Carbon offset contribution
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Rea | Oct 7 2021, 1:27pm | Some of you may have noticed the Carbon offset item available for purchase in the IMRA membership shop. We calculated the typical annual greenhouse gas emissions from participating in 20 events as an IMRA runner travelling 20km to a race and buying 1 new pair of runners a year. We know some of you buy more shoes than this. You know who you are! This generates an approximate equivalent of 150kg CO2 per year, which at today’s carbon price costs about €10 to offset. Indications are that this carbon price could rapidly increase. The most significant factor in all this is travel to/from races by vehicle. Once we get back to car-pooling, the best thing you can do is share a lift. Longer distance travel to races has even more impact. There are also substantial costs to manufacture and more importantly the waste generated from running shoes. In the UK alone there are 300 million pairs discarded annually. Some folk run their shoes till they fall apart. Others have boxes of perfectly serviceable runners that just didn’t work out. Second hand exchange of runners is a good thing (as long as your shoes are hygienic). Given the cost of emissions to the planet, it is great that contributions can be made by IMRA members to offset this each time you race. Pop one of those Carbon Offset Contributions in the basket next time you enter a race and the earth will breathe easier. |
| Hazel stapleton | Oct 8 2021, 9:02am | Excellent initiative to have the option to buy the carbon offset. |
| Brian Kitson | Oct 11 2021, 12:26pm | Super initiative, great to have it up and running. We use a lot of plastic tape marking our races, I’m sure it’s been mentioned before but maybe we could invest in the reusable flags that EcoTrail use? |
| Graham K. Bushe | Oct 11 2021, 12:42pm | Hi Brian, |I think the flags are in use... https://www.imra.ie/photos/view/id/171457/ ;) |
| Conor O'Farrell | Oct 11 2021, 12:42pm | @Brian, you mean something like this: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227216387743653&set=gm.10165767013775360 |
| Hazel Thompson | Oct 11 2021, 12:52pm | This is a great idea. Do we know what carbon offset projects the contributions will go towards? Hazel |
| Brian Kitson | Oct 11 2021, 10:39pm | Graham, that scurrilous “image” you posted of me participating in a recent IMRA race standing beside the exact same type of reusable flag markers (that EcoTrail use) that I suggested IMRA should invest in is quite clearly doctored: there’s no possible way I was still standing at that point in the race. Regards, Brian CC: Conor |
| Justin Rea | Oct 15 2021, 10:23am | @Haxel How are your tree planting skills? I like the idea of the great Kauri run in NZ (https://www.kaurirun.co.nz/) where they plant one tree for every runner with the aim of having an avenue of indigenous native trees the whole way along a 35km trail. It may take 100s of years but it will be an amazing trail. I note they are planting natives on Maulin, so maybe we could extend that initiative? |
| Anne-Marie Flaherty | Oct 15 2021, 11:40am | That's a great idea, Justin. |
