CSFEP Newsletter, August 2024
Climate Smart Forest Economy Program (CSFEP)
Bringing people together to develop forest economies that work for people, nature, and climate
In this issue, we cover:
Translating Science into Action: Learnings from a carbon credit housing project in Uganda
Uganda-based social enterprise Easy Housing has just reached a key milestone in making biobased construction more affordable. The company has sold its first carbon credit (known as a carbon removal unit or CRU), as part of a newly-accredited project involving ten homes in Uganda that effectively store carbon. By selling these CRUs, Easy Housing can lower the cost of homes built using biobased materials, and it hopes greater affordability will speed the adoption of this greener choice among consumers.
For example, in Uganda, the standard Easy Home model costs around €17,000. Through the sale of CRUs, the home cost can be reduced by 3.5% to €16,400—a significant enough reduction to create a competitive advantage. “Using CRUs to reduce the cost of homes built from biobased materials is a tangible example of what carbon markets have been designed for: to decarbonize our global economy by putting a price tag on environmental impact, “said Wolf Bierens, CEO and Founder of Easy Housing.
What does it take to successfully design and certify carbon credits for biobased construction projects?
For Easy Housing, the journey began with developing a construction stored carbon (CSC) methodology from scratch, in collaboration with Climate Cleanup and African Data Technologies. At the start of the project, methodologies and accreditation processes for CSC were either non-existent or in very early stages. Recognizing this gap, Easy Housing supported Climate Cleanup in developing a CSC methodology, which was then used to calculate the carbon storage in its first ten Easy Homes in Uganda.
“The process has given us deep understanding of the level of detail required for accurate and transparent quantification of our carbon removal impact”, said Bierens. “Good collection of data, such as supplier invoices, from the start of each project, in combination with clear legal clauses about carbon claims and detailed material passports, are crucial for successfully implementing the CSC methodology.”
In total, 109 CRUs have been accredited for their ten-home project. These units are now available for purchase on the ONCRA platform and through carbon broker Scature.
CSFEP and our Partners on the Ground: Join us for an upcoming learning session
Wood is everywhere these days, from the Paris Olympics to new housing in Africa. Worldwide, many built environment professionals are exploring the potential of biobased materials to reduce the construction sector’s carbon impact.
But have you ever wondered:?how are forests showing up in this emerging sector?
And is there potential for biobased construction sector to positively impact forests??
If so, join CSFEP this September for the inaugural session of our learning series:
Can we design wood buildings to support forests?
Taking a climate smart forest economy approach to biobased construction
We’ll bring perspectives from experts on the topic as well as examples of local projects in action.
The session date and speakers will be shared shortly.
Sign up here to receive an invite to the learning session.
In the News: Upcoming conferences for actors in climate smart forest economies
Don’t miss these upcoming conferences! ?
CSFEP would love to meet up with you at any conferences that we will be attending (highlighted above). To schedule time to meet, please reach out to Program Director Robyn van den Heuvel at [email protected].
About CSFEP
The Climate Smart Forest Economy Program (CSFEP) partners with communities, small businesses, governments, and actors in the enabling ecosystem to create local coalitions that redesign forest-related value chains for climate, biodiversity, and prosperity.? It envisions a different future for forest economies: one that restores, not depletes, natural resources; reduces, not increases, emissions from value chains; and safeguards, not exploits, interests of smallholder and forest-dwelling communities[1].
We are always open to new partnerships – please?contact us?to discuss further.
[1] Clay K, Cooper L.?Safeguarding against Harm in a Climate-Smart Forest Economy: Definitions, Challenges, and Solutions.?Sustainability. 2022.
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Digital & Housing finance professional with over 14 years experience [Development Finance|Cutting-edge digital and housing finance solutions|Sustainable Development|Strategic Advisory|Financial Inclusion]
6 个月Interesting. But then did you consider the deforestation impact? So how many trees used in one house (amount of carbon that could have been processed by those trees) vs the amount of carbon preserved/stored? Kindlybshare that if you have the info