Listen to this articleimpactChoice is a global provider of leading-edge environmental sustainability solutions. The company’s mission is to enable institutions and individuals alike, to minimize their impact on the environment by providing simple solutions that allow them to achieve their environmental goals. Below is our interview with Leonard Harley, Group Managing Director at impactChoice:
Q: Leonard, could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to impactChoice?
A: So, from 2009 we have been providing guidance and solutions that enable organizations to apply benefits derived from reductions in emissions and optimization of operational processes to their sustainability efforts, involving all stakeholders in their efforts.
We pioneered the use of digital representations of carbon assets and created the world’s first Carbon Asset Management platform that enabled companies to compensate for environmental impacts by apportioning emissions to relevant business metrics, mitigating these via internationally accredited and verifiable emissions reduction mechanisms whilst involving customers in the process.
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Q: You’ve recently announced launch of earth token initial coin offering crowdsale; could you tell us something more?
A: Let me start off by saying that we faced enormous market and technological challenges we had to overcome in order to deliver the solution I just described above. These included tons of red tape & bureaucracy, lack of transparency & trust and extreme market complexity.
With blockchain technology maturing, we finally had one of the critical building blocks we needed to make our vision a reality. It provides a trusted and transparent platform that reduces complexity and unnecessary overhead, allowing all to participate. In April of 2017 we released the latest version of our Carbon Mitigation solution running on a Multichain blockchain as the transactional ledger.
Cryptocurrency adds the other building block with Earth Tokens providing a common settlement mechanism.
The goal of the project is therefor to combine the strengths of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency with years of experience creating Environmental Sustainability Solutions to establish a global Natural Asset Marketplace that removes current barriers to participation in activities that preserve our Environment, while providing all stakeholders with tangible assets that appreciate in value as the market matures and grows.
Q: What kind of sustainability solutions do you provide?
A: Broadly speaking we focus on 3 key areas, namely emissions mitigation, fuel efficiency and waste to energy solutions.
1. Our carbon mitigation platform enables our clients to rapidly compensate for their environmental impact by apportioning emissions to product / service delivery at the invoice line item level. Together with supply-side partners, we have enabled organizations of all sizes to compensate for negative effects on the environment resulting from their business operations, since 2009.
2. Our Climate Neutral Fuel solution is a turnkey approach to fuel management that increases the operational efficiency of internal combustion equipment, such as vehicles, generators and other assets vital to business and industry. Combining proven technologies with asset monitoring and management capabilities results in increased fuel efficiency, reduced fuel costs and reduction in harmful emissions associated with the combustion of fuel.
An integrated mitigation mechanism also allows customers to compensate for residual emissions. Customers typically experience a net financial gain by deploying our Climate Neutral Fuel solution resulting in savings they could use to fund additional environmental sustainability efforts.
3. Waste-to-energy is the process of generating energy from primary waste materials by creating synthetic fuels from those materials and using that fuel to create energy. In conjunction with a strategic business partner, we provide gasification plants capable of converting carbon-containing feedstock such as biomass, coal or municipal solid waste into synthetic gas (Syngas).
The Syngas produced is a clean, dry, flexible fuel which can be burned to create heat and electricity. It can also be passed through different catalysts to produce fluids such as alcohols and transportation fuels, including clean burning diesel, or used to supply pure hydrogen gas which could be used across multiple applications in various industries.
Recommended: Q: What makes your approach different?
A: From day one, we realized that if we were going to be any way effective in achieving our vision, there were a number of key things we had to do.
Firstly we had to develop solutions, services and best practices that enabled business to reduce and share the financial burden that are typically associated with environmental initiatives. Secondly, we had to involve as many folks as possible in sustainability efforts, and thirdly we had to develop a number of targeted turnkey solutions focusing on areas which would make the greatest difference.
To achieve the 1st we developed a methodology we call MC3 and in its simplest form it can be explained as follows.
The first M is for MEASURE.
• You cannot manage what you cannot measure, so we provide tools and best practices to measure your environmental footprint
The second M is for MANAGE.
• This component is focussed on reducing consumption and process improvements where possible, whether it be operational, fuel or energy efficiency. Reduction of waste and pollution obviously also fall in this category
The third M is for MITIGATE.
• No matter how efficient you are, there will always be a residual environmental impact, normally in the form of carbon emissions. Here we deploy our unique emissions mitigation solution.
And finally, the C is for COMMUNICATE.
• This is where you want to engage as many of your stakeholders as possible and share your success so other folks could learn from your experience.
Our solutions are architected in such a way that most organizations can use the financial savings and benefits realized through increased efficiency and reduced consumption to fund environmental sustainability initiatives.
To achieve the 2nd you need to provide that a platform that enables folks to easily participate BUT you also need to foster trust that their participation actually makes a difference and their contribution reaches the initiative for which it was intended.
• As I mentioned above, we built the world’s first the world’s 1st Carbon Asset Management platform that allowed business to involve their customers in their mitigation efforts at the transactional level.
Lastly, we built the suite of industry specific targeted solutions also mentioned above. Which, by the way, focus on areas that create the most negative environmental impact.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: Natural Capital is estimated to be approximately $120 trillion at present and global awareness that we have to act now to preserve our planet is growing.
The Natural Asset Exchange blockchain platform and Earth Token cryptocurrency provides a unique opportunity to truly transform the Natural Capital Asset market, by creating a Natural Asset Marketplace that allows all stakeholders in the climate value chain to participate, and the goal of the of our Initial Token Offering is to make that a reality.
As the market matures I foresee more & more supply side projects being created and partnerships being formed that drive new innovations that attract new customers, creating more demand which will allow the market to grow organically and gather the momentum we need to make the huge impact we need to preserve our planet.
