PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 05 May 2022
Dublin, Ireland
Climate change and greenwashing are killing the planet as Ireland’s Greentech startup, Hempoffset.com, one of 287 qualified XPRIZE teams globally, aims to end global reliance on fossil fuels
Hempoffset is on a mission to end greenwashing and climate change with flower power. Industrial hemp plants can do the heavy lifting for our climate, absorbing more atmospheric CO2 per hectare than any other method humanity has now. The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, which attracts the brightest science, technology and environmental minds in the world, has validated the Hempoffset.com plan to capture and sequester CO2 at Gigatonne scale. In stopping climate change, the company will also use the power of industrial hemp to defund war.
The 100% Irish company, Hempoffset, has launched an innovative range of hemp carbon offset products into global markets. The CO2 captured by the hemp plants will be safely and permanently sequestered in homes and buildings made from hempcrete, a sustainable, zero carbon construction material. Industrial hemp also has the power to displace fossil fuels entirely, with hemp ethanol, biodiesel and biochar allowing the world to power electricity generation and transportation without continuing to fund the Russian/Saudi/Iranian war machines.
By enabling farmers’ supply to meet the growing demand for hemp construction materials, Hempoffset offers an end-to-end solution to carbon. Hemp carbon offsets can be bought by the tonne, by environmentally-conscious technology, aviation and construction corporations, and also by consumers. These carbon offsets are of special interest to data centre owners and operators, enabling construction, operation and legacy of truly carbon neutral DCs in real time.
Founders Gary Byrnes, Niall O’Sullivan and Felix Roick have successful, accredited backgrounds in software development, product marketing, agriculture, and in educating about industrial hemp as a solution to climate change. They’re building a carbon measurement, verification and certification platform that will standardise and scale carbon offset markets. The project is validated and verified by the Irish Government’s Department of Agriculture and is also validated by XPRIZE Carbon Removal.
In praising Elon Musk’s XPRIZE Carbon Removal contest, Hempoffset founder Gary Byrnes said: “When this exclusive competition was first announced, I felt compelled to act. It is a scientific fact that industrial hemp has the power to stop climate change and launch multi-trillion Euro, net zero industries. Elon Musk deserves praise for putting $100 million of his money into XPRIZE and investing in a liveable future. As a visionary disruptor, Elon Musk always does more than talk and his can-do attitude inspires all of us to drive positive change. Our ambition is nothing less than to stop climate change, deliver opportunities to millions, and defund war.”
Hempoffset co-founder Niall O’Sullivan said: “Our primary vision includes the completion of the world’s most innovative carbon measurement and offset platform, delivering a global, hemp-powered Voluntary Carbon Market. Technology can literally save the world.”
Hempoffset co-founder Felix Roick said: “There’s a confusing array of carbon offsets out there. Unfortunately, most of these are simply greenwashing. We’re going to fix that and give both corporations and consumers the opportunity to make a real difference to their carbon impact on the planet.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact: Gary Byrnes, tel +353 87 249 3051; email hello@hempoffset.com; web www.hempoffset.com; LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/hempoffset/; Twitter: www.twitter.com/hempoffset
XPRIZE Carbon Removal: https://www.hempoffset.com/2022/04/15/hempoffset-progress-in-xprize-carbon-removal/
EDITOR’S NOTES
About Hempoffset
Hempoffset.com aims to be the global hemp carbon offset exchange, linking businesses and consumers that want to offset their carbon footprint with hemp growers in Ireland and globally. The Hempoffset vision is about supporting hemp growers all over the world so that we can scale the growing of hemp to one billion acres/400 million hectares by 2030. The hemp crops will enable the creation of multiple zero carbon industries, including ethanol and biodiesel, which can displace fossil fuels, and plastics, foods, and construction and insulation materials. We’re running out of time to stop climate change, but hemp has the potential to make a huge difference in our race to carbon neutrality. The Hempoffset software platform will enable the planting of hemp at scale.
What is Greenwashing? (Source: Earth.org)
‘Greenwashing is when a company or organisation spends more time and money on marketing themselves as being sustainable than on actually minimising their environmental impact. It’s a deceitful advertising method to gain favour with consumers who choose to support businesses that care about bettering the planet. Greenwashing takes up valuable space in the fight against environmental issues, like climate change, plastic ocean pollution, air pollution and global species extinctions.
‘The term “greenwashing” was coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986 in an essay criticising the irony of the “save the towel” movement in hotels at the time. He noticed the vast amount of waste he had come across throughout the rest of the hotel, where there were no visible signs of efforts being made to become more sustainable. He said that instead, the hotel was simply trying to reduce costs by not having to wash towels as much but while trying to market it as being eco-friendly.’
Image credits
Peace Photo by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/peace-sign-banner-covered-in-flowers-6674032/
Latest posts
- Hemp and the City: Our Big Hemp Pitch at the San Francisco XPRIZE Carbon Removal Capital Summit
- Hempoffset / Tao Climate Expands into USA, Joins Hemp Incubator Company Technology Accelerator
- We’re in the XPRIZE Top 100 in the World
- Earth Day 2024: Planet vs. Plastics
- Tao Climate Urges UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs to Exclude Industrial Hemp from Narcotics Conventions
Founder and CEO at Hempoffset.com and TaoClimate.com.
Hempoffset works with hemp growers and makers worldwide, to capture and sequester CO2 at scale, while building a sustainable world.
Tao Climate works with companies and individuals that want to measure, minimise and manage their carbon footprints. Tao Climate is the way to carbon neutral.
We are proud members of the Google Startups for Sustainable Development program.
