The Need to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
๐ฌ Interview with Marc BONJOUR, Volunteer President of a European cooperative
Could you please introduce yourself and describe your business?
My name isMarc Bonjour. I am the volunteer president of a European cooperativeโthe first European affordable housing cooperativeโthat provides low-carbon housing at very affordable rents. Our first project was completed in Berlin. We are currently developing two other projects: one in Helsinki, Finland, and another in Jelgava, Latvia.
How long have you been interested in carbon footprints?
Iโve been interested in carbon footprints for 20 years. Ever since the Climate and Energy Act was passed three years ago, in 2019, Iโve been working to raise awareness of the urgent need to conduct carbon footprint assessmentsโthey truly form the foundation of all efforts to combat global warming.ย
How do local governments and businesses react when you offer them carbon assessments?
When local governments discuss this issue, they have already accomplished a great deal over the past 10 years and have complied with the laws. For businesses, itโs very simple: either theyโre aware of the issue and are doing everything necessary because theyโre large, or theyโre still small or medium-sized and think this only applies to big companies, not to them. They have other priorities and fewer resources.
Why did you choose the GCI platform?
I truly chose GCI as the best platform on the market from an operational standpointโto be practical, efficient, measure, evaluate, improve, and actually propose very concrete and effective areas for improvementโand itโs more affordable than other options on the market, enabling us all to successfully implement our strategy to reduce our energy footprint.ย
What advice do you give entrepreneurs to convince them to conduct a carbon assessment of their business?
To convince an entrepreneur to conduct a carbon footprint assessment, I would start by telling them to ask their childrenโif they have anyโor their nieces and nephews, and see just how much this has become an unavoidable issue. Itโs no longer just about complying with laws or regulations; itโs about thinking about the future of our planet.
The entrepreneur really needs to see this for himself. Then, Iโd like to meet with him to present the truly remarkable advantages of the GCI method for conducting a carbon assessment in a simple, cost-effective, and practical wayโso that he can then implement measures to improve the planetโs climate situation.