Integra Crowdfunding
Integra Micro Systems is a Bangalore based IT company, and founding member of the Fair Climate Network. We are deeply concerned with maintaining Climate integrity, and one among a growing number of Indian companies who have pledged to go carbon neutral in spite of there being no national or international compliance requirement in force. Our two-pronged strategy is:
- Identify operational areas where we can reduce our own GHG emissions, and
- Offset what we are unable to reduce by supporting rural women to enrich their lives in a sustainable manner, while making a positive impact on the environment.
To this end, we undertook an assessment of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of all our operations, in our group and partner companies, got it certified by a UNFCCC accredited auditor, and determined it to be about 5,400 tCO2-e per annum. Once we get our Emissions certified, we will join the elite international club of Carbon Pricing Coalition set up after COP22 at Paris, and announce our internal Carbon Price at US $ 10 per tonne.
The implication of this decision is that we are committed to set aside, from our revenue, US $ 54,000 (₹ 34.6 lakh) per annum in order to:
- ₹ 20 lakh to make real and actual GHG reductions, and
- ₹ 15 lakh to purchase high quality Carbon Offsets, with powerful stories behind their generation, from rural women.
The FCN Tech Team had, in the meanwhile, facilitated the development and registration of a Climate Project wherein 2,000 women living in the Himalayan ranges of Almora district, Uttarakhand, would switch over from burning huge quantities of abundantly available firewood from the forest to using 2 fuel-efficient Woodstoves per household. This would reduce their firewood usage by about 60%. More importantly, by using fallen twigs and branches blown close to their habitats, these 2,000 women would no longer have to venture into the forest to fell trees and face various forms of human-animal conflict.
Using their fuel-efficient Woodstoves and reducing fuel wood usage, the 2,000 women will generate 13,717 Gold Standard Verified Emissions Reductions (GS VERs) in the next 4 years. FCS assisted them in making open and transparent financials, following the principle that only 15% would be spent on overheads. The actual-cost-of-generation worked out to ₹ 787.16 per tCO2-e.
On 11 July 2017, Integra entered into an Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA) with NNS and Sanjeevani, the local NGOs who will implement the Climate Project. We agreed to forward purchase 13,717 yet-to-be-generated Carbon Offsets at the actual-cost-of-generation, following FCN Market Mechanism principles outlined here.
Rewards based Crowdfunding
However, Integra is able to contribute only ₹ 15 lakh per annum, covering a little more than half the project cost. For the balance 44% required to implement the project for 4 years, we have taken the lead to create this Crowdfunding platform.
| Year | Project will Generate | Cost of Generation | Integra Contribution | Crowdfunding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,620 | ₹ 77,08,000 | ₹ 15,00,000 | ₹ 62,08,000 |
| 2 | 4,113 | ₹ 14,71,200 | ₹ 15,00,000 | (28,800) |
| 3 | 3,691 | ₹ 16,18,320 | ₹ 15,00,000 | ₹ 1,18,320 |
| 4 | 3,292 | - | ₹ 15,00,000 | (15,00,000) |
| 13,717 GS VERs | ₹ 1,07,97,520 100% | ₹ 60,00,000 56% | ₹ 47,97,520 44% |
Every single potential End User woman was told that she would be a "business woman", offering a vital environmental service to society at large, and be paid for her services. After that, they were trained in usage and daily monitoring. In July 2017, 2,000 Greenway stoves were distributed to 1,000 women in 14 villages. Please see project descriptions of NNS and Sanjeevani for powerful stories of lifestyle changes that have already emerged, wherein women now spend considerably less time in the kitchen or collecting firewood in the forests, and more with their families or in self-education and self-employment.
Integra and other Crowdfunding participants will receive Carbon Offsets at a rate of ₹ 787 per GS VER. Though fungible commodities, these will be retired and cannot be re-traded, thereby contributing to real and absolute Greenhouse Gas reduction. NNS and Sanjeevani will transfer them to the Carbon Investor's account in the Retirement Registry. The FCN Tech Team will facilitate this process.
When their ERPA commitment is completed after 4 years, every single tonne of GHG Reduction generated will belong to the 2,000 End User women. The Fair Climate Network will assist them to sell in the benevolent market and distribute carbon revenues in proportion to actual usage, as reward for not emitting GHG.
Integra Micro Systems firmly believes in the FCN position on benevolent market mechanisms to finance pro-poor Climate Projects:
"Returns from micro-level Emission Reduction activities carried out by thousands of rural women will not be on par with returns from conventional non-renewables like windmills, hydro, et al. But the added value is the possibility to involve huge numbers in the building of an alternate economy. History has proven that large scale cooperation is the only way forward for our species.
"This business outlook is also propelled by the realisation that, if Homo sapiens are to survive on planet Earth, the so-called alternative of today has to become mainstream by tomorrow.
"Corporate Climate Investors exhibit a far-sightedness in recognising the value of powerful stories behind the generation of high quality, non-fudged, third-party verified Emission Reductions. They know that their customers will see the brink to which human beings have gone vis-à-vis Climate Change long before the economy as a whole acknowledges the fact."