Why Petaluma became Climate Neutral Certified
Today we’re proud to officially share that Petaluma is a certified Climate Neutral brand. Petaluma is one of very few pet care brands that have measured and offset their emissions through Climate Neutral.
Climate Neutral Certified is the leading consumer label designating carbon neutrality. It is carried by brands that have voluntarily stepped up to take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions generated in the production, operations, and shipping of their goods and services.
What does it mean to be certified? What does the process include?
Climate Neutral’s certification is based on internationally recognized standards for carbon measurement, neutrality, and offsetting. Each brand must measure Scope 1, 2, and 3 cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas emissions for the prior calendar year. Then a brand must buy verified carbon credits to offset its entire footprint.
This directs investment into critical carbon sequestration projects such as forest conservation, renewable energy, and carbon capture technologies. Finally, brands commit to a reduction action plan to cut future emissions within a 12-24 month timeline, reporting progress on those plans annually. All of the brand’s data is publicly available on Climate Neutral’s website. The process is repeated annually when companies must re-certify.
What does carbon negative / climate positive mean?
No one has standardized the definition of these terms, but they generally mean the same thing: that a company's (or country's) net impact on the climate is better than neutral — not only does it clean up its emissions, but it also goes further to clean up extra emissions.
Are carbon credits a real thing?
Yes - if chosen thoughtfully. Carbon credits provide a real benefit by increasing the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and speeding the transition to zero-carbon energy sources. There are many different types of projects and many choices for buyers. Climate Neutral's carbon credit standards are written to guide brands in the offsetting process, and reflect the input of a group of independent external advisors.
What is Petaluma’s environmental impact? How do you measure it?
In addition to using Climate Neutral’s assessment tools, we commissioned a Life Cycle Assessment for our baked adult dog food, which is transparently available to everyone here.
Check out our Sustainability Manifesto for more information on how we make decisions and our philosophy in creating products that use far fewer resources than conventional options.
What else is Petaluma doing to reduce its carbon footprint?
Petaluma considers the environment in every business decision we make - whether it’s selecting an ingredient for a product or designing our packaging - and we try to reduce or eliminate our footprint whenever possible. In addition to Climate Neutral, Petaluma is a member of 1% for the Planet, which means that we commit at least 1% of our revenues toward climate-oriented non-profits in our community. As one example, Petaluma is currently working with City Slicker Farms in our hometown of Oakland, CA.
While Petaluma may be the first pet nutrition company to become certified, we know we won't be the last. If you are interested in learning more about experience, please feel free to drop us a note at hello@feedpetaluma.com.
