Zero Emission vs Carbon Zero, why not both?
The term carbon zero or carbon neutral is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. Businesses are responding to increased consumer demand for carbon zero products. So how does this affect businesses and what is the difference between emission free, carbon zero or both?
Carbon neutrality or the claim of carbon zero means that any CO2 released into the atmosphere from a company's activities, is balanced by an equivalent amount of CO2 being removed. Traditionally this has been achieved through carbon offset programs, where product emissions are offset by the purchase of carbon credits.
At NZ0, we believe that this is a step in the right direction, but can be susceptible to greenwashing, where organisations pay for offsets but do nothing to change the underlying harmful behaviour.
From a climate point of view, the best outcome is to not produce the emissions in the first place. This is what separates NZ0 from other carbon zero brands.
NZ0’s goal is to provide the most climate friendly option to the consumer. We aim to do this by reducing emissions through existing and upcoming technology and practices, only offsetting what is absolutely unavoidable. As a point of comparison, you can’t offset animal cruelty from caged eggs by donating to the SPCA, so why should you be able to do the same with the climate?
NZ0's process in providing emission-free food is about taking the core principle of environmentalism and applying it in an integral way to business. We are not only focused on becoming carbon zero, but also on complete fossil fuel elimination. By removing emissions from the source we can, and are, producing food with zero emissions. Not only does this shift the needle and have a positive result for global emission targets, it allows offsetting to be used as intended, which is as a backstop and last resort for the unavoidable pollutants currently used due to insufficient technology.
At NZ0, we are taking Carbon Zero or neutrality one step further and only offset what is impossible to remove with current technology. We are constantly pushing the boundaries with the firm belief that we can reach a point where no offsetting is needed, where we live in an electrified world. It’s this level of change we recognise consumers want and demand, and we are wholeheartedly in support.
