Shaklee's 2022 Carbon Neutral Protocol
Shaklee is carbon neutral. The greenhouse gas inventory for 2021 covering all Shaklee operations worldwide includes US, Canada, Japan, China, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and was reviewed by a third party, WSP Global, in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for all six Kyoto-defined greenhouse gases. Shaklee set operational boundaries for the inventory of its worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and worked with WSP Global to calculate the carbon footprint from Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The total amount of Shaklee's greenhouse gas emissions from worldwide operations in 2020 was measured and converted to metric tons of CO2 equivalent. In addition, Shaklee has worked to voluntarily comply with the Scope 2 guidance, measuring both market-based and location-based emissions. Shaklee has partnered with 3Degrees to offset its carbon footprint in North America and Asia with country-specific Green-e (and equivalent) certified renewable energy credits and Verra (formerly Verified Carbon Standard) carbon offsets. The following are examples of projects Shaklee has supported in the past.
Solar-Powered Lighting Installation
Sri Lanka and India
Less than 25% of the populations in Sri Lanka and India have access to electricity. Solar photovoltaics offer a healthy alternative to extending the power grid or constructing fossil-fuelled power plants. Shaklee supported a project to replace kerosene lamps, diesel generators, and batteries with solar photovoltaics in Sri Lanka and India. Over the 20-year lifetime, one household 35 watt solar photovoltaic system will prevent more than six tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Malawi, Africa
Shaklee partnered with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs and the Earth Institute at Columbia University to instal solar-powered lighting in African villages. This project provides a sustainable energy resource to remote areas and also supports the 2015 United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. The installation of solar-powered LED lanterns in 2007 replaces inefficient and unhealthy kerosene wick lamps and encourages renewable energy sources as a sustainable model. For the villagers, this will have a tremendous impact and provide the means for increased productivity, higher earnings potential, and expanded hours for education.
Wind Energy
Shaklee supported construction of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Wind Turbine Project: the first large-scale Native American owned and operated wind turbine. The 750 kilowatt turbine was installed by Native Energy on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.
Shaklee also funded wind turbine projects in Oregon and Texas to fulfil its commitment with the EPA Climate Leaders Program to offset all its greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. operations and use Green-e certified renewable energy. In 2007, Shaklee became the first consumer products company to offset 100% of its greenhouse gas emissions through the EPA Climate Leader's program and use 100% green power.
RECs
Shaklee purchased renewable energy credits (RECs) from a variety of projects in countries in which it generated emissions. Previously, Shaklee's RECs came from an Oklahoma wind project and the Hancock Wind Energy Center, home to 148 different 660-kilowatt turbines with a total capacity of 98 megawatts – enough electricity to power approximately 33,000 American homes. Another benefit of this wind farm is that the land remains in agricultural use while the turbines are in operation, using the same amount of land for multiple uses and benefits. Most recently, Shaklee has continued to purchase Green-e certified 100% renewable wind for many of its renewable energy credits.
Fuel Conversion
Portland Public Schools
Portland Public Schools had about 200 steam-generating boilers, which were not cost effective. Shaklee helped fund a project to switch boilers in the Portland schools from oil burners to standard gas burners, which increases efficiency. The retrofit lowered carbon emissions and also reduced energy costs for the school district.
San Bernardino County School Buses
The majority of school children in the United States travel to school each day riding in school buses run on traditional petroleum-based diesel fuel. These buses expose children and others in the community to dangerous pollutants that are harmful to their health. Shaklee supported a project to convert school buses in San Bernardino County, California from petroleum-based diesel fuel to biodiesel fuel made from vegetable oil, a renewal source. The retrofit not only decreased greenhouse gas emissions but also reduced tailpipe emissions of pollutants that can aggravate asthma in children.
Offsets
At the Greater New Bedford landfill in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, it was common practice to vent the methane from the landfill's decomposing organic matter directly into the atmosphere. In 2005, Commonwealth New Bedford Energy LLC, which operates the landfill, chose to invest in a project that captures the landfill methane and burns it to generate enough electricity to power approximately 1,500 U.S. homes. This repurposes the methane from waste gas to energy for consumption and also allows the landfill to remain in operation. Shaklee supported this project monetarily through purchasing greenhouse gas offsets generated by the project. Landfill gas utilization, in contrast to many other energy sources, requires relatively small amounts of additional land resources. Through 2017, Shaklee has continued to utilize landfill gas offsets. In 2018, we also utilized solar and wind project offsets, as well as an offset project in Mississippi that switches natural gas to biomass for thermal energy. In 2021, we utilized offsets from the Davidson county Landfill Gas Combustion Project in North Carolina.
Energy Saving Cookstoves and Water Treatment
In 2022, Shaklee supported the Paradigm Healthy Cookstove and Water Treatment Program, which seeks to improve health and incomes throughout Kenya by reducing time and money spent acquiring fuel for household and institutional cooking, and by providing local populations with improved access to clean water. To achieve this goal, the Project helps Kenyans access healthy, energy-saving cookstoves and water treatment products.
