Press Release: Reforest the Tropics chosen for a Wiki “6 Green Groups Helping To Offset Carbon Emissions”
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Press Release: Reforest the Tropics and New England Biolabs®, Inc. enter into agreement to plant 100 hectares of forest to offset carbon emissions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reforest the Tropics and New England Biolabs®, Inc. enter into agreement to plant 100 hectares of forest to offset carbon emissions
Mystic, CT and Ipswich, MA (August 15, 2019): Reforest The Tropics (RTT), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Mystic, Connecticut and New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB®), a global leader in the production of reagents for the life science industry, announce that they have entered into an agreement to plant 100 hectares (247 acres) of new tropical forest in Costa Rica. This project will offset the emissions generated by NEB’s headquarters, located in Ipswich, MA, which houses over 450 of NEB’s employees.
The reforestation project will conservatively sequester over 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the initial 25-year contract period. The forest carries the potential to capture and store an additional 50,000 metric tons of CO2 in a subsequent 25-year contract term. The project will offset approximately 20% of the current emissions generated by NEB’s operations in Ipswich.
In addition to offsetting a significant portion of NEB’s carbon footprint, the project will create an important habitat for countless animals in Costa Rica, including some threatened and endangered species. Local communities in Costa Rica will benefit from improved water quality, job creation, and other economic opportunities as well.
“At NEB, we continuously advocate for and implement ecologically sound practices and environmental sustainability in order to protect our natural resources, both locally and globally,” states Jim Ellard, CEO of New England Biolabs. “We are excited to partner with Reforest the Tropics in an effort to offset emissions generated by our Ipswich, MA facility, as well as promote reforestation efforts worldwide.”
Tropical reforestation represents one of the most effective, yet underappreciated, strategies for climate change mitigation. Indeed, a July 2019 study in Science identified forestry as “By far…the top climate change solution in terms of carbon storage potential.” Using the RTT mixed-species model, the project will achieve double the carbon capture of most common reforestation approaches, while additionally generating competitive income for participating landowners.
RTT Executive Director, Greg Powell, emphatically welcomes NEB’s participation. “New England BioLabs is a world-class business with an incredible team of scientists who carefully vetted every element of our program. Having satisfied NEB’s scrutiny, we are more confident than ever to engage potential partners armed with positive responses to any foreseeable question about the merits of our approach. We are excited to demonstrate the power of our forestry model to NEB and the world.”
This project, which is only part of NEB’s efforts to minimize its environmental impact, should set a powerful example for other businesses who are seeking an effective, efficient, and safe methods to embrace local and global sustainability.
About New England Biolabs
Established in the mid 1970’s, New England Biolabs, Inc. is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, library preparation for next generation sequencing, cellular analysis, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and eight subsidiaries located in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.
NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS® and NEB® are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc.
About Reforest The Tropics
Reforest The Tropics (RTT) is a 501(c)(3) organization boasting over 50 years of research experience in the development of the world’s most powerful carbon-capturing forests. RTT’s mixed-species forestry program is approved by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and has received formal endorsements from the US Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE). RTT plants mixed-species forests which create important habitat, sequester considerably higher quantities of carbon dioxide equivalent than typical models, and encourage long-term participation with partnering farmers through the generation of a competitive income. RTT complements its forestry program with a comprehensive Climate Change Education Initiative offered to students throughout New England.
Contact information:
Deana D. Martin, Ph.D.
Marketing Communications Manager
New England Biolabs
240 County Road
Ipswich, MA 01938
Tel: 978-380-7464
Email: martin@neb.com
RTT Education Coordinator Hugh Birdsall in The Day
‘Ex-Reducer Hugh Birdsall reaches out to youth with Reforest the Tropics environmental group’
‘When New London pub rockers The Reducers toured Japan in 2004 and guitarist/vocalist Hugh Birdsall looked out from a Tokyo stage at a venue stuffed with screaming young fans, he probably figured it was as close as he’d ever get to living a Beatles/”Hard Day’s Night” mob-adulation moment.
That’s probably still true.
But the satisfaction Birdsall feels today, as an educational consultant for the environmental group Reforest the Tropics, speaking to classrooms full of young students about climate change, is an even more important and resonant experience.
Birdsall says, “The planet is in trouble. We are in trouble. But it’s one thing to alert someone to an external crisis and quite another thing to look inward and find out what our relationship to the planet is. That’s what I try to convey to students and, ultimately, it’s up to them to answer that question. But I can ask, ‘Does the planet belong to us or do we belong to the planet?'”
Reforest the Tropics is a Mystic-based nonprofit organization that works with farmers in Costa Rica to plant trees on their land to help offset carbon dioxide emissions. The group is sanctioned by the United Nations and works to mitigate climate change by sustainable forestry and long term carbon sequestration. Part of their efforts involve conducting programs and workshops with more than two dozen schools across Connecticut including both the New London and Norwich magnet schools. These efforts have resulted in several school- and student-sponsored tree-growing projects in the region.’
Read the full article here.
Impressive Carbon Capture Verified
For decades, Reforest The Tropics has been measuring the productivity of its forest plantations. In June 2017, for the first time, RTT contracted with an accredited third party, EARTH University, to verify its carbon claims under the protocols established by the International Organization of Standards. The results are fantastic news for RTT and anyone with an interest in global sustainability. Verified forests are averaging 23.66 metric tons (MT) of CO2e capture per hectare, per year! To help put this into perspective, most literature on tropical reforestation demonstrates carbon capture of 10-15 MT of CO2e capture under favorable conditions. In other words, RTT is essentially doubling the carbon capacity of current, successful reforestation projects.
