Original text by Maxime Bilodeau
Translation: WILL Solutions
Full text (in French) on unpointcintcinq
WILL Solutions sells carbon credits from hundreds of Quebec organizations that have successfully reduced their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Portrait of a company unique in the world that monetizes climate action across the province.
Since 2016, BMO Financial Group has purchased approximately 200,000 carbon credits from Quebec-based WILL Solutions to offset a portion of its annual GHG emissions from its direct operations. And this bank is not alone. “Our customers, carbon credit buyers who want to remain discreet, are large organizations that, for value or competitive reasons, are moving towards carbon neutrality. We are helping them achieve their offset goals,” said Martin Clermont, CEO and founder of WILL Solutions, which supplies two major North American pension funds and works to attract giants like Microsoft, Google and Starbucks, who have a huge appetite for carbon credits.
“It is expected that there will be a great demand for carbon offsetting in the coming years, whether from factories, public-private partnerships (PPPs) or the civil aviation industry, for example,” he says.
How does it work?
WILL Solutions is for small, commercial or industrial, emitters, those who emit less than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year or who are not subject to regulated carbon markets. Thus, the carbon credits it markets come from the three million credits recovered through the GHG reduction efforts of hundreds of microprojects carried out by 148 municipalities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Quebec between 2010 and 2016. These efforts are reflected in energy conversion, energy efficiency and waste diversion projects in the landfill sector.