The Sarona Green Carbon Offset Program

MEDA and the Environment: Setting the Context

• MEDA strives to be at the forefront of innovation. North Americans are becoming more aware of environmental issues, and are looking for ways to mitigate their impact on the natural world.
• Carbon offsets are seen as an important method of addressing environmental issues. They provide people with the opportunity to give back to the environment and live their life "Carbon neutral."
• Sarona Green is part of MEDA's opportunity and responsibility to change the world – a natural extension of MEDA's 50-year history in international development.

In the past number of years a market for trading carbon offsets has emerged. Though this market has already become viable, it remains too difficult for small projects and companies to participate and so this pool of financing is not yet available to them. To overcome this barrier MEDA has created the Sarona Green Carbon Offset Program based on the success of its MEDA Trust program. This program allows MEDA to provide carbon offsets from its own projects to donors, through a private trading scheme — because MEDA is involved in these projects, it costs much less to certify them and MEDA can assure their quality. Though a private program, Saraona Green adheres to the same quality standards as the best offset schemes and because its provides offsets from projects that it is intimately involved with, supporters can be much more involved in these projects. Moreover, Sarona Green not only sells carbon offsets, but also provides a vehicle for MEDA members to invest in triple-bottom-line projects in emerging markets — a great addition to investment portfolios. This allows those who are concerned about their environmental footprint and want to be directly involved in addressing climate change to do so by donating and than later investing in our projects that reduce GhGs through a trusted partner – MEDA.