Be A Hero, Go Net Zero: Targeted Actions for a Better Future!

by Chris Davies, Co-Chair, ESRAG Great Britain & Ireland Chapter (GBI)

Rotarians Taking Action for a Sustainable Future

I am writing to invite you to become part of the ESRAG initiative Be a Hero, Go Net Zero, or “BAHGNZ” (pronounced Baggins for ease).  The Great Britain and Ireland Chapter have aligned BAHGNZ to contribute to ESRAG’s Every Club Climate Friendly. 

The methodology is simple. We start by doing everything within reason to minimise our footprint. Then we offset the rest by donating to a Rotary-sponsored project that prevents emissions or removes CO2 from the air.

The statement “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors: we borrow it from our children” is used in environment-related articles for good reason. Why would anyone with the resources and capability to reduce one’s carbon footprint deliberately contribute to global warming through inaction, to the detriment of our children and the next generation? And yet here we are! 

We Rotarians would not throw our litter into hedges, ponds, rivers and oceans, yet many of us are quite happy, or least complicit, in being net contributors to global warming, presumably in part because the CO2 our activities generates is invisible to ourselves and others, and often indirect. But how do we serve society (the core Rotary objective) by contributing to global warming? How do we individually advance peace and goodwill by contributing to climate change, with all its impacts?

In my three and a half years as District Environment Lead and three years as ESRAG GBI Co-Chair, I have heard many reasons not to reduce and offset our individual and club footprints: “What’s the point,” given the impact of India, China, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza, or “geoengineering will sort it out” or ‘”technology is the answer” or even “I like the resultant hot summers.” 

Frequently, I hear “what difference can I make?” as an argument. This is an interesting one, since as Rotarians we endeavour to lead in our communities and for the benefit of society. As responsible citizens we vote, often without gaining the result we cast our vote for. By contrast, everything we do as an individual to reduce our footprint benefits the whole of humanity!

If we can afford more than a week’s holiday a year, we can surely afford to offset our annual footprint. In the developed world ,the average person’s footprint hovers around 10 tonnes a year, so at £10/tonne, you could donate £100 per year to appropriate Rotary-supported projects that remove C02 from the air or avoid its production. This would – until such time as there is no choice but to adjust – ensure that you do your bit: for you, your family, your fellow Rotarians, grandchildren, humanity, and the dwindling yet amazing range of species in our wonderful biosphere. 

Process

In order to self-declare Net-Zero we suggest you run through two or three calculators. Appendix I provides the links to a few. Typically, these take about five minutes each.  Take the average of the calculations, allow a 30% margin of error ,and compensate for that amount.  Appendix II provides a list of some of the organisations and projects that you may wish to donate to.

We suggest you over-compensate as above, but as a self-declaration, it is down to whatever you are comfortable with.  If you use the Treekly app, it is possible to achieve offsetting without cost, and you will end up incredibly fit.

As a quirk of human nature, contending with guilt as a net contributor to global warming is often seen as sufficient reason not to act, or maybe, some simply resent having to deal with it, so they don’t.  Perhaps it is a form of psychic numbing. BAHGNZ, by contrast, is a positive action that will do real good.

In summary, in becoming a Net Zero Hero: 

• When your grandchildren or great-grandchildren ask: “what did you do in the Great Climate Emergency?” you will have an answer. 
• You become part of the solution. 
• Your action will have benefitted all. 
• You set a precedent for others to follow. 

Once you are happy that you are Net Zero, email either Mohammed Alrahami or me (we’re the ESRAG GBI Co-Chairs) and self-declare as Net Zero.  We will assign you a Net Zero Hero number and send you a certificate of achievement valid for one year from submission.  Towards the end of the year, we will write to ask if you are happy to renew your declaration.  We suggest you use your Net Zero Hero number in your email signature in the form “Net Zero Hero x” where “x” is your unique number.

If every individual in a Rotary club is Net Zero, then the club becomes Net Zero too.  That makes your club Climate Friendly, and closer to Becoming Sustainable. Join Yasar Atacik, Laurie Zuckerman, Malcolm Rooney, Mohammad Alrahmi, Bob Leaper and fellow ESRAG members all over the world. Please be part of the solution! 

