Thrive Market Is Proud to Be Carbon Neutral: Learn About Our Carbon Offset Programs

At Thrive Market, we’re committed to making healthy living easy for everyone. But our mission expands beyond just people—we also care deeply about our planet. Since 2014, we’ve used a combination of renewable energy, efficiency improvements, and carbon credits to reduce our carbon footprint to neutral.

The first step in our journey to becoming carbon neutral determining the size of our carbon footprint. We calculated everything from the number of miles our employees drive for work each year to all inbound and outbound shipping, plus the energy we use in our fulfillment centers and headquarters. We used this calculator to determine our carbon footprint, which was reviewed and verified by Carbonfund.org prior to choosing our projects. Once we determined the number of tons we needed to offset—carbon credits are purchased by the metric ton [1]—we vetted the landscape of possible partners until we found Carbonfund.org and CHOOOSE, whose credits are third-party certified and whose projects align with our values. In partnership with Carbonfund.org and CHOOOSE, we are investing in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset any energy stemming from non-renewable resources. We’re doing our part to keep our members healthy—and our planet, too.

Today, we’re showcasing how we’ve offset our carbon emissions since 2014, the year we were founded.

2014 + 2015

We partnered with Carbonfund.org to purchase carbon offsets from the Native American Hardwoods Conservation and Carbon Sequestration project, which manages more than 175,000 acres of mixed native hardwood forest in northern Minnesota. Carbon is sequestered through improved forest management, such as Smart Forestry practices that maintain the diversity of natural forest communities that result in increased carbon storage [2].

2016

Partnering again with Carbonfund.org, we offset our carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offsets from the North Country Landfill Methane project in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. This project disposes of approximately 7,200 gallons of landfill water a day from a municipal solid waste landfill in Northern New Hampshire by converting methane gas into heat, electric energy, or fuel. This prevents methane from being released into the atmosphere, while also protecting the area’s groundwater.

2017 + 2018

We took our carbon offset projects international for two years when we partnered with CHOOOSE and its project “Efficient Cookstoves” in Rwanda. This project distributes innovative cookstove technology to communities in Rwanda, and benefits the environment by significantly reducing fuel consumption, controlling smoke and air pollution, and mitigating climate change. The families that receive cookstoves are able to save money by using less fuel for cooking and reducing indoor air pollutants [3].

2019

To offset our carbon footprint in 2019, we partnered with Carbonfund’s Envira Amazonia project, which protects nearly 500,000 acres of tropical rainforest near the city of Feijó, Brazil. This project specifically mitigates the release of more than 12.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, while also preserving the habitat and supporting the local community through agro-forestry training programs [4].

Additional Reduction Efforts

Thrivers across the company are also doing their part to reduce our carbon footprint. Our two fulfillment centers—located in Reno, Nevada and Batesville, Indiana—are powered by renewable wind energy. The packers at each center are committed to reducing the amount of packing materials in every box, while ensuring the safe delivery of your items. All of our boxes and packaging are also made from recycled paper, and are recyclable. This even includes the tape that keeps your package all together—it’s made out of paper! This means that, in most areas, all of the paper and plastic materials in your box can go into your recycling bin.

Thrivers at our headquarters in Los Angeles are also joining our Thriver Commuter Program, which launched in March 2019 and encourages alternative forms of transportation. Employees who trade in their parking pass receive a monthly bonus for getting to work in an environmentally-friendly way. A number of our employees live locally, which makes biking, walking or scootering (our favorite) accessible. For those who live farther away, Waze Carpool, LA now, and LA Metro Services are readily available for Thrivers.