We believe in “walking our talk.” That is to say that we don’t think we can just donate to support sustainability projects without also addressing our own carbon-generating lifestyle.

We’ve been actively working to lower our carbon footprint since 2019, when a relative observed that we weren’t exactly leading a low-carbon lifestyle. It’s not true that we had previously ignored our energy usage. A few years earlier, we had added 14 inches of blown-in insulation to our attic (beyond the four inches that was there at the time), and we installed spray-foam insulation in all of the exterior walls. Still, we had to admit that he had a point. Taking his comment to heart, we traded Mark’s 18-mpg Mercedes on a plug-in electric vehicle, a Hyundai Kona. Soon thereafter, we installed solar panels on our roof. And then we traded Leigh’s Honda Fit for a plug-in electric vehicle, a Chevy Bolt.

Installation of the solar panels, along with two Tesla Powerwall storage units, enables us to generate a large amount of our household energy. Our system uses net metering, in which we sometimes send our excess power to the grid and buy what we need from the grid at other times. When the sun is shining high in the sky, we can generate excess power and sell it to the utility. When it’s dark or stormy, we can use our stored energy and then buy the rest of what we need from the grid. It works very well, and we are pleased with that investment.

As for other components of our lifestyle, we eat a vegan diet, which is listed by many experts as one of the most powerful ways that individuals can help to address the climate crisis. We live in a relatively modest, 3-bedroom, 1970’s house that is comfortable but not a mansion. We compost as much of our food waste as we can rather than sending it to the landfill (where it would decay anaerobically and generate methane). We grow some of our food in our vegetable garden, we maintain a pollinator garden to help beneficial insects, and we periodically plant new trees in our yard.

As for other components of our lifestyle, we probably have average consumption patterns regarding the purchase of household goods, clothing, and services. We also still travel fairly extensively and take airplane flights. So we’re clearly not carbon neutral, and we therefore wanted to find a way to continue reducing our footprint.

Accordingly, we have recently begun a monthly subscription to fund carbon removal, offsets, climate policy, and conservation through a company called Wren. As stated on Wren’s website, “Right now, we live in a world where emissions are unavoidable. We need to rapidly reduce our emissions and offset what we can’t yet reduce.” Wren offers individuals the opportunity to calculate their lifestyle’s carbon footprint and then offset all of it or some portion of that amount. Wren supports programs that involve tree planting, clean-burning cookstoves, biochar production, rainforest protection, agroforestry, and more.

Of course, there are many other companies who are working effectively to address the climate crisis, including some of our grantees.

We will continue to look for ways to reduce our own carbon footprint, and we encourage all of our supporters and grantees to do the same.

Leigh Scott and Mark Cohen
Co-Founders of Healthier, Greener, Kinder Foundation