Just a Drop is committed to measuring and reducing its carbon emissions year on year. Thanks to tree planting projects in India and Kenya, the organisation is currently carbon negative. Just a Drop aims to reach net zero emissions by 2040, which means not only balancing the carbon we produce, but also moving to reduce our total emissions year on year.

As an organisation that prides itself on sustainability, or managing resources without depleting them for future generations, it is important to recognise our carbon footprint and to work on reducing our impact on the environment. 

We don't want to just offset our carbon footprint, we want to actively reduce our footprint. As of 2023, carbon reducing measures form an integral part of Just a Drop's overall strategy, helping to improve the associated data we capture and to reduce potentially harmful emissions.

We are committed to:

- Measuring our carbon footprint every year (and publishing this data)

- Offsetting our carbon footprint 

- Reducing our footprint year on year to achieve Net Zero by 2040

We want to be open and honest about our footprint and the steps we are taking to reduce our impact on the planet. As an organisation, we are committed to being transparent about our emissions and carbon data throughout our journey to Net Zero.

What do these figures mean?

Let's take a closer look at our latest financial year to explain more. 

Our total carbon footprint for 2021/2022 was 684,264 kg of CO2e, this is the equivalent of 412.70 flights from London to San Francisco. With this footprint, we have supported 19,772 people through 30 projects.

As part of our projects in India and Kenya, we planted 6,859 trees which will remove more carbon from the atmosphere than our calculated footprint for the year, already taking into account a loss rate. This means we are currently a carbon negative organisation. Carbon negative organisations remove more carbon from the atmosphere than they release into it, having a net positive environmental impact, whereas carbon neutral refers to inputting and outputting an equal amount.

We are on the right track, our footprint is small but it is there. We will be using the calculation of the average footprint per project for our Net Zero strategy to measure our reductions. We aim to reduce our emissions year-on-year, as far as possible, without compromising on the longevity and sustainability of our work.

Tree Planting

Since 2020 Just a Drop has planted over 9,000 trees in the communities we work in. Trees help communities enormously, in particular by their provision of firewood, shade, and sometimes fruit. Tree planting means communities can grow more crops and foodstuffs as trees improve soil fertility, stop soil erosion, and provide shade, which can help to achieve the holistic development we aim for. Due to their multiple community benefits, Just a Drop has been planting trees for years.

Fortunately, they also happen to be extremely good for the planet!

Trees 'sequester' carbon, meaning they take in and store it as they photosynthesise, meaning they naturally remove CO₂ from the atmosphere just by being there! This means that in theory you can measure how much CO₂ you're putting into the atmosphere (your carbon footprint), against how much CO₂ you're taking out of the atmosphere (for example through tree planting), to get a better picture of your impact on the planet. With the 6,859 trees planted last year, we managed to sequester more carbon than we produced, and we hope to do the same again next year!