IMPACTfolio is Carbon Neutral!

On December 2, 2020, the team at IMPACTfolio purchased 9,000 pounds of carbon offsets through Aclymate to make our firm officially carbon neutral for the 2020 calendar year. Aclymate is a tool that calculates your firm's climate footprint by reviewing expenditures on travel, office space, utilities, etc. Upon review, our firm was found to have a very small carbon footprint given our efficiencies in leveraging technology. However, the carbon offset that we purchased helped to fully offset our small footprint. The project that we supported is the McCloud River Conservation Based Forest Management Project:

Glaciers and snowpack from Mount Shasta feed the gorgeous McCloud River, a 77-mile stream that tumbles over boulders and meanders through rugged conifer forests at the southern end of the Cascades Range. It’s a premier wild trout fishery and features several waterfalls. Whitewater rafters and kayakers love to run the miles of class III rapids on the Upper McCloud, with bonus glimpses of the Bavarian-style buildings at Wyntoon, a private estate that was once the retreat of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.

The offset project involves 2 forest tracts near the river, totaling 9,200 acres. Campbell Global of Portland, Oregon, partnered with Pacific Forest Trust and the environmental consultant Bluesource to create the project. Campbell Global, which specializes in sustainable timberland management, manages the tracts for the owner, Pondosa Forest, LLC, which ultimately receives the carbon offset income.

Timber harvesting will continue, but carefully. Permanent conservation easements granted to Pacific Forest Trust require that the timber stock increase, that the tracts never be subdivided or developed, and that the forest be restored to its natural state of mixed native conifers in a variety of densities and heights, with a wide range of tree ages and no nonnative species. The anticipated increase in the number of larger, more mature trees will support a greater variety of wildlife. Stream buffers wider than the state requires will ensure that the McCloud river will remain wild, scenic, and beloved by both trout and people.

Purchasing carbon credits to offset IMPACTfolio’s carbon footprint supports our mission of being a financial force of good.  We support this mission in our everyday business practices in addition to the impact investment strategies we offer our clients. By offsetting our carbon footprint, we are doing our part to support the environment and we encourage you to do the same!

Julie Fletcher McDaniel, CFP®, has been in the financial services industry since 2006.  She is a co-founder of IMPACTfolio, a wealth management firm that specializes in IMPACT investing and holistic financial planning for one flat-fee.