In 2020, DNV set a goal to reduce our emissions and become climate positive. This means we aim to reduce emissions from our own organization, and then remove more greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere than we emit as an organization.
We understand that addressing climate change requires a comprehensive approach, which begins with a thorough evaluation of our carbon emissions and reducing these first.
As a company, our goal is to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025, compared to our baseline from 2019. We are achieving this through a combination of strategies, including the adoption of renewable energy sources, the reduction of air travel, and the promotion of sustainable commuting practices.
Our emissions inventory is published in our latest Annual Report. To increase transparency, we have also published our methodology for reporting emissions.
Despite these efforts, we acknowledge that a residual carbon footprint will remain.
To address this, we have offset emissions since 2018 by contributing to reforestation / afforestation projects. We recognize that offsets are contentious and there are many valid criticisms of the schemes. We take these criticisms seriously as part of our decision process when selecting projects to invest in.
During 2022, we reviewed our approach to obtaining carbon credits, taking into account issues such as transparency, traceability, and the quality of carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market. As a result, we created a new due diligence process to assess additionality (whether the project contributes to more carbon storage than if the investment did not take place), project risks, and whether the projects are well managed and anchored in the community. DNV’s goal is to have long-term commitment to the projects we support. In 2023, we supported afforestation / reforestation projects with sustainably-managed timber plantations in Paraguay (Miller plantations) and in Sierra Leone (Miro plantations) and a reforestation project of degraded forest reserve areas in Ghana. These projects store carbon efficiently while providing an income to hundreds of local people and their families.
To move beyond offsets, we are investigating carbon capture and storage projects where we can leverage our technical expertise to help scale innovation and technology. Our first project, Seaweed Carbon Solutions, demonstrates our commitment to investing in cutting-edge initiatives that hold the potential to deliver significant positive impact.
We will continue to explore additional opportunities to invest in innovative nature-based solutions or carbon capture and storage projects, with the goal of making a tangible contribution towards achieving a low-carbon future.
