Sunglasses are supposed to help you see through the water and spot fish, right? But are they supposed to preserve the environment in which you fish? It looks like Costa Del Mar sunglasses are going above and beyond the call of duty.
Costa Del Mar has partnered with Renewable Choice Energy to offset 100 percent of the electricity use at its Daytona Beach headquarters facility with the purchase of 422,896 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy credits (RECs) from U.S. wind farms.
The company also purchased carbon offsets to balance the carbon emissions associated with all of its employees’ business travel including air and ground transportation. Collectively, this will help to prevent up to 1.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
This commitment by Costa Del Mar to support renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions has an impact similar to planting 2,323 mature trees or not driving more than 576,088 million miles in an average passenger car.
And while Costa Del Mar still operates its headquarters using traditional electricity sources, the purchase of wind-powered renewable energy credits and carbon offsets essentially balances its corporate environmental impact. Renewable energy is derived from resources that are regenerative, or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted. Renewable energy sources include wind, solar (photovoltaic), small hydro and biomass.
"What a lot of people may not know is that carbon emissions can also negatively impact the quality of our oceans,” said Chas MacDonald, president of Costa Del Mar. “We’re working hard to protect our aquatic environments and the marine life in it. Purchasing renewable energy credits and making strides to reduce our carbon footprint is another critical step for us to take to help make our waters more clean and sustainable for generations to come.”
CEO of Renewable Choice Energy, Quayle Hodek, said that RECs play an important part to help fund renewable energy projects.
“Environmentally responsible commitments such as the one made by Costa Del Mar is helping elevate the public’s awareness of the opportunities available to them to support clean technology development," Hodek said.
In addition to Costa’s partnership with Renewable Choice, the company has a long history of supporting conservation programs, including actively participating in Trout Unlimited’s “Embrace-A-Stream” program and the Billfish Foundation’s “Adopt-A-Billfish” effort. The company sponsors the Costa Del Mar/BASS Conservation Scholarship Award, designed for higher education students pursuing degrees in natural resources fields. Costa also supports the Coastal Conservation Association, the Bonefish Tarpon Trust, and is a longtime sponsor of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).
“For us, it’s not just about writing a check and slapping our logo onto something to say we’re involved with a conservation project,” MacDonald said. “It’s about turning those words into actions, and doing things within our own organization that might reduce the impact of our presence here.”
Costa will continue to work with Renewable Choice to identify ways in which the company can further reduce its impact on the environment.
How Renewable Energy Credit (RECs) Work
Renewable energy facilities generate renewable energy credits (RECs) when they produce electricity. Purchasing these credits is the widely accepted way to address the environmental footprint of your electricity consumption. Purchasing RECs at the same quantity as your electricity consumption guarantees that the energy you use is added to the power grid from a renewable energy facility and supports the further development of these facilities. Renewable Choice RECs are third-party certified by Green-e Energy.
How Carbon Offsets (VERs) Work
Verified emission reductions (VERs), also known as carbon offsets, are designed for individuals and companies looking to reduce the environmental impact of their flying, driving and some heating and manufacturing methods with real, verified and permanent carbon reductions. A VER is a commodity sold to finance carbon reduction projects, such as landfill methane capture and destruction, and represents the reduction of carbon dioxide or its equivalent. Renewable Choice VERs are verified by American Carbon Registry or Voluntary Carbon Standard, depending on location and application.