Re-Greening the Planet Could Cut Carbon Emissions by a Third

If we want to make a significant difference to climate change and global warming, then we need to get serious about investing in nature.

Planting trees can help us reach our 2015 Paris Agreement goal of limiting a rise in the global temperature to ‘well below’ 2C above industrial times, according to an international study. Natural solutions such as tree planting, protecting peat lands and better land management could account for 37% of all cuts needed by 2030, says study. ¹   In fact the study suggested that “regreening of the planet” would be equivalent to halting all burning of oil worldwide.

Bronson Griscom, Director of Forest Carbon Science at The Nature Conservancy, who calls himself an ecological accountant, is optimistic when he discusses the “carbon economy” of nature: the everyday role that trees, grasslands and coastal habitats play in the carbon cycle. ¹

Forest loss accounts for 8 to 10 percent of carbon emissions globally. Trees soak up heat-trapping carbon dioxide as they grow and release it when they burn or rot and tropical rainforests like the Amazon, home to many of the world’s indigenous people and endangered species are massive carbon sinks.

At Element UK we are serious about being the carbon economy of nature too.

1. Element tableware is more carbon efficient compared to many other plastic tableware:
   • The process of making element is 72% more carbon efficient than traditional plastics, such polystyrene.
   • Element 100% biodegradable tableware produces 3.5 times less carbon than polystyrene. Polystyrene has 3.6 times the impact of Origo.
   • A company could use 3 times the number of Element products as opposed to equivalent plastic products and still have a smaller carbon footprint.
   • The quantity of carbon dioxide released when incinerated is up to 68% less than conventional plastics.

2. Carbon Neutrality of Element

Here’s an example to illustrate the concept of carbon neutrality:

• A corn plant takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it grows.
  1 unit of the carbon dioxide is “stored” in the corn.
• This corn, together with the 1 unit of carbon dioxide, is made into Element.
• When Element is incinerated, the same 1 unit of carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere.
• The net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has not increased!

3. Element has pledged to fund the planting of a tree for every case of products sold.

Element is changing lives while helping to save the planet through its commitment to the ‘Trees for the Future’ project. The trees planted are fast-growing, soil rebuilding fruit trees that promote the long-term health of the land. Element has helped to plant almost 10.000 life-giving trees in the Sub –Saharan Africa since July 2017.

1. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/10/11/1710465114