Appendix I: Carbon CALCULATORS:

• United Nations Carbon Footprint Calculator. Largely self-explanatory. Calculates a household footprint.
• Carbon Footprint Calculator for Individuals and Households. Comprehensive, based on annual metrics and expenditure.
• The Green Britain Carbon Footprint Calculator
• MyClimate footprint calculator: Swiss based – a little vague at times – more subjective.
• World Wildlife Fund Total Lifestyle Carbon calculator.
• When you travel by air, you can use the ESRAG Flight Carbon Estimator to compensate for the emissions by supporting Rotary environmental global grants.

Appendix II – Options for offsetting your carbon footprint:

These are either Rotary-led or Rotary-supported initiatives. You may wish to support one or a range of initiatives at the local, district, national, and/or international levels.

Stoves for schools and families

ESRAG’s Cleaner Cookstoves Task Force provides the opportunity for clubs and individuals to fund ecological stoves for communities which are still cooking over open fires. Scroll down to “Featured Projects to find the delightful video ESRAG member Maya Smeulders (RC Abington Vesper) has posted a about the stoves people in Uganda are making themselves from free local materials.

Your donation covers project costs including trainer travel, fair wages for the teams building school stoves, chimneys, and some trees for the community to plant. The stoves are highly efficient, reduce the need for wood or charcoal, and have tremendous impact in reducing carbon emissions and exposure to deadly particulates from smoke. £250 provides a school stove which prevents 10.2 tonnes of CO2 per year. £25 for a household stove will prevent 1 tonne of CO2 per year.

Sol Malawi

ESRAG member Bob Leaper of the Rotary Club of Danetre, Daventry says, “We are working with a UK charity – SolarAid – on a new project to replace kerosene lamps and candles (which generate CO2), with solar-powered home lighting systems. The lighting system, called Sun King Home 60, can be installed in one dwelling for £100.   It uses a solar panel and battery to provide power to 3 LED lights, enabling users to study in the evenings, work, provide medical aid, power mobiles, and more.

Each system prevents around 1.8 tonnes per year in CO2 and black carbon equivalent. The system is guaranteed for 5 years, preventing 9 tonnes CO2 equivalent over the lifetime of the system.  Thus 1 tonne of CO2 is offset with £100/9 = £11.10/tonne. Read more about SolarAid’s impact here. Contact Bob Leaper with any questions. 

Account Name: Rotary Club of Danetre Daventry, Sort Code 30-99-50, Account No. 38759260, Account Type Business.  Please use as a reference Sol Malawi.   The project was officially launched at District Assembly in May 2024, and donations will then be directed to a specific carbon-offsetting solar project in Malawi – of which you will be kept fully informed.

Sustainable Global Gardens

SGG is run by Rotarian and ESRAG member Paul Keeley.”SGG has a stock of trees that are 5+ years old, planted in 2017-2018,” he says. “SGG pays farmers £10 per year to maintain 50 trees which will offset I tonne of CO2 equivalent per year.  Mature trees are planted rather than newly planted trees.  They currently have 20,000 trees that are mature enough, with more maturing each year. The CO2 offset is £10/tonne.”

Treekly App

Working with planting partners such as Eden Reforestation, Treekly plants trees. There are subscription options that, for example, plant one tree for every day you complete 5,000 steps. To plant a tree for free, you need to walk 5,000 steps a day for 20 days in a month.

Treekly has users in over 180 countries. The app is in English.  

Rotary Great Britain & Ireland (RGBI) has set up Treekly accounts for all RGBI clubs. Once you’ve downloaded the Treekly App, registered and linked your step counter, you click bottom right “together,” then the “+'”top right, then “join a group” and enter your 5-digit club code (found in the District handbook).  All you then need to do is refresh your step counter (I use Google Fit). Then open Treekly once a day, and your personal steps and trees planted will be counted in your club League. 

 Based on a conservative estimate of 1 mangrove tree’s capturing 50kg during the first trimester of its growth stage (8 years), the number of trees required to counterbalance 12t of CO2 emissions over the trees’ lifetime is 240 trees. This is a method of future compensation.  If you wish to plant enough mangroves now to offset this year’s footprint at 12 tonnes, then about 1700 Mangrove whips are needed.  Over to you!

Photo credits: SolarAid and Sustainable Global Gardens.