eFormic Launches Barcode For Carbon Neutral Goods
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
The company was founded by Moriz Vohrer and Pieter van Midwoud, two German engineers that work for the non-profit carbon project Carbon Index. Here’s how it works: eFormic partners with carbon brokers, carbon trading platforms (like the Chicago Climate Exchange) and product makers to place a carbon barcode, or CO2Code, on goods ranging from orange juice to toys that have been “carbon neutralized.” The carbon broker will generally provide the carbon label, which indicates that the product-maker has paid a third party to offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the product. But eFormic provides an additional barcode for the label that can be entered into eFormic’s (or the product maker’s) website to learn more about what carbon-reduction projects were used. The consumer can also use the barcode, in some cases, to tell the carbon broker how they would like the products to be offset.
Vohrer says the company is already working with a whiskey brand, hotel companies, and a concert ticket firm. You can think of it a bit like an organic label. However, unlike an organic product, which is certified by the USDA, eFormic works with a variety of carbon offset providers that could offer a different set of criteria for carbon neutrality. eFormic isn’t in the business of certifying offsets themselves, and they act more as a middleman, adding more information into the process.
Vohrer says the CO2Code and offset combo can add a minimum of about 2 cents per unit for something like orange juice. However, an Adidas sneaker, or something with many parts and lots of shipping that would require extensive carbon offsets to make it carbon neutral, could be even more expensive to offset and barcode. eFormic makes a cut of that revenue and gets paid a fraction per carbon ton offset when CO2Codes are created in its system. It sounds like a small fee, but that could really add up over a large scale, and eFormic is first targeting premium brands and high-end products with its codes.
There are a variety of carbon brokers, carbon label makers and product makers out there that could potentially find value in a barcode that adds extra transparency. The Carbon Trust has been working with stores like the UK’s Tesco to trial a carbon labeling service for Tesco goods. Other organizations like Green-e are focusing on creating logos that certify products, energy programs and carbon offset services.
But in a nascent carbon labeling market the CO2code will have to prove that it adds enough value to consumers to justify the additional price of the service. At this point it’s not entirely clear to me why the offset companies wouldn’t just create a similar service themselves and cut out a middleman like eFormic. Then they could more closely control the messaging and web interface and promote their own brand.
Ultimately the challenge for eFormic will be getting its barccode out there on a larger scale, and that takes a lot of marketing and partners — which in turn takes funding. On that note eFormic is currently bootstrapped and is looking for its first round of funding between $2 million to $3 million. In the future eFormic is planning on launching other products based on their work done at Carbon Index, and Vohrer tells us one such project is an email carbon neutral service that would offset each email for about a cent.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Put Some Sunlight in Your Tank
David Ehrlich - Automotive
Can a car run on solar? Yes —as long as you don’t need to fit a whole lot in your trunk. And as long as you don’t mind that it doesn’t actually have a trunk. The new solar car from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Solar Electric Vehicle Team might be small on size, but it’s big on ambitions.
Called “Eleanor,” the solar car has a cruising speed of 55 miles per hour — on a sunny day. Even if it’s cloudy, the team said that on a full charge the car’s batteries can hold enough power to drive from Boston to New York without needing any sunlight. That’s more than 200 miles on solar power.
There should be plenty of sunlight where they’re going — the car is set to compete in the World Solar Challenge race across Australia in October. This will be the 10th World Solar Challenge race, which draws teams from around the world for a 1,864 journey from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia. The MIT team grabbed third place in the 2003 race, averaging 56 miles per hour with its last car, the “Tesseract.”
The new car (and the team behind it) will already be road-tested by the time it gets Down Under — the team plans to drive Eleanor across the U.S. this summer in preparation for the Australia race. And even though there’s only room for one in the car, the driver won’t be completely alone. The car, which is powered by about 20 square feet of monocrystalline silicon solar cells, is equipped with wireless monitors so the team’s lead and chase vehicles can keep an eye on the car’s performance in real time.
The driver also gets to sit up this time around. Previous solar cars have been almost flat, to cut down on drag. But that meant that drivers had to lay down when they were in the vehicle. New race regulations are bringing the solar cars closer to regular cars, requiring the driver to sit upright, with the seat back less than 27 degrees from vertical.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
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