A look inside STEPN’s Carbon Offsetting Strategy

Climate change remains one of the biggest challenges facing our society today. Beyond the bear market, beyond the state of the economy, the health of our earth remains the defining issue of our time. And unlike economic shifts, the effects of climate change could last forever.

Here at STEPN, we’re dedicated to offsetting our impact on climate change and leading the way for web3 projects to do their part. Today, we’ll be diving into what we’ve been doing in the carbon offsetting realm, as well as our environmental philosophy.

Not so cool

The story is repeating across the world this summer — and it’s a scorching one. From America to Asia, heat waves are becoming more and more common and breaking record-highs.

A historic, extreme heat wave tore across California this September, pushing the state’s power grid to the limit. Scorching temperatures broke records in dozens of cities, notching triple-digit degrees. This comes after an intense heat wave in the US set or tied over 1,403 daily high-temperature records and 2,856 records for warmest overnight lows.

Across the Pacific in large parts of India, Pakistan, and South Asia, it’s also been oppressively hot since the beginning of March with very little sign of subsiding. Such high temperatures so early in the year have led to extreme conditions, causing excess deaths, hospitalisations, lost wages, diminished working hours, and up to 35% in crop yield reductions.

Meanwhile over in China, a particularly long spell of low rainfall and record-breaking heat — the most severe ever recorded in the world — is wreaking havoc on energy, water supplies, and food production. Extreme in both intensity and length, water levels in areas like the Yangtze have fallen to the lowest since records began, while hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops have been lost or damaged. Blistering temperatures are crippling power supplies as well, with China announcing a national drought alert for the first time in nine years.

Worse still, city temperatures are augmented by “heat domes,” from trapped heat along with vehicle and building heat waste adding even more to the already sweltering temperatures. This effect, also known as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, is a major issue — particularly since prolonged, high heat can have serious health effects on the body and the mind.

Indeed, the effects of hot weather on humans can be devastating. And often, their toll isn’t particularly obvious. Yes, there are the direct impacts on the particularly vulnerable: elderly, children, and those with chronic illnesses. But excessive heat can lead to decreased motor-cognitive performance and even negative mental health issues for anyone, even those who may think they’re perfectly healthy.

And even beyond health, heat waves disrupt all facets of society. Lost productivity, especially in developing countries, is projected to cost society a whopping $4.2 trillion per year by 2030. And even in developed countries, many hospitals aren’t equipped to deal with extreme heat — a study found that mortality is 60% higher in hospitals without air conditioning.

STEPN: Caring about our earth

We founded STEPN to encourage people to walk more and get outside more because we care about the health and well-being of people all around the world. But our health is inextricably tied to the health of our planet.

Climate change is a direct cause of the rising occurrence of extreme heat, associated with both higher odds and increased severity of sky-high temperatures across the world. Today, companies have a clear responsibility to take account of the impact of their business on the climate. We all share the world and the future of the earth, and it’s one that we’ll need to pass on to our children.

Furthermore, heat is only one of the many manifestations of climate change, but it’s one of the clearest — and it’s something that we can all see and feel around us this summer. By working with Nori on our carbon offsetting program, we’re weaving environmental stewardship into the DNA of our business because we know that we need to take action now.

Closing Thoughts

What exactly are we doing? Well, we’re launching our latest challenge for STEPNEMBER, a challenge to you and all of our community to take 12,000 steps in the name of environmental empowerment. We’re spreading the word that if you move 12,000 steps a day, you can avoid creating nearly 10 lbs of CO2 vehicle emissions! Join us in the effort for a more sustainable future with the 12,000 #STEPNEMBER challenge. 🌳🏃‍♀️

Team STEPN

Twitter | Discord | YouTube | Telegram |Instagram | Medium | Website