fbpx
Let’s Build the Future Together
Thanks for joining us in taking a step toward a net-zero future. We make it easier for organizations to get the information they need, the guidance they want, and the support they deserve to navigate the complicated and evolving world of carbon reduction. We'll be in touch with ways your company can be CarbonBetter, too.
Download View Services
Subscribe

2023 @ CarbonBetter

Story

Published on

Tags

Story

Published on

Tags

In 2023, the CarbonBetter team navigated the rapidly evolving energy and climate landscape to help our clients build a better future for our planet.

By Laura Alter

As we hit the ground running in 2024, it’s time to pause and reflect on what we’ve accomplished and learned as a team this past year—like we did in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, we hosted four webinars, had four speaking engagements, and published 54 blog posts and 26 newsletters, including collaborations with numerous sustainability thought leaders, to educate stakeholders and simplify what it takes to run sustainable, carbon-conscious businesses that realize positive returns on their sustainability investments. We are immensely grateful for the continued opportunity to serve our clients, collaborate with other leaders in the sustainability space, and work toward a future that’s better for business and our planet. Our commitment remains to guide organizations toward a net-zero future, and we’re excited about work already in progress for the coming year. Let’s take a moment to revisit some of the key milestones and achievements of our team in 2023 and look ahead to the exciting possibilities that 2024 holds.

2023 in Review
Team RECOGNITION

It’s always good to see hard work pay off, so let’s start by looking at the ways the CarbonBetter team was recognized in 2023:

CarbonBetter Recognized by the Austin Business Journal (ABJ). CarbonBetter has again been recognized by ABJ for these two achievements:

We are fortunate to have been born and raised in Austin, among incredible organizations doing important work, so this recognition is especially humbling in this context. Many thanks to the ABJ team for the recognition.

CarbonBetter Named to the Inaugural 2023 Longhorn 100 List. Our founder, Tri Vo, is a passionate Longhorn, so this recognition was especially gratifying: CarbonBetter was named among the fastest-growing 100 businesses founded by UT alumni at the first annual award ceremony. Companies were ranked based on revenue growth from 2019 to 2021. Sara Light, Business Development Manager for Texas Exes, which supports over half a million UT grads, routinely posts about Longhorn-run businesses on LinkedIn—some of Austin’s most beloved brands are included!

CarbonBetter Named 2023 Austin A-List Winner. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Opportunity Austin, and SXSW named CarbonBetter the A-LIST Award winner in the Angel & Seed Category for 2023! “The A-LIST Awards showcase exemplary entrepreneurs and investors who are elevating the ecosystem to new heights,” said Roland Pena, Austin Chamber and Opportunity Austin Senior Vice President of Global Technology and Innovation. “These visionary founders and startups are creating global solutions through innovative technologies and thriving in the Austin eco-system in a powerful way.”

CarbonBetter Certified as a Minority-Owned Supplier in 2023. The National Minority Supplier Development Council has been supporting minority business owners (MBEs) for fifty years, helping connect small businesses to opportunities in the public and private sectors. As a minority-owned business, we’re proud to be certified by an organization that is responsible for supporting $482.1 billion in economic output annually.

CarbonBetter employees showing off the A-List award the company won.
CarbonBetter employees receiving an A-List award on behalf of the company.
CarbonBetter employees pictured with an A-List award after the company won it.
Tri Vo, President and Founder of CarbonBetter, at a Longhorn 100 event.
CarbonBetter employees pictured at a Longhorn 100 event.
Industries Served

In 2023, we continued to help clients across industries solve their climate and energy challenges at scale, with a focus on helping brands cut through the confusion to weave sustainability into their core operations to create long-term sustainable change that will benefit the environment and local communities while achieving business goals.

We served clients across industry sectors, including Consumer Packaged Goods, Climate Tech, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Agriculture, Ports & Maritime, Carbon Offset Project Developers, Retail Energy Suppliers, Utilities, Energy Infrastructure, Commercial Manufacturing, and Steel & Industrial Manufacturing.

Team Updates

We added several new team members in 2023! Welcome to David, Dan, Michelle, Sara, Della, Efiom, Santiago, Adrian, and Tori! We’re so excited to have you on the team.

We’re also grateful for the opportunity to keep growing together, year after year. These team members had the following anniversaries in 2023:

  • Eight years: Scott and Jess
  • Seven years: Ben and Luna
  • Six years: Az
  • Five years: Yesterdae
  • Four years: Jason, Sae, and Laura
  • Three years: Daryl, Bre, Di, and Nick
  • Two years: Imani, Claire, and Chris
  • One year: Dominic, Rylan, David, Ethan, Adam, and Misty
Thumbnails of our webinars from 2023.
Our panelists for SXSW 2023 pictured after speaking.
An image of people attending Carbon Newbie Summit.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Get all of our blog posts, webinars, and event updates bundled together into one newsletter once every two weeks. Click below to signup on LinkedIn.

