APEC Goes Carbon Neutral

For the first time ever, APEC meetings will offset their impact to the global climate.

APEC's Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Working Group and Ministerial Meetings (24-29 August) will measure the impact of bringing delegates from across the Asia-Pacific to a single location. More importantly, they will offset that impact and support efforts in carbon reduction.

The summit's carbon footprint - largely the result of international flights and energy consumption in the buildings where meetings are held - will be measured in carbon dioxide (CO²) units and using the greenhouse gas (GHG) Protocol of ISO 14064.

These units will be offset - neutralized - through the purchase of equivalent credit units, contributing to emission reduction projects.

This particular exercise will direct funds toward a Chinese project, aiming to produce 258.8 GWh of electricity per year from wind energy with the total installation capacity - an environmentally friendly alternative to the consumption of fossil fuels.

Explains Arturo Caballero, General Manager at a²G Carbon Partners, the company responsible for implementing the exercise:

"Most organizations find that they are able to reduce their emissions significantly but that, beyond a certain degree, further reduction weakens their performance. This exercise allows them to explore ways they might have a positive impact."

Peru - host of APEC 2008 and a strong proponent of corporate social responsibility - reasons that the exercise will be beneficial both to the environment as well as to local projects.

Sustainable Environmental Management is included in the agenda at this week's meetings. The meeting will assess energy solutions for SMEs as a means to improve business sustainability.