The Vancouver Economic Commission and Europe’s largest climate business network the Climate Leadership Coalition launched the world’s first International Carbon Handprint Award at the GLOBE Forum in Vancouver on March 31, 2022. The competition is for any company or organization that manufactures a product or sells a service that helps its customers reduce their environmental footprint. Any company in the world is eligible to apply.
The carbon handprint refers to the positive climate impact that using a product or service has compared to other products or services in the same category. The calculation gives the size of the carbon handprint caused by the company’s product or service: the bigger the handprint the better. The Climate Leadership Coalition’s members, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland and Lappeenranta University of Technology of Finland, have created the new environmental carbon handprint method and guidelines for calculating the climate impacts of a product or service.
Climate Leadership Coalition launched the Carbon Handprint Award in Finland on Zero Emissions Day in 2021. However, these product-solutions can be globally significant, so the need for international recognition has become clear. With the International Carbon Handprint Award, the solutions that have a major positive climate impact and help economies reduce the emissions or increase the carbon sinks significantly, are highlighted.
The award will be handed out in two categories: The Most Climate-positive Carbon Handprint Product and The High Potential Carbon Handprint Innovation. The criteria for the award-winning solutions and the application form for the competition can be found on the Carbon Handprint Award website.
The winning companies will gain wide international recognition as climate-positive solution providers. The winners will be announced at the end of June at the first-ever Evolve conference, presented by Canadian E-Fest and powered by GLOBE Series. The conference takes place June 30-July 1, 2022, during Formula E week in Vancouver. Keep coming back to the International Carbon Handprint Award website for more details. Winners will be chosen by a jury of subject matter experts representing a wide-range of business sectors.
“Companies in Vancouver really care about the impact that they are making. In fact, in a 2018 survey of 500 businesses in Vancouver, over 29 percent said they offer a product or service that helps restore or preserve the environment. This new carbon handprint methodology allows companies to quantify the positive environmental impact their products are making for their customers.”, says Bryan Buggey, Director, Vancouver Economic Commission.
“By now there are lots of actions to reduce the carbon footprint of businesses, cities and other organisations and organisations that have been able to reduce their footprint significantly, are positioned high in international rankings. However, typically the carbon footprint reduction happens by acquiring a new product or service that enables it, but the developers of these new solutions are not appreciated sufficiently. With the carbon handprint concept and the award, we want highlight the importance of new climate friendly products and services and share the benefits of them globally”, says Jouni Keronen, CEO, Climate Leadership Coalition.
The GLOBE Forum has been organised in Vancouver, Canada since 1990, and more than 170,000 people from 97 countries have come to GLOBE to learn from the industry leaders, marvel at cutting-edge technology and form long-lasting partnerships. Vancouver Economic Commission serves one of the world’s fastest-growing, low-carbon economies. Climate Leadership Coalition is the largest climate business network in Europe developing business-driven solutions to address climate change.
More information
Bryan Buggey
Director, Vancouver Economic Commission
bbuggey@vancouvereconomic.com
Jouni Keronen
CEO, Climate Leadership Coalition
jouni.keronen@clc.fi, +358 50 4534881
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