Even when a company is working hard to produce a sustainable product, it’s admirable that they want to take it one step further. Bamboo Bottle Co. already manufactures a sleek bamboo bottle that works for both hot and cold beverages. Within a smooth bamboo sleeve is an easily removed and washable glass container that is made from natural substances. Not only does it reduce the use of regular plastic bottles but it keeps the user safe from Bisphenol-A (BPA) that have been show disrupt hormones in animals.
Bamboo Bottle started off with an incredible idea to use a sustainable product pointing out on their site that “in the time most people run a 5k, a bamboo shoot can grow an inch….[and] bamboo minimizes the carbon dioxide and generates up to 35% more oxygen than an equivalent strand of trees. One hectare of bamboo scrubs 62 tons of carbon dioxide a year.”
Perhaps hoping to mimic the bamboo plant, the company has teamed up with NativeEnergy to offset its projected carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions including those emissions created by shipping, employee travel, and tradeshow tour and distribution. Using the Rainier Biogas Farm Methane to Energy Project in Enumclaw, Washington, the initiative is projected to avoid more than 4,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. Additionally, the project will make a significant contribution to water quality in two vulnerable watersheds and will remove more than 100 tons of nitrogen and 22 tons of phosphorus from manure spread on cropland each year.
For this project, the methane digester generates renewable electricity and waste-heat recovery using captured methane. This re-generated power is transferred to an electricity grid (in this case, wind farms also send power to the grid) and reduces the amount of energy needed from fossil-fueled generating stations.
The leaders of the respective companies are also enjoying a mutually beneficial relationship. Says Patrick Carland, senior VP of Bamboo Bottle Co.:
“NativeEnergy is already working with brands that we admire and the Rainier project is a tangible way for Bamboo Bottle to make a positive local environmental impact in addition to creating a better bottle for a better planet.”
Adds Jeff Bernicke, COO and president of NativeEnergy, said, “By helping build the Rainier project, Bamboo Bottle is taking an important stand against climate change. But their positive action doesn’t end there. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the eight-year lifetime of the project, they are also supporting family-owned farms and protecting two watersheds. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”
Many companies are already seeing the benefits of going green but it’s commendable to see a company like Bamboo Bottle makes a choice to give back to the environment in the form of offsets.
For more on how bamboo is helping Mother Earth, visit Green Earth News section on Bamboo & The Environment.
