiatives, prioritizing carbon discount and elimination that may be accomplished on our photo voltaic initiatives and within the communities the place they’re positioned.
