July 2008
Gestalten understands the balance between social and ecological aspects as an important foundation of business. They are firmly dedicated to producing equally innovative and high quality publications that are environmentally friendly and resource efficient. To become a climate neutral company Gestalten have teamed up with myclimate for a long-term partnership that will continue beyond 2008.
myclimate
Gestalten works with the international carbon offset provider myclimate, a non-profit organization that originated as a spin-off of ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), in order to calculate and offset the total amount of carbon emissions they produce through their business activities.
These include the carbon output from their office in Berlin, their warehouses, production processes, the transportation of books from the printing houses to their international warehouses as well as distribution partners, and the individual travel and commuting of all company personnel.
Kathrin Dellantonio of myclimate told Gestalten in an interview how they make a difference: "We are one of the few non-profit organization among an increasing number working in this field. Doing it on this basis we can guarantee a higher amount of money being invested into the projects."
Back in 2002 it was still "difficult to explain the whole off setting mechanism, how it works. It was difficult to raise awareness because the time was not ripe yet." These problems might not be too relevant anymore but there are new ones: "We only focus on high quality projects. The challenge is to find these high quality projects, a lot of projects that are around under the name climate protection don't have that quality. Projects that don't reduce emissions at all or have negative side effects. It is important to distinguish us from other offset providers entering this market. Pointing out why we are trustworthy and don't belong to the black sheeps."
Project in Madagascar
In 2007, Gestalten’s carbon footprint was roughly 1100 tons of CO2, which translates into approximately 20,000 Euros based upon the calculation of tons per emission. This amount has been donated to myclimate to help build the first wind energy plant in Madagascar. The local Mad'Eole organisation plans to build a wind farm connected to the power grid with a capacity of 1.2 MW. The project helps to minimise deforestation, stabilise the energy supply, create jobs for local workers and improve the water and air quality.
The energy supply in the city and surroundings of Antisarana, at the northern end of Madagascar, is unstable. The high oil and electricity prices have caused sharp rises in demand for firewood and charcoal, which is threatening the local forest stands. Today electricity is generated by the burning of diesel or fuel oil (see image left), which as well as CO2 emissions also causes heavy local air pollution.
The project to construct the first wind farm in Madagascar firstly has the aim of bridging the shortage in the energy supply, while the construction of the wind farm in Ramena (25 km away from Antisarana) should allow the generation of climate-neutral and renewable power. The wind farm will contain six turbines with a capacity of 200 kW each.
The wind farm is a first step in a larger programme, the aim of which is to supply the whole market in the Indian Ocean with first-class wind turbines and to manufacture the turbines largely in the region. This makes the project in Ramena the starting signal for a technology transfer.
Each turbine will reduce the CO2 output by about 350 t CO2 per year, leading to a total reduction of 31,500 t CO2 in the first 15 years.
............................................................................
Read DGV ARTICLES on TAXI Design Network
............................................................................
Want to see what 24 hours of creative awesomeness look like? Click here.
This news message is supported by The Creative Finder, an online platform for photographers, illustrators, designers, and art directors to promote their portfolios towards new clients and collaborators. Creatives who wish to sign up for an account can save 10% off annual fees with promo code 'designtaxi'.
