BASIC/DEPT®isClimateNeutralCertified●
It’s a big step for the agency in furthering our commitment to being a socially responsible company.
After review, DEPT® is proud to have earned Climate Neutral certification. All agencies who joined DEPT® prior to December 2021 were taken into consideration, including BASIC/DEPT®. Now that we’re certified, DEPT® has achieved a net of zero carbon emissions, having measured our carbon footprint, committed to reducing it year over year and, in the meantime, offset our footprint through the purchase of carbon credits. These credits will support global environmental initiatives like a wind farm in Turkey and reforestation in Brazil.
Climate Neutral empowers organizations to stay committed to carbon neutrality — removing the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere that the organization emits — by 2050. Commitment pays off when those organizations are certified. For that to happen, Climate Neutral takes into account three things: measurement of carbon emissions over the last year, offsetting carbon emissions through carbon credit purchases, and reduction of future emissions through a set of helpful guidelines.
Actions big and small go a long way toward reducing our carbon footprint, and BASIC/DEPT® is dedicated to reducing emissions here at HQ. We’re already fully remote, but when our teams come into an office, they’re working from a space that’s LEED certified. HQ is all-electric, meaning zero direct carbon emissions, and we’ve optimized natural ventilation with garage doors through the space, reducing emissions from powering air conditioning or heating. We installed 175 solar panels on top of our building to harness sunlight— providing 153,000 kWh of energy in 2019. These plus other construction qualifications like water use reduction and water-efficient landscaping, low-emitting materials and recycled materials use were all taken into consideration when we were awarded a Platinum LEEDS rating.
While we still have a long way to go, we feel really proud to be LEED and Climate Neutral certified, and are confident with the right tools and support in staying on the path toward total net zero emissions.