CHEP introduces "carbon neutral" half pallet

Wood-pallet pooling company CHEP has launched a program where it will buy carbon credits to offset the remaining carbon footprint of its half-pallets, a move the company said will make those assets carbon-neutral.

For years, the company has worked to reduce its pallets' carbon footprint through efforts such as purchasing 99.1 percent of its wood from maintained forests. The company's latest initiative, which was disclosed last week, calls for it to buy credits from Natural Capital Partners (NCP) to offset the remaining part of the half pallet's carbon footprint, said Suzanne Lindsey Walker, director of sustainability for North America for Brambles, CHEP's parent company.

CHEP is purchasing 926 tons of carbon from NCP, which is the equivalent of 3,000 hardwood trees. The credits will benefit the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Reforestation Project, CHEP said.

To determine the carbon footprint of its half pallet, CHEP conducted a life-cycle analysis that considers every aspect of the pallet's life, including timber sourcing, transportation of the pallet, and energy consumed creating the pallet. The life cycle analysis is then verified by NCP.

CHEP's efforts are in response to increasing interest from its customers—particularly in the consumer product goods (CPG) and retail industries—to increase the sustainability of their supply chains, said Walker.

If the half pallet is well received by customers, CHEP may expand the program to its 48-inch-by-40-inch full pallet, she said.