- Created in partnership with ZCO2, the initiative offsets carbon emissions that occurred in 2020, coming from the company and its employees;
- Company chose to neutralize the three scopes determined by the GreenHouse Gases (GHG) Protocol, a worldwide standard for quantifying emissions.
Hash, Brazilian fintech in the means of payment sector, zeroed all carbon emissions for 2020 and created an initiative to offset greenhouse gas emissions caused by the activities and displacements of the company and its employees. The project was developed in partnership with the companies of the ZCO2 group.
According to Hash, the total 2020 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions were calculated and it was defined what could be reduced and what required neutralization through offsetting, via the purchase of carbon credits. In total, adding company and employees, 363 credits were acquired, which corresponds to mitigating the emission of 363 tons of carbon.
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Carbon offsetting is based on three scopes: Direct Emissions (owned or controlled by the company); Indirect Emissions (generated by electricity consumption by the company) and Other Indirect Emissions (not owned or controlled by the company). Hash chose to neutralize all three.
To offset the office’s electricity consumption, the company purchased Renewable Energy Certificates (CERs) issued by BlockC of Usina Solar Juazeiro, located in the city of Juazeiro (Bahia, Northern Brazil). To supply the other scopes, carbon credits were purchased from renewable energy projects and forest maintenance.
Hash also opted to neutralize its employees’ emissions as individuals, and gave Hashers the freedom to decide how this would happen. Everyone was able to choose between four projects: Conservation of the Amazon Forest, Landfill in São Paulo and Hydroelectric Plants in Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais. All the carbon credits necessary to offset each individual’s consumption were purchased by Hash, in partnership with ZCO2.
Environmental, Social and Governance Commitment (ESG)
This and other initiatives are fintech’s first steps towards creating an ESG policy within the company. Besides to carbon offsetting, the startup has been promoting discussions and opportunities to make the team increasingly diverse and contribute to increasing inclusion within the innovation ecosystem.
“It is part of our culture to debate and think about solutions to issues that go beyond our business models, such as sustainability and diversity, for example”, explains João Miranda, founder, and CEO of Hash, in a press statement.
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“We are aware that any activity carried out inside and outside the company reflects on the environment and, for this reason, we have chosen to neutralize the carbon emitted by the company and allow our Hashers, as individuals, to do the same”, he adds.