Wander Without Waste

by Patricia Flores White, Development Director

By Carbon Offsetting through TWP, we will plant trees to reduce the carbon impact of your event!

Day breaks in Colorado and the Wanderlust Yoga Festival sets its last billowing aerial hammocks into place. It is a brisk and sunny Saturday morning and over 300 people begin to gather in the Great Lawn Park to practice as one to the groovy beats of DJ powered yoga flow. In these times when the very act of collaboration is a radical act, Yoga becomes the great unifying entity as we all move together in a slow and methodical rhythm, setting the pace of our hearts opening to what is possible.

Wanderlust Festival and Trees, Water & People have been working together since 2014 to reduce the festival’s carbon footprint while helping people and the planet. In that time, together, we’ve planted 55,791 trees in Central America with a specific intent of improving peoples’ livelihoods. To date Wanderlust Festival has banked a total of 13,948 metric tons of CO2e. Individual festival goers also have the option to offset their own carbon emissions footprint online.

Day 1 of Wanderlust 108 Denver! 

Our unique alliance allows us to invest in community-based carbon sequestration projects that tangibly improve life for people and the planet. Together, we are changing the lives of indigenous communities in Central America. The ‘green value’ added through carbon sequestration supports the festival’s Wander without Waste Movement and Certified B Corp. status.

Wanderlust Festival and Trees, Water & People have channeled the goodwill of the yoga community into projects that are creating positive change while encouraging environmentally conscious choices at festivals. Our alliance is an inspiring example of how businesses and nonprofits can work together to positively affect change both in and beyond our community.

To find out more about partnering with Trees, Water & People, please visit https://www.treeswaterpeople.org/partners.html

 

World Centric & TWP: A Profound Partnership to Save the Planet!

By Patricia Flores White | Development Director

During a recent trip to visit our corporate grantors, World Centric®, we were able to sit with their staff over lunch to find out more about the work they do. It was so inspiring to speak to folks passionately working every day, to help people and the planet!

TWP National Director, Eriq Acosta, and W.C. Development Manager, Janae Lloyd

World Centric® was founded in 2004 to raise awareness about large-scale humanitarian and environmental issues. Their disposable food service products are designed to reduce pollution and waste through composting, require less energy and water to produce, come from renewable resources, and are created from waste products that help save biodiversity and habitats. What is most incredible is that 25% of their annual profits are invested in nonprofits like Trees, Water & People to create social and environmental sustainability.

Together, we have invested in a profound partnership to help people and the planet! I truly believe that through collaboration, we allow each organization to specialize in their individual field in order to meet common goals. This holistic model of cooperation through social enterprise is a means to achieve greater societal aspirations addressing social justice and conservation through alliance and cooperation.

Source: http://www.worldcentric.org/about-us/newsletter/2011/october

Finding solutions by coming together to solve problems that affect the entire planet sets the example of what is possible, of what can be accomplished through collaboration. We have empowered each other to create solutions by working in unison. This asset-based approach to helping people and the planet is a way to build enthusiasm, energy and strengthen relationships that propel people and cultures to the ‘next level’.

On behalf of TWP and the communities we serve, we would like to thank World Centric® for their continued support and innovative vision! To read more about the many ways to ally with and support TWP, please visit our partners page on our website.

From Community to Cup: Café Imports Becomes a TWP Corporate Partner

by Katie Murphy, Strategic Partnerships Manager 

Café Imports brings some of the highest quality green coffee to the global market. What makes them truly shine is not only their excellent product but the way they engage in business. To minimize their environmental impact, they have partnered with us to continue their carbon neutrality for the next two years. With the environment at the forefront of all their decisions, Café Imports believes it is just simply part of doing ethical business in the ever-changing coffee market. They believe that quality, education, and progress are the driving principles that make their services exemplary, and here at Trees, Water & People, we couldn’t agree more.

“This new effort in 2017, a charitable effort by the ownership of Café Imports, guarantees again that all of our coffee is carbon neutral by the time it arrives at our warehouse.“

    —Andrew Miller, Café Imports Founder

By becoming part of TWP’s Partners for a Sustainable Planet Program (PSP), Café Imports is doing more than just offsetting 3,378 tons of CO₂. Through reforestation and clean cookstove efforts in Honduras, Café Imports can ensure their carbon neutrality and further their existing philosophy which highlights the “tree to the cup” traceability of their coffee.

You can see for yourself how Café Imports examines their carbon footprint in their 2017 Environmental Progress Report. By computing not only their shipping and business travel, but including the day-to-day office and warehouse output, and even employee commuting, Café Imports can feel confident in their carbon footprint metrics and make changes to their business practices accordingly. In 2016, they were able to reduce their annual carbon output by 11% from the previous year.

Café Imports is taking carbon offsets further!

This unique partnership in the Honduran Highlands lends support to 220 local families in the twelve coffee producing communities we work with and also trains locals in agroforestry practices. By diversifying coffee farms with shade trees and integrated food crops, we can strengthen coffee crops and improve economic opportunities in these communities. Additionally, Café Imports has sponsored the construction and installation of 20 clean cookstoves and the training of two local Hondurans in stove design and construction. Implementing clean cookstoves helps families breathe cleaner air, reduce their reliance on and consumption of fuelwood, and improves their quality of life for years to come.

Our partnership connects Café Imports to the families that grow coffee, taking their existing philosophy of “tree to cup” to “community to cup.” TWP is proud to partner with a business who doesn’t just talk the talk about environmental responsibility; they walk the walk.

