Carbon neutral orders and returns with EcoCart
Nicole Walker
·April 19, 2022
Shoppers are more interested in spending their money with brands who are taking climate action than ever before. In fact, 92% of shoppers say they want to shop from brands who are, in some way, trying to be more sustainable. Meanwhile, two-thirds, or 67%, of shoppers say they actively check if a brand has sustainable practices before deciding if they’re going to purchase from the brand.
EcoCart is a carbon offsetting solution for Shopify stores, available on the Shopify App Marketplace with both merchant-paying and customer-paying options. Carbon offsets at the point-of-sale is a relatively new concept but nonetheless has been established as a proven method to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce the environmental impact of business operations.
Through EcoCart, ecommerce brands are able to calculate the exact amount of carbon emissions associated with each specific order and then partner with a vetted offsetting project to counteract those emissions through donations.
End-to-End Carbon Offsetting
With online orders, shipping is only one contributor to climate change, the other culprits being the manufacturing and production of the good itself. This is why EcoCart, unlike other carbon offsetting tools, takes both manufacturing and shipping into consideration when calculating the carbon offset. Regardless of if goods are handmade, mass-manufactured, or even produced sustainably, everything from the raw materials to the energy used in manufacturing processes contributes to global carbon emissions.
EcoCart’s proprietary carbon offsetting algorithm takes into account several critical factors of each individual order placed to determine the exact cost needed to offset the order’s carbon impact. These variables include:
– What the item(s) is made of
– How much the item(s) weighs
– The distance the order will travel from merchant to customer
– How the order will get to its final destination (e.g. freight, trucks, air, etc.)
Based on the above factors mapped against empirically validated carbon emissions data, EcoCart calculates the exact cost of offsetting the carbon impact of the order. No two orders are exactly the same, and therefore the cost to offset them should not be exactly the same.
For brands who are looking to truly maintain carbon neutrality while not sacrificing the convenience of standard online shopping experiences, EcoCart’s methodology can also be utilized in the return experience as well. Through their open API, EcoCart is able to integrate with returns platforms, like Loop Returns, and calculate the carbon emissions associated with a return just like it does with an order. This enables shoppers to try products at no risk to them or the planet.
Carefully Vetted Offsetting Projects
Once customers decide to offset the carbon emissions of their online orders with EcoCart, the money donated goes directly to certified carbon offset products, hand-selected by EcoCart’s carbon emissions and sustainability experts. The projects are certified to reduce the environmental impact of everyday activities while doing some extra good like creating jobs, protecting ecosystems, and supporting underserved communities.
EcoCart partners only with projects that are carefully vetted, ethically proven, and scientifically verified according to the world’s major carbon standards including Gold Standard, the United Nations, the American Carbon Registry, and Climate Action Reserve.
Projects must meet the following three standards to be included as part of the EcoCart donation program:
– Legitimacy: All projects are confirmed based on the organization’s scientific methods and financials, making sure each meets the toughest requirements of the world’s major carbon standards.
– Impact: EcoCart works closely with project developers, ensuring that each program is stable, sound, and capable of doing good for both people and the planet. EcoCart projects don’t just slow climate change, but also have a positive impact on local communities and animal habitats.
– Traceability: EcoCart does not depend on the promise to do good, but rather the action these carbon offset projects take. By carefully tracking the emissions reductions of each project and sharing that information with customers, merchants equipped with EcoCart have the greatest level of certainty that what they see is what they get.
A Partner in Ecommerce Sustainability
While EcoCart is easy to integrate and get started with, it is not a set-it-and-forget-it type of solution. After installation, the EcoCart team works carefully with Shopify merchants to help them track and understand metrics of success including donation rates, cart conversion, and customer loyalty. Plus, EcoCart customers get access to a variety of marketing tools and templates to share the positive impact their brands are making on the world.
Becoming a truly sustainable business can be expensive and time-consuming, especially for smaller businesses, but EcoCart enables online merchants to do so quickly and effectively.
While all merchants should do their research on the carbon offsetting options available to them, on Shopify and elsewhere, it’s important to understand that many offsetting companies and projects do not provide transparency on where offset dollars are going, what kind of impact is being made, or why certain offsets have certain prices. EcoCart prides itself on full transparency with customers from the minute they install the solution on their Shopify stores.
Ready to get started with EcoCart today? Head over to their website and reach out!
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