SUBSCRIBE ON LINKEDIN
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING OVERVIEW

Sustainability reporting serves as a valuable tool to achieve corporate commitments and better manage climate-related business risks. This white paper walks you through what’s typically included and what should be considered.

DOWNLOAD NOW
Fierce Whiskers Case Study Cover
FW Sustainability Report

Learn more about how Fierce Whiskers has made sustainable choices every step of the way by downloading its full sustainability report.

DOWNLOAD NOW

In this webinar, we provide an overview of the current state of the VCM, including both challenges and why it’s an essential tool for businesses on the path to decarbonization. We will explore the significant drop in carbon prices over the last year, why price per tonne can vary significantly across registries and technologies, how to assess quality of a carbon credit, removals vs avoidance credits, and more.

WATCH THE WEBINAR NOW

Modern Planeteer - Michelle Li
Who’s a Modern Planeteer?

The 90s cartoon Captain Planet is an unexpected part of CarbonBetter’s origin story. Our founder, Tri Vo, was inspired as a child by the “Planeteers,” who fought eco-villains that were trying to destroy the planet. He learned that everyone can make a difference and every step in the right direction matters. Today, the business that Tri built helps companies in all industries decarbonize, and we’re not alone in doing our part to fight climate change. In this series, we feature modern day Planeteers—heroes who are working to save our planet. You can be one too!

GO TO THE SERIES
2023 CarbonBetter Impact

For the 2023 calendar year, we quantified our carbon footprint for Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions, totaling 60.93 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Scope 3 for 2023 is limited to flight emissions.

Our Scope 1 emissions, primarily from natural gas usage at our headquarters, amounted to 0.017 metric tons of CO2e. Scope 2 emissions, derived from electricity consumption, totaled 15.00 metric tons of CO2e, using data from our utility bills and emission factors from the EPA’s e-GRID database. The significant portion of our footprint, Scope 3 emissions, totaled 45.91 metric tons of CO2e, which consisted of team travel on airplanes.

In line with our commitment to environmental responsibility, we offset a total of 61 metric tons of CO2e to achieve our carbon-neutral goal for 2023 through carefully selected credits from projects that not only align with our sustainability ethos but also contribute to broader environmental and social benefits.


Here’s more about the projects we invested in to offset our 2023 emissions:



  • The Phlogiston Phase I Project is a groundbreaking initiative at the Ascend Performance Materials plant in Cantonment, Florida. By implementing an enhanced thermal reduction unit, the project successfully destroys N2O emissions, significantly reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and contributing to improved air and water quality. This initiative also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
  • The Raura Hydro Electric Power Project in India is a small, run-of-river hydroelectric power plant that significantly reduces the environmental impact typically associated with dams while also minimizing the reliance on fossil fuels for the regional grid. By generating clean energy for northern India, the project not only addresses the urgent need for renewable energy sources but also contributes to several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including affordable and clean energy, clean water and sanitation, and climate action.
  • The Shaan Seet Improved Forest Management Project helps to preserve over 8,900 acres of old-growth hemlock-spruce forest in southeastern Alaska while ensuring long-term natural forest growth and protecting this vital area from aggressive commercial timber harvesting. This approach aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including combating climate change and its impacts and sustainably managing forests.
  • The Manantiales Behr Wind Farm is a 99-megawatt (MW) wind farm, registered on the Verra Carbon Standard (VCS) Registry, that is helping Argentina work toward achieving its target of 20% non-hydro renewables by 2025.
2023 Earth Day Impact

On Earth Day 2023, we estimated the one-day emissions of participating businesses and collectively offset 1.04 metric tons of GHG emissions related to natural gas and 1.72 metric tons related to electricity, totaling 2.76 metric tons of CO2e. To offset these emissions, we purchased and retired 2.76 metric tons of carbon offset credits.

The carbon offset projects we supported through this initiative included the BaumInvest Mixed Reforestation in Costa Rica, which focuses on reforesting previously deforested land; Climeworks’ Direct Air Capture technology, which removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere; and the Phlogiston Phase I project in Florida, which destroys nitrous oxide produced during nylon manufacturing.

This collaborative effort not only offset nearly three metric tons of estimated GHG emissions but also funded meaningful carbon offset projects globally. Our Earth Day 2023 initiative is a testament to the power of collective action and the positive impact businesses can have when they come together for a common cause.

2023 Provision Impacts

Between October 2020 and December 2023, Provision customers funded 111,981,000 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean energy, offset 79,959 tons of carbon, and planted 85,930 trees since. These efforts equate to avoiding nearly 205 million miles of driving! Provision funded a mangrove restoration project in Kenya, providing coastal protection, biodiversity benefits, and economic opportunities for the local community.

