Synapse is proud to announce that we are officially Climate Netural Certified. In partnership with Climate Neutral, a mission-driven nonprofit, we took steps to measure and offset our entire 2021 carbon footprint, driving investment into climate solutions.

Sustainability and the environment have been part of our DNA since day one, and today we’re thrilled to be able to join hundreds of Climate Neutral Certified brands in taking meaningful action for the climate.

 

How did we get here?

We worked with Climate Neutral to measure and offset last year’s carbon emissions, and identified ways to reduce future emissions. This process took a significant amount of time and resources from our team, but ultimately it’s a reasonable cost compared to the threat of climate change. Bella Todaro, Director of Carbon Measurement at Climate Neutral, told us that “Our brands dedicated thousands of hours to understanding and addressing their climate impacts through the certification process.” All of those hours went to meeting the same standard for each brand:

 

Measure

We measured our 2021 carbon footprint at 2,795 tonnes. To arrive at this number, we looked at all of the emissions created from delivering our services, including our supply chain emissions, employee commuting, business travel, and utility bills. During this stage we discovered that purchased goods and services were the biggest contributor, while the impact of transportation is minimal. 

 

Offset

For 2021 carbon offset purchases, we joined Climate Neutral’s project pool, which includes a selection of projects around the world such as: 

  • Mangroves restoration in Myanmar
  • Reforestation in Kenya 
  • Improved forest management in the U.S. 
  • Avoided deforestation in Brazil 
  • Cookstoves in Nigeria
  • Capturing landfill gas in Chia

While the most expensive projects can cost up to $50/tonne, our average price for offsets was $12.25/tonne.

 

Reduce

Last, but not least, we created Reduction Action Plans to help lower our emissions over the next 12-24 months. Some of the ways we plan to do better in 2022 include: 

  • Using less office space 
  • Purchasing only necessities 
  • Reducing reliance on overnight (air) shipping 
  • Utilizing plastic over metal for prototyping when possible 
  • Traveling by plane only if necessary

 

Learn more about what it means to be climate neutral Certified at climateneutral.org