Wool Talks 1:01 with
Allcot A Path to
Carbon Neutrality

1. Tell us a bit about ALLCOT. How would you define the DNA of the company?

Founded in 2009, ALLCOT is a pioneer company in the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change through consulting services, long-term advice and the commercialization of carbon offset credits for voluntary and regulated markets.ALLCOT supports projects, companies and public organizations to improve their performance in sustainability by offering consulting services. These include the development of strategies to calculate, reduce and offset Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, as well as determining good practices to report the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

2. What is the company’s core service?

ALLCOT, as a project developer, provides technology, training and financing so that the aforementioned projects can be successfully and profitably implemented in related countries. ALLCOT executes such projects in vulnerable areas where the absence of regulations or financing makes these types of actions imperative, with all the implementation mechanisms adapted to the mitigation and reduction of C02 emissions.

3. What does it mean that a company is carbon neutral? What is the difference between this and carbon negative or positive?

A carbon neutral company is one that, once its carbon footprint is known, has mitigated all of its emissions. The neutralization of emissions is achieved through the application of mitigation, adaptation or carbon compensation strategies. Mitigation and adaptation strategies include investment in clean and renewable technologies, as well as the integration of waste management practices, selection of suppliers and efficiency in extraction, production and processing operations.
Offsetting the carbon footprint is a simple, effective and differentiating alternative to reduce and mitigate the environmental impact of your activity, so that your organization can move towards sustainability, and lead an effective fight against climate change.
Carbon compensation consists of the purchase of carbon offset credits, which are measured in units of tons of CO2 (TCO2), and generated after the implementation of projects based on energy generation through clean technologies, waste management or reforestation programs. In addition, these projects have a very strong social component associated with them, directly related to the integration of the SDGs.
These carbon credits are governed by regulatory and voluntary markets, regulated by internationally recognized programs such as the United Nations Framework to Combat Climate Change (UNFCCC-CDM Projects or Clean Development Mechanisms), Verified Carbon Standard (VCS-VERRA) or Gold Standard, among others. These programs are associated with a complex annual evaluation and monitoring system, based on transparency, audit and public consultation mechanisms, which undoubtedly provide a solid and unique value to these credits.

ALLCOT possesses the experience and knowledge for the technical development, implementation and monitoring of these projects, as well as for the commercialization of carbon credits.

A carbon negative company is one in which its investments in mitigation, adaptation and carbon compensation surpass its carbon footprint, and where its activity goes beyond carbon neutrality by eliminating more CO2 than it emits.

A carbon positive company is one that emits and has not yet achieved carbon neutrality.

4. Are there different "protocols" and "organisms" that certify a company as carbon neutral? Are they all the same? What is the biggest difference between them?

All certification mechanisms operate under similar quality standards, the difference between them lies in the countries and sectors where they operate.

5. What is the certification that ENGRAW S.A. has and how does it apply to the product and service it provides regarding the impact on the environment?

ENGRAW's carbon footprint was calculated under the application of the GHG Protocol standard.

The GHG Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage GHG emissions resulting from public and private sector operations, as well as value chains and mitigation actions.

Supported by a 20-year partnership between the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the GHG Protocol works with governments, industry associations, NGOs, companies and other organizations.

Furthermore, ALLCOT is accredited by ICROA (International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance). The ICROA represents the interests of service providers in promoting emissions reductions and offsetting to the highest standards of environmental integrity and in support of the Paris Agreement. ICROA provides an Accreditation Programme and supports organizations through advocacy and action-oriented activities aimed at advancing best practice in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM).

6. In addition to certifying ENGRAW, you acted as consultants for the certification of a farm owner, a wool grower for ENGRAW. What were your overall impressions on his work and lifestyle and their impact on the environment?

The quantification of the establishment from the farm owner’s carbon footprint reasserts ENGRAW ́s commitment to reducing its impact on climate change. For this quantification, scopes 1, 2 and 3 were considered, in addition to the methane emissions resulting from manure and the absorptions of the native forest and grassland. The results of the analysis of these scopes and variables indicated that the establishment is carbon negative, which means that, thanks to the management and sustainable care of the native forest in the farm, more emissions are absorbed than those emitted by its usual activities.

The results obtained show that ENGRAW includes within its policies, strategies related to sustainability and the fight against environmental change, nature-based solutions which include the conservation, restoration and management of the land, forests and grasslands. These are key measures to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and help put a stopper on the destruction of the natural world.

7. What advice would you give to a company such as ENGRAW, or alike, to continue on the path towards sustainability?

To gain an early understanding of its impact, measuring its environmental footprint, including more demanding variables and broadening its scope each year.