Climate Neutral believes that brands, together with their consumers, can lead the transition to a low-carbon economy by placing a price on carbon within their business.
Climate Neutral was created to help make this process as simple, actionable and credible as possible. Our four step process enables brands to measure their footprint, identify opportunities to reduce, purchase offsets for un-reduced emissions and finally market their commitment to climate action to consumers through the use of the Certified Neutral label.
Through our community of Certified Climate Neutral brands, we will establish a compelling example for government that it’s time to put a global price on carbon.
Founding organizations BioLite and Peak Design have been neutralizing their footprints since 2012 and 2018 respectively, united by a common belief that being accountable to carbon is the new normal for responsible business. Through direct experience with the process, both organizations came to the same conclusion: calculating and offsetting footprints was remarkably easy and surprisingly affordable – why weren’t more businesses doing this?
CEO’s Jonathan Cedar and Peter Dering explored the barriers to adoption and uncovered a simple profound insight: somewhere along the way, the carbon conversation got really complicated – and it fundamentally doesn’t have to be. Peter proposed consumers should be able to identify carbon neutral products as easily as certified organic products; Jonathan quickly agreed with the analogy, and Certified Climate Neutral was born.
Pairing business’ need for simplicity with the planet’s need for urgent action, Climate Neutral is a platform that connects organizations with the tools and partners to reliably - and quickly - neutralize their footprint, and a certification that amplifies the visibility and value of a brand taking responsibility for their carbon.
Climate Neutral is committed to making the path to carbon neutrality as accessible as possible for brands starting their journey and therefore does not charge for membership. The founding year of Climate Neutral has been funded by a $500,000 donation from Peak Design's 1% for the planet commitment, as well as $65,000 donation from BioLite’s operating budget. We are actively seeking potential donors who will provide the capital this organization needs to achieve worldwide scale.
Climate Neutral Team
Austin Whitman
Chief Executive Officer
Austin has spent his career working on early stage environmental markets and technologies, with a healthy dose of policy work along the way. His first venture into carbon offsetting began in grad school with a program he started to sell carbon offsets to his classmates. He firmly believes that solving the climate crisis demands participation from businesses. Austin has a joint MBA/MEM from Yale and a BA from Dartmouth. He lives near Boston with his young family, a few pets, a large collection of woodworking tools, and an eternal thirst for being outside.
Jack Horowitz
Program Manager
Jack has spent his career working at the intersection of policy, science and the private sector to advance climate change solutions, with a particular focus on regulated and voluntary carbon markets. He holds a BA in Economics from UC Davis and an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Jack lives in San Francisco and loves surfing, playing tennis and backpacking in his free time.
Shira Norman
Director of Brands + Partnerships
Shira got her start in sustainability working with the City of Chicago Department of Environment (DOE), where she worked on the city’s Climate Change Agenda, Olympics bid, and other projects. She then consulted on sustainability for entities from local environmental groups to PepsiCo before joining Red Bull North America as head of sustainability. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Washington University and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and young family.
Caitlin Drown
Brand + Communications Manager
Caitlin joined the Climate Neutral team having spent years promoting the mission and work of both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Caitlin is passionate about using communications, psychology, and behavioral science to raise awareness to the climate crisis and empower individuals to get involved. Caitlin grew up on Cape Cod, received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern, and now lives in Boston with her chocolate lab mix, Kai.
Board Of Directors
Peter Dering
Founding Director, CEO Of Peak Design
Peter is the founder and CEO of Peak Design, a San Francisco-based company he started in 2010 that makes photography, outdoor, and lifestyle gear. The idea for Climate Neutral was born of the acute awareness of his company's increasing footprint, the very strong desire to do something concrete about it, and a growing realization that emissions reductions weren't enough. Peak Design has provided the initial seed funding and its team has played an instrumental role in turning this dream into a reality.
Jonathan Cedar
Founding Director, CEO Of BioLite
Jonathan Cedar is the co-founder of Climate Neutral and the CEO of BioLite. Jonathan has spent his career working at the intersection of business and environmental impact and has been recognized by Bloomberg as one of America’s most Promising Social Entrepreneurs and by Fortune’s Change the World List. Jonathan received his BA in Engineering and Environmental Science from Dartmouth College and lives with his wife, Tory, and son, Jasper, in Brooklyn, NY.
Advisors
Greg Norris
Advisor on methodology development for GHG measurement
Ian Monroe
Science and strategy advisor
Scott Beaudoin
Marketing and PR strategy advisor
Jennifer Swanson Prince
Development advisor
