TerraPass Launches Innovative Carbon Balanced Business Program

Provides First Online Carbon Calculator to Help Businesses Take Action on Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TerraPass™ today unveils the Carbon Balanced Business Program, designed to help businesses of all kinds balance out the carbon emissions created from their daily operations. This groundbreaking program gives businesses the opportunity to use an online carbon calculator to determine their carbon footprints. Just as with TerraPass' Road, Home and Flight calculators, the Carbon Balanced Business program offers free carbon calculator access with no registration required.

“In partnership with TerraPass, Expedia runs one of the most successful carbon offset programs in the world. After a comprehensive study of offset providers we chose to expand our relationship and use TerraPass to balance our own travel.”

The TerraPass Business online calculator considers five aspects of a typical organization’s carbon footprint: on-site energy use, off-site server energy use, company vehicles, business travel and employee commutes. TerraPass’ online calculator will quickly and easily guide a business owner or employee through each of these areas, detailing what information is needed for the calculations and displaying each category’s emissions in a bar chart.

TerraPass is launching this program with a group of businesses that represent a range of companies committed to the expansion of their sustainability practices. This group includes Expedia Inc., Architectural Area Lighting Co. (AAL) and Butterfield & Robinson, Inc.

“It is important that businesses show real leadership in being environmentally responsible by implementing comprehensive and long-term sustainability practices. For Butterfield & Robinson, this means understanding and measuring our footprint, committing to working hard to reduce consumption, and looking for meaningful methods to address what can't be reduced now,” comments Butterfield & Robinson’s CEO Benson Cowan. “We've chosen TerraPass to help us balance our environmental impact. Working with TerraPass has given us effective and principled solutions to a complicated set of problems.”

The TerraPass carbon calculator is designed to be flexible and easy to use. For example, when looking at onsite energy usage, if utility bill information is not accessible, TerraPass can make estimates based on average cost or even square footage of office space. Employee commute and business travel data is based on averages in selected travel modes for each employee.

"Our customers are hungry for green travel options,” said Expedia spokesperson Katie Deines. “In partnership with TerraPass, Expedia runs one of the most successful carbon offset programs in the world. After a comprehensive study of offset providers we chose to expand our relationship and use TerraPass to balance our own travel."

All of TerraPass emissions calculations are based on the World Resources Institute (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the most widely used international accounting tool for greenhouse gas emissions.

“Establishing Architectural Area Lighting as the first carbon neutral commercial lighting manufacturer in the marketplace was a natural step in our evolution,” said George Preston, AAL vice president and general manager. “After investigating many options, we found that TerraPass’ methods of neutralizing carbon emissions fit our organization the best. Our team believes TerraPass’ mission to invest in finding sustainable solutions is a powerful approach.”

Mozilla, the maker of the popular Firefox Web browser, has also signed on as a TerraPass Carbon Balanced Business. Mozilla is using TerraPass as part of a comprehensive environmental program to reduce the impact of carbon emissions from server and office electricity usage, as well as employee travel and commutes.

“Businesses of all sizes have an impact on climate change and we are in a unique position to help them measure and reduce their carbon footprint,” said TerraPass CEO Erik Blachford. “We’re delighted to provide a valuable tool for businesses to understand their global warming impacts.”

For companies seeking even more information, please contact TerraPass for a custom calculation at [phone] or email [e-mail].

TerraPass launched in 2004, is the leading consumer retailer and marketer of greenhouse gas reduction offsets. Over 80,000 TerraPasses have been sold to individuals, families and businesses to balance out the global warming impact of their flying, driving and home energy use. Together, TerraPass customers have reduced more than 700 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of climate change. TerraPass works by funding clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction projects throughout the U.S., including wind farms and biomass energy. Every TerraPass offset purchase and marketing claim is verified by an independent auditor, the nonprofit Center for Resources Solutions, creator of Green-e, the nation’s leading renewable energy certification program. For more information visit www.terrapass.com.