Arion Bank buys verified and active carbon credits

Arion Bank recently signed an agreement with the US company Aspiration on the acquisition of verified carbon credits. The transaction was made through Seven Glaciers in Iceland and involves the acquisition of 600 verified carbon credits. The credits are integral to Arion Bank’s mitigation measures for emissions from own activities in 2022, such as from business premises, vehicles, flights, waste and employee journeys to and from work. Over the last 10 years Aspiration has tirelessly worked on climate action and offers verified carbon credits to companies, institutions, investors and consumers.

Behind every carbon credit is an investment in a project which not only has a positive impact on the climate but also has an environmental and social impact through support for education, access to clean water and healthcare in the communities where the projects are carried out. A further goal of the project is to have a positive impact on biodiversity.

The carbon credits acquired by Arion Bank in respect of emissions in 2022 are linked to projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru and Indonesia. All the projects are REDD+ projects and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5, 13, 15 and 17.

Mai-Ndombe (Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa)

The aim of the project, based in western DRC, is to protect 250,000 hectares of forest from illegal logging and unsustainable agriculture. The area provides habitat for Chimpanzees, Bonobos and Forest Elephants and also contains important wetlands, one of the Earth’s most important ecosystems. The area is home to more than 180,000 people.

Cordillera Azul (Peru, South America)

The project concerns the protection of a national park in central Peru which covers 1.3 million hectares. The aim of the project is to prevent deforestation in the vast expanse of the natural park. Local communities and other stakeholders are engaged to use the land in a conservation minded way and to thereby promote the sustainable use of land for cocoa and coffee production which are the main products from this region

Katingan Mentaya (Indonesia, Asia)

The project protects 150,000 hectares of wetlands in Indonesia which contain a huge volume of carbon. By protecting the area and ensuring it will not be transformed into plantations, the project is preventing emissions of 500 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents. The area also provides vital habitat for 13 critically endangered species of animal and 31 species classed as vulnerable.