If you would like to learn more about our Corporate Partnership Program, click here! 

Partner Spotlight: NARF Offsets Annual Carbon Footprint

by Megan Maiolo-Heath, Marketing Manager

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) provides legal representation and technical assistance to Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide. Throughout its history, NARF has impacted tens of thousands of Indian people in its work for more than 250 tribes. In addition to their critical contributions to the area of Indian law, NARF is also very dedicated to environmental sustainability.

As staff members David Selden and Rose Cuny write, “NARF is committed to environmental sustainability through its mission, work and organizational values. Native Americans and other indigenous peoples have a long tradition of living sustainably with the natural world by understanding the importance of preserving natural resources and respecting the interdependence of all living things. NARF embraces this tradition through its work and by instituting sustainable office practices that reduce our negative impact on our climate and environment.” 

Recently, NARF offset their 2013 carbon footprint – 460 tons of CO2 – by contributing to the building of 16 solar air heaters for Native American families. Over their 20 year lifespans, these solar heaters will each prevent a total of 28 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. In addition, each heater will reduce a family’s monthly heating bill by 20-30%. This donation reflects NARF’s commitment to environmental sustainability by reducing their impact on our climate and environment.

NARF Offsets 2007-2013

Thank you NARF for your commitment to environmental sustainability and Native American communities!

TWP Joins the Wanderlust Festival’s Greening Team

We are excited to join the Wanderlust Festival’s Greening Team this year! We will be providing travel offsets to guests as well as offsetting the emissions from the production of each festival.

As Wanderlust Festivals explains, “Yoga and environmental stewardship go hand in hand, right? There’s not much explanation needed here, most of us understand. Therefore our Wanderlust Festivals, the embodiment of our Yogic culture and lifestyle need to exemplify this stewardship. Furthermore, Wanderlust needs you to be the source of the sustainability programs because ultimately its you, our attendees, that make the programs a beautiful success or a messy failure.”

So, get involved! If you are planning to attend one of the Wanderlust Festivals don’t forget to offset your travel to the event when you purchase your tickets online.

For more information about the Wanderlust Festival’s greening efforts please visit their website.

How do Travel Offsets work?

Why I Offset

by Jeff Mertz, TWP Carbon Offset Partner

TWP’s tree nursery in El Salvador is managed by local people, like Jorge Ochoa (pictured), and plants tens of thousands of trees each year for their carbon offset program.

Right after my daughter was born in 2004, I started thinking of ways to balance the carbon effects of my behavior as an offering to her future.  Many of the things that I first considered in 2004 have now become part of our ecologically-friendly household: recycling, composting, gardening, trying to use the car only when necessary, walking and cycling whenever possible, purchasing carbon offsets, and installing a 4 kW solar array on our roof.

I found Trees, Water & People (TWP) when I did an internet search for agencies that operate carbon offsetting programs.  I liked what I read about TWP’s programs, including installing solar air heaters and providing green job training for Native American communities and doing reforestation and clean cookstove projects in Latin America.  In 2008, I started planting trees with the help of TWP.  To date, 1,850 trees have been planted on my behalf and I have offset 185 tons of carbon.

While many people aspire to become “carbon neutral,” I want to take the idea a step further and become “carbon negative.”  I like to think that the activities described above have effectively cancelled my carbon footprint but I do not believe that I should stop there.  TWP’s tree planning program provides a simple means of furthering that intention.

For more information about how you can offset your environmental impact please visit TWP’s website.

Studies Abroad for Global Education (SAGE) Offsets Student Travel

Studies Abroad for Global Education (SAGE) is one of those organizations that stands out among the pack!  SAGE not only provides high-quality study abroad programs to youth and educators, they also take great care in running a sustainable travel business that respects Mother Earth.

SAGE and Trees, Water & People (TWP) have partnered in several capacities over the years, including leading a volunteer work trip to Honduras in 2011. Now, as part of SAGE’s commitment to sustainable and responsible travel, all of SAGE’s students have the ability to offset their travel carbon footprint. For every offset made, SAGE matches it dollar-for-dollar through TWP’s Carbon Offset Program!

To date, SAGE has matched 298.5 tons of carbon offsets, supporting the construction of solar air heating systems on Native American reservations of the U.S. that greatly reduce heating bills for families in need while reducing green house gas emissions that lead to climate change. Thanks to SAGE, we are able to help communities reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and make the transition towards clean, renewable alternatives like solar.

To learn more about SAGE and their sustainability initiatives please visit http://www.sageprogram.org/about/sustainability

A solar heating system is installed on a new straw bale home at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Oglala Lakota Tribe.

Offset Your 2012 Carbon Footprint

Trees, Water & People’s carbon offsets not only offer an opportunity to reduce your environmental impact, but also decrease deforestation rates, improve the health of families, and support our efforts to protect and conserve natural resources.

Offset your 2012 carbon footprint today! Visit our website to get started. If you have any questions please email Megan Maiolo-Heath at megan@treeswaterpeople.org.

Carbon Offsets for Businesses

Click photo to enlarge

Visit our website to learn more about offsets for your business!

 

Environmental Offsets for Responsible Businesses

We are proud to provide businesses with quality environmental offsets that meet their company’s needs while helping both people and the environment!

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To learn more please visit our website or call (970) 484-3678. We look forward to hearing from you!