Editor’s note: At Green Drinks, our attendees come from all walks of life in sustainability and many work for Boston area start-ups that are innovating how consumers can take control of their climate impact. Today’s post showcases one of those start-ups.
ClimateStore is a new e-commerce portal where consumers can learn about climate change, make an action plan, and find products to reduce their carbon impact. Consistent with its mission, the company runs its operations in a carbon neutral manner; the company’s website is powered with wind energy, its operational and shipping footprint is managed through carbon offsets, and employees are offered incentives to use public transportation. ClimateStore Inc. also relies on partnerships with like-minded organizations such as 1% for the Planet in order to support reforestation initiatives and climate change awareness programs. The soft-launch of ClimateStore Inc.’s website was on Earth Day 2014.
Climatestore.com is designed to help visitors learn about climate science and its impacts, call people to action, assist them in setting up plans to reduce their carbon emissions, and to provide products to help them achieve their reduction goals. The company offers about 250 carbon lowering products. These include energy efficient lighting, water saving devices, smart home technology, home décor, laundry items, travel gear, educational materials, and accessories. Each product is evaluated to identify exactly how it reduces carbon emissions, including the production, use, and disposal phases of the product’s lifecycle. This classification is communicated with a simple icon system.
“In launching the site, we seek to close a gap in the retail space, namely, the lack of an easily recognizable retail brand focused on climate change that has both educational content and linked products to help people reduce emissions. We also believe that very few brands are focused on making the transition to lower carbon lifestyles fun and easy for the consumer” said Bushnell. “There is a false perception that moving to a lower carbon economy will mean giving things up or require extra effort. We take the opposite view; lowering one’s carbon footprint should be fun, easy and rewarding as we collectively secure the stable climate we all hope to live in.” Says Steve Bushnell, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of ClimateStore Inc.
Starting with a call-to-action, the educational content includes summaries of the latest climate science and impacts, the importance of acting now, content and activities for children, and frequently asked questions. The site also features a simple path for setting up a personal action plan. While many of the current products focus on energy efficiency and items made from upcycled materials, the company plans to expand its product offerings through partnerships to include home solar and wind.
“We are truly excited about the quality and impact of the carbon lowering products in our offerings and look forward to expanding” said Bushnell. “There is a growing pipeline of innovative carbon lowering products from companies that use traditional and more sustainable manufacturing processes. We look forward to playing a role in evaluating them and, when successful, marketing them to carbon conscious consumers in the years ahead.”
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