We had the good fortune of connecting with Henkel Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Henkel, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Social impact has been central to our mission since starting Offset Alliance, and this year has greatly amplified its importance. Our mission is to lower global CO2 emissions and involves a lot of partnerships with carbon offset projects and organizations around the world. To ensure we have a positive social impact in all we do, we’ve chosen to work only with those that can demonstrate social benefits in addition to delivering environmental benefits. One example is our project in Zimbabwe, Kariba-that not only reduces global CO2 levels through verified conservation and reforestation, but is run by the local community and promotes key UN Sustainable Development Goals such as clean water, gender equality, and economic growth. https://www.offsetalliance.co/kariba  

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Climate change is obviously a huge, top-of-mind concern for a fast growing number of people, and it’s pretty common not knowing how you can make a meaningful impact or where to start. We provide a simple and credible way for small business owners to take a climate leadership role and use their platform to make an exponential impact on climate change.
Lessons learned? 2020 has reminded us to expect and embrace the need to pivot and innovate as customer and market demands change. Our initial focus was on the travel industry-we established early success with an incredible group of partners, and then Covid-19 put all that on pause. By staying connected with our local community through these challenging times, we were able to identify and address a pent-up local need. In the meantime we’ve also been able to establish even more travel partnerships in anticipation of global travel getting back on track in 2021. So I’d say the big lesson is make sure you clearly understand your purpose-staying focused on what you are trying to make better will help you through challenges of all sorts.
How we got here? The 2018 wildfires in California had a direct impact on my family, and was the catalyst for founding Offset Alliance. We’re still early on, and proud to have bootstrapped the whole venture and proven sustainability in year two. This industry is particularly interesting because competitors include VC funded, Y-combinator funded, international for-profit and non-profit organizations. It’s essentially the Wild West. I saw an opportunity to apply my unique experience and skills to help people make a meaningful impact on climate change that also uplifts and makes communities more resilient.
How we set ourselves apart? Credibility and convenience. The need for climate action has been greatly amplified in recent years, resulting in a lot of noise and confusion for small business owners to navigate through when looking for a way to participate. Our MORE Framework (Measure-Offset-Reduce-Engage) is straight-forward, convenient, follows the highest international standards for CO2 measurement and offsetting, and addresses social inequalities tied directly to excessive global CO2 levels.
About our brand and story? We’ve been directly impacted by the results of destructive climate change, and we see the communities we love both locally and globally experiencing negative impacts from it as well. For us this is personal, and we’ve gone as far as legally requiring ourselves to consider the impact our business decisions have on all stakeholders and the environment.Our success is measured by the direct impact we have on lowering global CO2, and the indirect impact we have on helping communities through the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We have a no BS policy and are committed to becoming a B-Corp Certified business (currently pending).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Our region offers such incredibly diverse experiences, so I leave a lot of room for improvisation and exploration. I’ll share my top choices during Covid-free times. Every day would start off with a surf and connecting with the energy of the ocean. Depending on the tide and swell direction, we’d end up anywhere from Cardiff State Beach to South Carlsbad. Coffee and food—in that order. Lofty Coffee or Revolution Roasters-two of my favorite north county, locally owned coffee spots. For restaurants, Good On Ya, Nectarine Grove and Fish 101 for delicious, healthy eats. A visit to Coastal Roots Farm to learn about their regenerative farming principles, and to pick up some organic, local produce. Torrey Pines State Park. This is one of my favorite spots in all of San Diego, as it’s a super accessible way to immerse yourself in the beauty of our natural coastline. And finally a visit to our neighbors across the border in Tijuana. There is so much in the world of art, design, food, and wine happening there right now. We really embrace the idea of building shared connections over these common experiences.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
So many folks to thank, but I’d definitely like to give a shout out to Paso Pacifico, our amazing non-profit partner based in Ventura working to promote conservation, environmental science, and education in Nicaragua and El Salvador. We partner with them on our tree-planting initiative and had the opportunity to visit and volunteer with them in Nicaragua in 2019. Seeing first-hand how their environmental work benefits their employees and kids in the local community was really inspiring and motivating. Their founder Sarah Otterstrom has been a very supportive mentor and partner since our start.

Website: offsetalliance.co
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/offset-alliance-co

Image Credits
Soul Of Photography / Teresa Conahan-Decking (beach photo and monkey photo)

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