2023 Stories

Our team authored 54 blog posts in 2023, covering a range of topics about the voluntary carbon market, upcoming and proposed legislation in the United States (US) and in the European Union (EU) that would affect US businesses, and more, with some of our most popular posts listed below:

2023 team Photos
Team event at Austin FC.
The accounting team showing off their decorated cookies.
Cookies the team baked.
The team enjoying lunch downstairs in the office.
The team vacationing in Bali.
The team out on the docks.
The team at dinner in Bali.
The team outside of the Christmas party restaurant.
2023 Webinars

We hosted five webinars in 2023, which can be found below:

2023 Events

SXSW

At SXSW 2023, we hosted a panel with alcohol industry leaders discussing their innovative sustainability efforts. They shared strategies like integrating environmental systems into business operations and adopting regenerative agriculture. Topics like renewable energy, sustainable practices in traditional industries, and eco-friendly packaging also came up. A highlight was the introduction of Fierce Whiskers’ carbon-negative bourbon, illustrating the evolution of traditional products for sustainability. The panel emphasized collaborative efforts in reducing packaging waste and the crucial role of data in sustainability initiatives.

Climate Conversations

Our first Climate Conversations events happened in 2023. We started these events to gather like-minded individuals, regardless of background, job role, or industry, to share sustainability insights, best practices, and innovative strategies while networking. We’ve learned a lot and have met friendly, well-informed people at each one. We look forward to hosting more in 2024!

Naturally Network Sustainability Summit

In April, Nicole Sullivan, our Director of Climate Services, represented CarbonBetter at the Naturally Network’s Sustainability Summit, a hub for professionals passionate about creating a more sustainable consumer products industry. Nicole took part in the first session, Keynote: State of Sustainability.

An image of speakers during the Carbon Newbie Summit event at NY Climate Week.
Nicole Sullivan, Director of Climate Services at CarbonBetter, at a Climate Conversations meetup.
A Central Machine Works employee talking about their carbon negative green collar beer.
Nicole Sullivan, Director of Climate Services at CarbonBetter, is pictured next to Tri Vo, President and Founder of CarbonBetter, alongside an employee from Central Machine Works.
A tour group outside of Fierce Whiskers Distillery during SPC Impact 2023.
Nicole from CarbonBetter and Michelle from Women and Climate pictured during a Climate Conversations event.
Tri Vo, President and Founder of CarbonBetter, speaking at SPC Impact speaking on behalf of another company he co-founded: Fierce Whiskers Distillery.

Earth Day 2023

To celebrate Earth Day 2023, we held a meetup at Central Machine Works for our Climate Conversations in-person event on April 25, 2023. These events are always a great time to learn about the intersection of sustainability across industries and job roles, and this one was no exception.

SPC Impact 2023

Tri Vo, Founder and President of CarbonBetter and Co-Founder of Fierce Whiskers, spoke at SPC Impact 2023 to talk about sustainability choices the distillery has made, including trade-offs and considerations when making a water-intensive product. Fierce Whiskers released a carbon-neutral rye whiskey in 2023 after releasing the world’s first carbon-negative bourbon in 2022. There was also a tour with a Q&A at the distillery.

Carbon Newbie Summit & NYC Climate Week
We were a founding member of the Carbon Newbie Summit, which took place during NYC Climate Week. Tri Vo, Founder of CarbonBetter, attended Climate Week with our Director of Climate Services, Nicole Sullivan, who was a speaker at Carbon Newbie Summit.

Looking Ahead to 2024
SXSW 2024

The CarbonBetter team is thrilled to be back at SXSW for our third year in a row. Our 2024 session is titled Sustainable Supply Chains: Addressing Hidden Emissions. We’ll be joined by Caitlin Leibert, Vice President of Sustainability at Whole Foods, to discuss the challenges of hidden Scope 3 emissions, including how to find them, how to measure them, and what trade-offs to consider.

In 2022, we explored Convenient Fantasies About Climate Change, and in 2023, we explored sustainability challenges and opportunities in the spirits business during Brands Shaking Up Alcohol’s Carbon Footprint.

2024 Industry Events

Our team will be attending many events this year and is looking forward to connecting in person with the climate and energy community. A few of our confirmed 2024 events include:

2024 Climate Conversations Events

We're looking forward to hosting more Climate Conversations in-person gatherings this year. These events are a great way for anyone in any job role to learn more about the sustainability space and how they can get involved. Sign up here to be notified of upcoming events.

2024 Webinars & Collaborations

Heading into 2024, we will continue to provide guidance and collaborate with experts to create content that makes complex climate and energy concepts accessible for businesses of all sizes. We're currently working on a three-part series about sustainability in the Health & Beauty industry in collaboration with Glow, one of many collaborations we've done this past year. Here is part one and part two of the series. To stay informed and receive notifications about our upcoming webinars and events, be sure to sign up for our newsletter on LinkedIn or via email.

Thanks for taking the time to reflect with us and being a part of our story! We enter 2024 full of gratitude for a successful year behind us, and we are energized and inspired by our mission to serve organizations that are working to drive our transition to a net-zero economy. In 2024, we look forward to continuing to share stories about progress in our fight to stop and reverse climate change.