Q&A: South Pole on Its Next-Gen Climate Neutrality Certification

With the urgency of reducing our carbon footprint becoming more visible by the day, it's great to see more and more brands making claims about their carbon reductions. As they do, credibility is key; these claims are only as powerful as our trust in them. Recognizing this, Swiss carbon finance consultancy South Pole recently launched updated versions of its Climate Neutrality and Renewable Electricity labels, used by companies to certify the validity of their claims in these areas. The updated labels make these certifications even more robust.

South Pole works with companies around the globe to provide carbon credits and other decarbonization strategies. In fact, Sustainable Brands partnered with South Pole to certify last month's New Metrics '18 conference in Philadelphia, which achieved both the Climate Neutrality and Renewable Electricity labels.
Sustainable Brands caught up with Charles Henderson, Corporate Climate Change Expert at South Pole, to learn more about the new labels and about new partnerships helping the organization scale its own impact.

South Pole has been offering carbon credits and other services for years. For those not familiar with your work, what are some examples of the companies you've worked with and projects you've offset?

Charles Henderson: South Pole has been working in sustainability since 2006. Originally founded in Zurich, Switzerland, the company is now operating in 18 offices worldwide. Our reach of companies that we have worked with reflects this experience and we are proud to support a variety of established, public-facing brands such as ALDO Group, McKinsey and Major League Soccer.

You recently relaunched your Climate Neutrality and Renewable Electricity Labels. What do these labels cover and why are you so excited about this relaunch?

CH: South Pole offers Climate Neutrality labels for companies, products and events, as well as Renewable Electricity labels for companies and events, and has been providing this certification for many years.

While the 'penguin labels' have been a trusted choice for many of the previously mentioned big brands, we want to ensure that our labels continue to be best-in-class well into the future. This is why in the fall of 2018, our label criteria were critically reviewed and updated in order to align with new international standards and an evolving market.