Alastair Handley of Carbon Credit Solutions: “Here are 9 things we must do to inspire the next generation about sustainability and the environment”

Parents should point out contradictions between what is said and what is being done in society. We often hear the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ — it’s essential to be aware of what is being done versus what is being said.

As part of my series about what we must do to inspire the next generation about sustainability and the environment, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alastair Handley. Alastair is the Founder and President of Climate Smart Group (CSG) and Carbon Credit Solutions Inc (CCSI). His recent appointment to the World Bank Advisory Group for Operationalizing Article 6 recognizes Alastair as a leader and authority on Environment Markets worldwide.

Intellectual and experienced, Alastair has a gift for educating and communicating the complexity of environmental markets and sustainability initiatives in easy to understand, meaningful ways. To this end, Alastair continues to advise governments and Fortune 100 companies and has been invited to speak across the globe on the importance of environmental markets and their proven ability to drive consequential change. A pioneer in the environmental market space, Alastair designed and developed one of the first software platforms in the world to aggregate and quantify large-scale emission reductions. Leveraging his prior experience with geographic information systems and software design, Alastair created a world-class technology that has helped CCSI’s 3000+ clients develop millions of carbon offsets.

Alastair’s software platform was created in response to Alberta developing the first carbon market in North America. A global leader, the province’s environmental foresight is the foundation on which Alastair built his companies. The success of CSG and CCSI domestically and internationally exemplifies how emission reduction markets can build wealth, generate jobs, create export opportunities and protect the environment for future generations at once.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

I grew up an adventure seeker. I always seemed to be outdoors doing long hikes, rock climbing and sailing trips. My love for the outdoors transitioned into my professional life when I began working on the West Coast of Canada as a forestry consultant, completing the spatial information systems mapping of forests.

Was there an “aha moment” or a specific trigger that made you decide you wanted to become a scientist or environmental leader? Can you share that story with us?

While there was no specific “aha moment,” I became acutely aware of pollution in our oceans while I was sailing across the Pacific Ocean in 2006. Less than 4 weeks after returning from that trip, I was offered a job to develop a software platform to track emissions reductions and convert them to carbon credits. That was the start of the eleven-year journey that has brought me to where I am today.

Is there a lesson you can take out of your own story that can exemplify what can inspire a young person to become an environmental leader?

Environmental leadership is a skill anyone can develop, but it doesn’t happen overnight. To be a good leader (environmental or otherwise), it takes time, commitment and humility. It starts with a purpose and a vision, where you have direction and a goal to strive towards. My current leadership position took eleven years to achieve, and I am still learning and growing as a leader.

Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?

The keyword in climate change is change. Change is hard for both individuals and corporations. It’s easier to procrastinate than it is to move forward and alter your actions. Change requires a belief that a future state will be better than our current state, and that the journey to the new state can be achieved. Climate change is demanding that we move towards and accept a new reality. A reality where emission reductions and sustainability drive both investment decisions and personal decisions.

Our organization is deploying clean technology and software services across many different industries. In the oil and gas sector, for example, we are using a software platform that we developed to show industry where they can make immediate low-cost investments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In this sector, we’re also replacing high emitting pumps with zero-emission solar-powered chemical injection pumps to reduce methane emissions across the oil and gas industry.

We’re generating carbon credits for farmers in Alberta who are practicing no-till farming, which sequesters C02 in the soil. We’re also working on numerous projects around grassland preservation, insetting, IT refurbishing and climate smart farms in the US and Brazil. Through these projects, we are transparent and share lessons learned to continue to make improvements surrounding sustainability.

We participate in a lot of education through speaking engagements and outreach. I personally speak at numerous conferences and events throughout the year, discussing topics surrounding sustainability, environmental markets, policy and actions being taken (or that can be taken) to address climate issues.

I also serve on the World Bank Advisory Group, focused on operationalizing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Article 6 focuses on international cooperation and implementing nationally determined contributions (NDCs) towards emission reductions, including the transfer of emission reductions between countries and counted towards NDCs.

Can you share 3 lifestyle tweaks things that the general public can do to be more sustainable or help address the climate change challenge?

It comes down to not only being aware of the impact you are having but then taking action to reduce your impact where possible. Three things most people can easily do to become more sustainable are:

• Reducing food waste. Canadians alone waste millions of tonnes of edible food every year, costing us billions of dollars and contributing to GHG emissions.
• Buying used items or reusing what you have. For example, purchasing second-hand clothing or buying a used car.
• Purchasing products from companies that have committed to sustainable development goals and are publicly reporting on the actions that they’re taking to reach those goals.

Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview: The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are 5 things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement? Please give a story or an example for each.

1. Parents should take their children’s concerns seriously. They should encourage active discussion about climate change, practice open communication and actively listen to what their children are saying.
2. Parents should point out contradictions between what is said and what is being done in society. We often hear the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ — it’s essential to be aware of what is being done versus what is being said.
3. Parents should hold their children to the same standard that they are holding everyone else to. It’s easy to say what government and companies should be doing differently, but we all play a role and need to act in ways we want others to act.
4. Parents should lead by example by doing things like:
5. Reducing emissions from transportation by walking, car pooling, taking transit or another form of low emission transport.
6. Reduce waste by purchasing products that don’t have excessive packaging and by simply buying less.
7. Turning off the lights when leaving a room and turning down the heat and wearing a sweater.
8. Parents may also want to go the extra distance and offset their emissions by buying carbon credits.
9. Parents should teach their children critical thinking skills, including how to properly research and get the facts behind what they read. Being well informed on a topic is important to have a productive conversation about it.

How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?

Companies tend to do things for one of two reasons — to lower costs or increase profits. Where governments have put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, companies can lower their costs by implementing new technology and taking actions to reduce their emissions. Those actions can become a competitive advantage. Some customers are willing to pay a premium to purchase from companies that are sustainable and making an evident change. For example, some people choose to not eat at restaurants that put their leftovers in styrofoam containers, others choose to buy clothing from companies that sustainably make their clothing.

At CCSI, we’ve reduced nearly 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and have been able to pay money to companies that are making these reductions via the emissions market.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are too many people to name who have had faith in me, mentored me and supported the company along the path it’s been on. The particularly important people are the ones who continue to work for the company and believe in what we’re doing.

You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I strongly believe that we need to increase food sustainability globally. We need to figure out a way to use the food we are currently growing more effectively. Food is the single most important form of energy for humans, and we need to feed a growing population sustainably, as well as decrease the tremendous amount of food that gets wasted in many countries.

Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?

“There’s no time for pessimism.” I believe that we need to be hopeful of what we can do for future generations through innovation and sustainable practices, rather than be of a ‘doom and gloom’ mindset for what the future may look like.

What is the best way for people to follow you on social media?

While my social media skills are a bit lacking, the best place to follow me personally would be on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairhandley/) or Instagram (climate_smart). You can also follow our corporate twitter account @CCS_CO2e.

This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!