Cheese Club becomes the first online grocery shop in Hong Kong to compensate its carbon emissions.

 A new step towards sustainability from the Cheese Specialist

Dealing with unabated carbon emissions - From farm to table, an optimized supply chain of fresh foods always targets maximum freshness. It is no big deal if the food source is next door but if it is not, speed is critical to guarantee freshness… And moving goods fast also carries a higher environmental cost, an increased carbon footprint. Aware of its unavoidable carbon emissions, Cheese Club decided to be accountable for them, addressing the matter in a more responsible way.

Towards a more sustainable online grocery model – Cheese Club benchmarked various organizations involved into carbon offset programs. It finally decided to collaborate with Climate Partner, a German reliable solutions provider for climate action. Climate Partner audited the cheese specialist’s activities and implemented a methodology to calculate all carbon emissions generated, from purchase from its suppliers to the last mile delivery to its customers. The evaluation also considers ancillary impacts, including the commute of its staff, its electricity consumption and the production and transportation of its cheese boxes and associated packaging.

By partnering with Climate Partner, the company also obtains a carbon neutral label, guaranteeing transparency and credibility to its carbon offset program. Consumers can refer to a tracking ID number to trace the amount of CO2 compensated and the selected carbon offset project. See http://www.climatepartner.com/17542-2110-1002

A socially and environmentally committed project - For its carbon offset program, Cheese Club assessed high-quality and certified projects in the Asia-Pacific region, not only supporting carbon reductions but also engaging people and stimulating local development. It is finally in India that Cheese Club has decided to invest its carbon credits with the Social Impact Project. This Gold Standard certified project provides micro-credits to low-income Indian families, enabling them to purchase more efficient cooking stoves, water filters and solar lights.

While the cooking stoves significantly reduce indoor air pollution and fosters a more sustainable usage of forest wood, the water filters provide a clean drinking water, without the necessity to boil it over an open fire before consumption. Solar lights are also much safer to use and support education and local business by extending visibility hours in India’s finishing days, affected by frequent power cuts on the grid.

Advocating responsibility on top of quality – It is encouraging news that a company like Cheese Club pioneers for a more responsible online grocery model. It is also confirming that beyond the intrinsic quality of a gourmet product, the overall efforts of a company to mitigate its impact on environment carry significant value to its consumers. Why not hope that this good and responsible practice will soon inspire similar moves from other players in the industry? A much-needed effort in Hong Kong, where almost all the food is imported!

More details on this initiative on https://cheeseclub.hk/carbon-offset-program/