myclimate was spun off from the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

in 2002 as a nonprofit climate protection organisation based in Switzerland to enable climate protection with economic mechanisms such as price-tagging

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

and integrating the

externality In economics, an externality or external cost is an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party's (or parties') activity. Externalities can be considered as unpriced goods involved in either co ...

into the market. They promote climate protection on three levels: avoidance techniques such as

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...

and teaching, reduction (which includes

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

, renewable energy and management methods) and

carbon offsetting A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carbon ...

. myclimate advocates for the development of a carbon market while setting new standards in carbon emissions and in designing a

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

society.

The 3 pillars

Avoid

myclimate promotes the gathering of knowledge about CO₂ reduction, raises awareness and inspires long-term climate protection. To achieve these goals, myclimate works with schools, institutions and businesses, organises exhibitions, contests, designs schoolbooks and games. In 2008 the climate protection game TriCO₂lor was awarded by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

Reduce

myclimate provides carbon assessment services, as well as more comprehensive

life cycle assessments Life cycle assessment or LCA (also known as life cycle analysis) is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. For instance, in the case o ...

. In 2008, together with the Swiss ecological centre of Langenbruck, the associatio
Climatop
was founded which awards climate-positive products. The initiative thereby hopes to increase competition among producers and to encourage the development of better products and promote

ecodesign Ecological design or ecodesign is an approach to designing products and services that gives special consideration to the environmental impacts of a product over its entire lifecycle. Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan define it as "any form of d ...

. The label is, among others, used by the biggest retailer in Switzerland,

Migros Migros () is Switzerland's largest retail company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It is also one of the forty largest retailers in the world. It is structured in the form of a cooperative federation (the Federation of Migro ...

. In addition, businesses are provided a range of tools for the development of strategies, the analysis of products and the optimisation of existing processes. Furthermore, myclimate designs carbon neutral products, for exampl
climate neutral printing

Offset

myclimate develops its own projects according to the

CDM Gold Standard The Gold Standard (GS), or Gold Standard for the Global Goals, is a standard and logo certification mark program for non-governmental emission reductions projects in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), thVoluntary Carbon Marketand other clim ...

. This most stringent standard for carbon offsetting projects was developed by 21 NGOs, including the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

. The Standard is supported by 60 NGOs worldwide. The Golden Standard is the only standard which certifies projects' sustainable development factors, e.g. co-benefit criteria like healthcare, job creation or reforestation.

Characteristic traits

In comparison to other climate protection companies working in the

carbon market Emission trading Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme ...

, myclimate has several unique characteristics: * it is a charity foundation * it operates within the "voluntary" carbon market (i.e.,

carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carbon ...

is realized in addition to the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (par ...

targets) * it generates "

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

" carbon certificates in self-developed carbon offsetting projects (i.e., it does not trade carbon certificates).

Partners and Patronage

The original idea for myclimate comes from former students of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

) and is academically supported by different institutes in the university, such as the ETH Centre for Sustainability, as well as the Swiss Federal Office for Energy. Its patrons include, among others, the Swiss Minister of the Environment

Doris Leuthard Doris Leuthard (born 10 April 1963) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2006 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she was elected as President of the Swiss ...

and the former member of the German Bundestag Prof.

Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (born 25 June 1939) is a German scientist and politician ( SPD). He was a member of the German Bundestag and served as co-president of the Club of Rome jointly with Anders Wijkman 2011 – 2019. Family A member of ...

. The government of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

Global Civil Society Forum, the Swiss federal office for environmental protection or the Swiss WWF Climate Group compensate their emissions with myclimate.

Market Insecurities

There is some controversy around the topic of emission reduction through

. There are several insecurities within the three trading markets under the so-called Kyoto flexible mechanisms (see also

Carbon market mechanism The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a "cap and trade" scheme where a limit is placed on the right to emit specified pollutants over an area and companies can trade emission rights within that area. It covers around 45% of th ...

), e.g. most standards lack of a proper quality assurance scheme which can lead to double counting or lacking

Additionality Additionality is the property of an activity being additional by adding something new to the context. It is a determination of whether an intervention has an effect when compared to a baseline. Interventions can take a variety of forms but ofte ...

. According to myclimate the

was developed to avoid these insecurities.

Studies

In 2006 the climate department of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learnin ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

examined 13 organisations that offer compensations for CO₂ emissions. Criteria were transparency, exactness of the calculations, price of the certificates and administrative costs. myclimate was one of four suppliers who reached the mark "excellent". The ENDS guide also lists myclimate in its top three carbon offsetters.ENDS Carbon Offsets
/ref>

Criticism

In 2022, journalists from the weekly newspaper

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History Th ...

had a non-existent flower store certified by Myclimate. The information provided was not verified by Myclimate. Only a fraction of the costs charged were to flow into a project to offset the unaudited CO₂ emissions of the fictitious company.Astrid Geisler, Hannah Knuth:
Ein Strauß leerer Versprechen.
' In: ''

''. Nr. 37, 8. September 2022, Seite 24–25.

References

External links

* {{official, www.myclimate.org Environmental organisations based in Switzerland Organisations based in Zürich Swiss Climate Alliance