On-demand taxi service Lyft wants to offset the carbon emissions of the millions of rides it provides each year through a range of environmental investments, according to a Medium post by the company.
In doing so, the brand won’t be reducing its emissions but will help the global environment better cope with climate change, CNN reports.
“In year one, we anticipate offsetting over a million metric tons of carbon, equivalent to planting tens of millions of trees or taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road,” Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green wrote in the post.
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To do this, the company is tracking how many miles its cars drive to determine the scale of the project, CNN reports. Then it will invest millions of dollars in renewable energy programs, reforestation efforts, and landfill management.
The initiative establishes Lyft as one of the largest voluntary carbon offsetters in the world, according to 3Degrees, a renewable energy company partnering with Lyft in this campaign.
Ultimately, Lyft wants to create vehicles that are more environmentally-friendly and is investing in relevant technology and fuel alternatives, the Atlantic notes.
In recent years, more than 1,300 US major companies have vowed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
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As a taxi company, emissions are baked into Lyft’s DNA, a fact that the company acknowledges in its letter.
“The stark reality is that transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions,” the co-founders wrote.
But by taking action to limit its environmental impact, the brand is helping to find a solution and could spur other companies to take action.
After all, providing carbon-neutral services could be a competitive advantage — more than half of US citizens want action to be taken against climate change.
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“In the future all vehicles will operate with clean energy,” the co-founders wrote.
“But climate change is not waiting,” they added. “It’s happening now, and it presents a clear and immediate threat to our world and those who live in it. Action cannot wait.”
Global CItizen campaigns on the United Nations’ Global Goals, which call on countries and companies to drastically durb greenhouse gas emissions. You can take action on this issue here.