This Earth Day, Proven Partners Goes Climate Neutral
This 22nd of April marks our fifty-first year celebrating Earth Day - a holiday founded half a century ago to encourage environmental protection legislation and public awareness. Fittingly, this year’s Earth Day theme is “Restore Our Earth,” focusing on ways in which we as global citizens can reduce our environmental footprint moving forward and absolve some of the damage we have already inflicted on the planet.
While every Earth Day is important, this year’s holiday is just a bit more special to our team at Proven Partners. Today we announce that we are fully Climate Neutral Committed, and that by July 2021, Proven Partners will receive Climate Neutral Certification.
Pursuing climate neutrality is a critical step for our company, as it fulfills several of the dearest and most fundamental tenets of our mission. By engaging in global climate solutions, we are furthering our commitment to drive positive, responsible development, to offer our clients and partners full transparency and to respect the planet that generously allows us to pursue our dreams.
Not only is climate neutrality a smart business decision - as consumers across the world show through increased demand for conscious consumption - but it is truly the only sustainable way forward.
Going Climate Neutral to Restore Our Earth
Climate Neutral Certified is the leading consumer label designating carbon neutrality. It is carried by brands that have voluntarily stepped up to take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions generated by their company processes.
Climate Neutral’s certification is based on internationally recognised standards for carbon measurement, neutrality, and offsetting. Our commitment means we must measure Scope 1, 2, and 3 cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas emissions for the prior calendar year. We must then buy verified carbon credits to offset our entire footprint. This directs investment into critical carbon sequestration projects such as forest conservation, renewable energy, and carbon capture technologies.
Finally, we commit to a reduction action plan to cut future emissions within a 12-24 month timeline, reporting progress on those plans annually. All of our brand’s data will be publicly available on Climate Neutral’s website. Proven Partners is in the process of joining over three hundred global brands who have been stamped “climate neutral” through this program.
The Importance of Climate Neutral Certification
In a speech at Columbia University in December 2020, the UN Secretary-General outlined enduring threats to human, wildlife and planetary health and pointed to the importance of climate neutrality in restoring our earth. He noted that by 2021, countries representing the majority of the world’s economy will have obligated themselves to carbon neutrality.
In his speech, published by the United Nations Climate Action arm, Gueterres urged listeners to “turn this momentum into a movement,” identifying the “central objective of the United Nations for 2021” as building “a truly Global Coalition for Carbon Neutrality.”
Why Climate Neutrality is Critical for Developers and Owners
Recent consumer surveys have shown that buyers are increasingly willing to pay more and spend more time on eco-friendly products and services - this is especially applicable in the hospitality and real estate industries. One of the major changes in sustainable travel over the last decade is that the responsibility has been shifted from the tourist to the accommodations provider.
Though consumers are more aware of their impacts on the planet, there is only so much an individual consumer can do given the options available. Resultantly, they are pushing companies to respond to their needs and are fully prepared to “ask operators to do more for the environment and community than they take from them.”
Conscious Consumers Will Pay Extra for Sustainable Accommodations
While consumers are comfortable pushing operators towards sustainability, they do not expect significant swings for nothing in return. Consumers understand that restructuring a business to achieve climate neutrality can be costly at first -- though profitable in the long-run -- and are willing to pay more for eco-friendly finds.
According to a recent The Washington Post article, “60 percent of U.S. travelers have taken a ‘sustainable’ trip in the last three years.” These travelers ended up spending an additional “$600 per trip, and stay[ing] three days longer than the average guest.” As hotels and resorts around the world reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, experts expect this trend -and the money spent on it - to expand even further, particularly as interest in regenerative travel grows.
Luxury Buyers Search for Climate Neutral Homes to Support a Sustainable Lifestyle
The same is true in construction and real estate development, particularly in residential real estate. In her article “Going for Green—Sellers Can See Upside in Sustainable Home Features” for Mansion Global, Virginia K Smith writes that “the tide is quietly turning in favor of green homes and buildings.”
With consumers advocating for greener homes, “adding in eco-friendly features can help a listing stand out from its competition, and potentially speed up sales” for sellers and developers. Quoting David Parnes - principal architect of LA firm The Agency -, Smith writes that because residential communities “using sustainable features right now are the exceptions…(developers who incorporate them are) giving themselves a great marketing tool and platform.”
Green Homes Represent a Shifting Focus Towards Human and Planetary Health
Buyers are keeping a close eye on properties boasting eco-friendly amenities, writes Smith. From hookups for electric cars to energy efficient appliances and home systems, attention on green homes has skyrocketed. Searches for “energy efficient” property listings have “jumped 9.9% in the past year...while the number of listings that include such features has dropped by 13.6%. “
Smith writes that the wellness trend -- propelled by Millennials who will soon transition from renters to buyers -- is largely responsible for the chatter surrounding green homes and home tech. Soon, indoor vertical gardens, backyard farms, “electric car chargers, infrared technology, solar paneling” and more will become non-negotiable for luxury buyers because sustainability has virtually transformed into “a health brand, or a stamp of approval from a health perspective.”
Honoring Earth Day Every Day through Reduced Emissions
Given the growing support for nature based solutions, eco-conscious construction, climate neutral development, regenerative travel and green homes, the only steps that make sense moving forward are those towards a sustainable future. For these reasons, and so many more, we at Proven Partners are committed to achieving and maintaining climate neutrality for years to come. We hope you will join us in this mission.