One of RTT’s longstanding research goals was to design a mixed-species forest that can capture and store an average of at least 20 MT of CO2e per hectare, per year. Internally, we recognized this target was ambitious, however we have maintained the belief that lofty goals are fundamental to fulfillment of our mission of ‘making a tangible contribution to global sustainability.’ Not only have we met this objective, but we are exceeding it.
The amazing carbon capture of RTT forests is only part of the story however. Two additional pieces distinguish the RTT approach:
- RTT’s mixed-species forests are more beneficial to the
biome than ubiquitous single species monocultures, and - RTT forests are designed to generate perpetual income,
which allows partnering landowners to participate in the
project over the long-term.
Essentially, RTT is planting some of the worlds most productive forests…is doing so in more environmentally beneficial manner than typical reforestation models…and is working to ensure they will remain standing indefinitely. Impressive Carbon Capture Verified RTT has focused on forestry research for many years.
Dozens of different planting matrices and mixtures of species have been investigated in order to discover the optimal design to achieve RTT’s three research goals:
- Sequester 500 MT CO2e over the initial 25-year
contract period, - Generate $500 income for the landowner per hectare
per year, and - Create a ‘permanent’ (read 100+ year) farm forest.
The verification process certified carbon from 8 different designs. The most productive forest was able to capture a phenomenal 34.21 MT CO2e per hectare per year for the Mohegan Sun Casino. Conversely, the least productive design achieved a respectable 11.9 MT CO2e per hectare per year. This design is noteworthy, however because one of the species in this mixture succumbed to a disease and had to be removed. Despite the elimination of hundreds of trees, the 5-year old forest is still productive and will only improve in terms of carbon capture as it matures. This example highlights the importance of RTT’s mixed species orthodoxy and offers a fair warning to advocates of a monoculture approach. Furthermore, if we remove this outlier from our analysis, verification results show that RTT forests are actually storing 25.38 MT CO2e per hectare per year.
The Big Picture: If RTT can plant a forest that doubles or triples CO2 capture of the most common reforestation models per hectare, we only need half the land (or less) to extract a corresponding amount of CO2. We at RTT have long known this is possible and now we have official verification of the RTT model’s potential. We thank you for your support as we spread the word.
Greg Powell
Executive Director,
Reforest The Tropics
Westerly, RI Middle School Forest Update
This is the 2.5 acre, 5 ½-year old forest established by Reforest The Tropics for the CO2-emissions account of the Westerly, RI Middle School. In a 25-year contract between RTT and the farmer, this forest is legally dedicated to sequestering and storing CO2 for this school’s account. So far, it has captured 42 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent at 5 years of age when last measured. That’s 92,500 lbs of CO2, the equivalent of 4,625 gallons of diesel used in their school buses offset in this forest.
Environmental Education Program from the Forest
RTT recently launched an exciting new module to its educational program. In photos taken in both Costa Rica and Rhode Island, Greg Powell, the RTT Director, is giving a presentation about RTT forests to students at the Westerly Middle School. Greg, and RTT Forestry Engineer, Victor Martinez were able to make the presentation from Costa Rica using video-conferencing equipment funded by The Rotary Club of Westerly. Students were able to ask RTT staff questions about their forest in real time and learn about the importance of reforestation as well as specific elements of RTT’s reforestation approach. This level of connectivity between a school and their efforts towards sustainability is truly unique. RTT believes this type of engagement will foster a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding global sustainability for students throughout the region, moving forward.
Excess CO2: The Elephant in the Room
When speaking with various stakeholders, we at Reforest The Tropics, often find ourselves talking about the “quality” of different carbon offsets. We maintain that all sustainability efforts are important and worthwhile, however the carbon offsets generated from tropical reforestation projects carry a special significance. Only carbon credits that are created from NEW forests are taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Offsets that are created through energy efficiency programs (think wind, solar, etc) or conservation programs (i.e. avoided deforestation, improved forest management) are only addressing the small yellow circle seen above. Of course, we need to shrink that circle to the extent that is possible, but we must not do so at the expense of ignoring the centuries of excess CO2 that has accumulated (represented by the checkered arc) in the atmosphere. This distinction is extremely important when we view the proportions of the carbon problem that we must tackle.
THERE IS HOPE… The diagram on the left demonstrates the importance of carbon extraction strategies. The planet shares the collective goal and responsibility to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels to approximately 745 Gt CO2 (or 350 parts per million). Currently, the atmosphere contains approximately 850 Gt (or 400 parts per million). Most climate change strategies are currently focusing on limiting the 10 Gt CO2 that are being emitted each year. Although carbon emissions reduction is very important, this graphic illustrates the relatively small impact these efforts have on the climate equation. Due to the longevity of CO2 in the atmosphere (500-800 years), we will never reach our sustainability goals without technologies that EXTRACT CO2 from the atmosphere. Tropical reforestation is our best hope to pull CO2 from the atmosphere and store it for the long term in trees, soil, and wood products. After 50 years of research, RTT models are extracting an average of 25 metric tons per hectare per year. Careful species selection and underplanting of shade tolerant species allows RTT forests to remain productive as carbon capturing tools for over 100 years. Our data indicates that RTT forests can accumulate over 2500 metric tons per hectare within 100 years. Some models have achieved this in only 50 years. Out of the estimated 185 million hectares of deforested land that is ideal for reforestation, we only need 40 million hectares using the RTT model.
Greg Powell, Director, RTT
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