New program allows for continued environmental improvement, leadership
In a continued effort to decrease its environmental impact, 3Degrees has offset its 2014 water footprint through the purchase of Water Restoration Certificates (WRC).
Similar to how companies purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to balance out their electricity consumption for areas where they cannot reduce their energy usage, 3Degrees has purchased WRCs to cover the areas where water usage cannot be reduced, such as day-to-day office operations. Each certificate represents 1,000 gallons of water restored to critically dewatered rivers and streams through solutions like water conservation, updated management and irrigation systems, and changes to water rights and agreements. All projects are certified by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
3Degrees is proud to be supporting the Sevenmile Creek project in the Klamath River Basin, and the Colorado River Delta project, located in Sonora, Mexico. The Klamath River Basin straddles Oregon and California, two of the states where 3Degrees operates its largest office sites. The basin is home to six National Wildlife Refuges, but extreme over allocation and diversion of water resources has resulted in inadequate stream flows and the degradation and loss of critical aquatic habitat. The Colorado River Delta, located at San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, was once one of North America’s great desert ecosystems, but due to historical treaties between the U.S. and Mexico that neglected to allocate water to sustain the river, the delta has been almost completely dry for the past five decades. The projects that our purchases support are restoring these important water resources.
“3Degrees is committed to reducing our environmental impact,” says Steve McDougal, President of 3Degrees. “Water Resource Certificates provide an opportunity to support projects that restore critical wildlife habitat while offsetting the use of water in our business operations.”
Water Resource Certificates are 3Degrees’ latest commitment to environmental stewardship. As a Certified B Corp, 3Degrees meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance. Our on-going commitment to the environmental is evidenced by our recent designation as Climate RegisteredTMPlatinum and being named one of the National Best and Brightest Sustainable Companies®. More details about our focus on sustainability can be found on our About page.
