🌍 🌎 🌏  Happy Earth Day! 🌍 🌎 🌏

This year’s Earth Day might be the most important in all of human history. With climate change affecting billions of people around the world and scientific evidence that human carbon emissions continue to contribute to and accelerate rising temperatures and extreme weather events, Earth Day is all about action.

Earth Day began in 1970 when, after seeing the devastating effects of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson took political and social action to pull together Americans to raise awareness and work together for positive change in our environment. That year, more than 20 million Americans publicly demonstrated against industrial development and in favor of protecting our planet. By 1990, Earth Day had spread across the earth and more than 200 million people were mobilized to celebrate our world and build a more sustainable future together. Earth Day is now the largest secular observance in the world with more than 1 billion individuals working together for actionable change every year.

But, while Earth Day is every April 22nd, working together to create a sustainable future for our planet shouldn’t stop on April 23rd. Earth Day is a year-round effort! So today, on Earth Day 2022, Route is proud to announce our industry-leading commitment to sustainability, neutralizing carbon emissions, and creating a greener ecommerce experience with 1-Click Protect + Green.

1-Click Protect + Green: Going completely carbon neutral

One of the main issues with modern ecommerce logistics is the exorbitant amount of carbon emissions it takes to get a product from the merchant to the customer. While it’s a modern miracle that we can move so much, so fast,  the truth is whether it’s being fulfilled via overseas ocean freight, air freight, or by truck, every package shipped adds to a growing carbon footprint for the industry. Not cool!

1-Click Protect + Green is a new checkout widget for merchants using Route Protect. For shoppers, it provides the same stellar experience that they have come to expect from Protect. It’s the same premium and continues to provide industry-best package protection against loss, theft, or damage. But when a merchant has 1-Click Protect + Green enabled, Route’s sustainability initiatives will effectively neutralize the carbon emissions for the shipment. To do that, we’re partnering with Patch, a leading carbon credit marketplace, to ensure we’re only working with certified, high integrity carbon removal projects.

We’re also working with well-known brands from around the world to launch 1-Click Protect + Green. Maybe you’ve heard of Madhappy? Or Brown Girl Jane? We’re also partnering with the Utah Jazz, Koio, Amass, Tropic of C, Noah, Springbar, Le Prunier, Cynthia Rowley, and the LA Kings in our Early Access period of 1-Click Protect + Green. Want to be added to Early Access? You can sign up below. We’ll reach out with more details.

It’s no secret that it’s popular to go green. Consumers are more conscious than ever with their money and will happily pass up one brand in favor of another, more sustainable alternative. But too often corporate sustainability efforts turn out to just be lip service–or worse, cause harm. While some ecommerce companies and checkout solutions offer the option of donating to plant a tree, those funds may not reach their intended cause and experts say this un-certified tree planting can actually create more problems than it solves. Meanwhile, online merchants like you, feeling the pressure to make a positive difference through sustainable programs, face uncertainty about how actionable their options really are.

While plenty of companies like to talk the talk, Route is walking the walk. We’ve recognized and implemented a quick and simple way to make a difference by purchasing carbon credits on behalf of our users from certified carbon removal projects around the world. We’re actively doing our part to lead ecommerce, a $4.9 trillion dollar industry, toward a better future. For us, taking action and enabling merchants like you to join us in that action is key.

Fazenda Nascente Do Luar Agroforestry Project

The first project Route is supporting is the Fazenda Nascente Do Luar Agroforestry Project in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This project, an afforestation project, aims to plant  845 acres with eucalyptus trees. Afforestation is the process by which new forests are planted in places where there previously was not forest, which is considered to be a higher integrity method of carbon removal than reforestation.

In this case, this project is creating a dense forest of eucalyptus trees, which are some of the most efficient carbon capturing plants in the world. Besides being an effective carbon capture opportunity, this project creates new jobs, produces more fertile soil, and provides a new habitat for endangered species. The area has already seen the return of species believed to be extinct or endangered, including the Puma, the Maned Wolf, the Tapir, the Pampas Deer, the Giant Anteater and the beautiful Hyacinth Macaw.

The entire project is certified by the Verified Carbon Standard, which is basically the gold standard for environmentally responsible projects. The Climate Group, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), World Economic Forum and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) worked together to develop the Verified Carbon Standard for carbon emission offsets. We’re proud to be working on a project that effectuates real change.

Route’s Commitment to Sustainability

1-Click Protect is only a portion of Route’s commitment to creating a more sustainable future for ecommerce. In fact, our goals stretch far beyond 1-Click Protect + Green. We’re committed to neutralizing 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and incorporating sustainability into our own office operations. That’s the equivalent of planting 160,000 trees.

While we’re happy to see ecommerce market penetration grow, we know the growth of ecommerce means growth in carbon emissions. By leading the industry with certified projects like the Nascente Do Luar Agroforestry Project, we’re doing our part to one day make ecommerce a carbon neutral industry.

In order to achieve lofty goals, like complete carbon neutrality in ecommerce, real action has to be taken. 1-Click Protect is just the start of the journey we’re taking to build a better future.

How to get involved

Just like Earth Day, 1-Click Protect + Green is all about taking action. If you’re an online shopper (who isn’t?), you can start by supporting our brand partners using 1-Click Protect + Green. When you shop at their stores and protect your packages using Route, carbon credits will essentially neutralize the carbon emissions involved in transit.

If you’re an online merchant and you want to offer your customers 1-Click Protect + Green (who wouldn’t?), you can sign up today. While it’s still in Early Access, we’re rapidly expanding to new merchants. Get your name on the list by quickly signing up below.

1-Click Protect + Green is the start of our commitment to sustainability. Keep an eye on Route for new products, programs, and projects designed to create a brighter future and steer ecommerce into a greener direction.