While we at AMD are committed to “detoxifying the planet two feet at a time,” we are also committed to learning about and utilizing products and programs that will help keep our footprint small when it comes to the environment. In keeping with this spirit, we recently enrolled in UPS’s carbon neutral shipping option.
As UPS explains it, this program gives their customers the option to reduce the carbon imprint from their shipments. UPS is able to measure their CO2 emissions precisely over time with their own carbon calculator. An independent third party verifies the measurements. AMD pays a small premium for each package shipped to buy carbon offsets. With the purchase of these offsets, for every tonne (a metric unit of measurement equal to 2,204.6 pounds) of CO2 a package produces in transportation, an equivalent amount of CO2 is saved by a verified emission reduction project somewhere else in the world.
The UPS carbon neutral program allows customers to support emissions reduction projects that help mitigate the climate impact of shipping their parcels as well as conservation projects all over the world. Examples of some of these projects are:
The Garcia River forest in California. This conservation project supports sustainable harvest in the forest so that more trees will grow over time. Trees are a critical part of the carbon cycle; they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
The Fujian landfill in China. This project captures methane, a greenhouse gas, at a landfill site and uses it as a source of clean energy to produce electricity, displacing fossil fuel. The twofold benefit is reduction of the greenhouse gas and the production of clean energy.
The Chon Buri Wastewater Biogas-to-Energy project in a Thailand tapioca factory. Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of tapioca starch, which is manufactured from the cassava plant root. The manufacturing of tapioca starch creates large amounts of wastewater with high organic content that before the project was discharged into open lagoons. Biogas, a product of the breakdown of this organic matter, was released into the atmosphere. The project introduced Anaerobic Fixed Film Reactor (AFFR) technology into the factory. This technology is a closed loop system that collects the biogas and supplies it to the boiler, replacing fossil fuel as the factory’s energy source. Jobs have been created from this project and the factory saves substantial money in energy costs.
The premium AMD pays for each package shipped reflects our commitment to the environment, and the cost is not passed on to our customers. We are happy to be able to contribute to projects that save energy and our environment.
