We are pivoting our business model away from consumers and towards businesses. With that comes a new logo, new colours, and a shiny new website!
Speaking of new websites...you are on ours right now. Have a click around and let us know what you think!
So what does this mean?
This does mean we’re closing down our consumer-facing side of C Free. We will no longer have our online calculator for individuals and the ability to offset with a monthly subscription by supporting a project of your choice.
It was our first offering and it's really hard for us to let it go but we have come to the realisation that if we want to keep the business going then it’s something that has to happen.
But why are we changing tactics?
1. We’re not experts at business to consumer marketing.
We do everything ourselves at C Free and with our B2B side growing so quickly we had less and less time to devote to the individual side. This led to reduced engagement which caused us to focus even more in other areas.
2. The market for carbon credits is highly volatile.
Providing the option to choose the project you would like to support was a strong part of our offering, it was one of our USPs. However, as the price of carbon has skyrocketed, our margins have shrunk dramatically. It makes a lot more sense why other companies offering a similar service do not let you choose the project as it is impossible to guarantee the price of any given project going forward.
3. We think we should have been providing a better service to our consumers.
Monthly updates on project progression, interactive profiles, gamification, incentives to reduce your footprint. These are all ideas we wanted to implement since the beginning but always found ourselves focussing on other things. And we don’t feel comfortable offering a sub par service.
4. We’re getting good at business calculations.
We’re starting to make a difference for small businesses that don’t have access to climate solutions. It’s where our expertise lies and it makes sense to focus on what we’re good at. Small businesses make up a large proportion of emissions, but there is little out there to help them measure their footprint. We’re changing that and are confident we can make more of an impact by helping businesses.
So what can I do?
Do not fear! As an individual, you can still offset your personal emissions and be carbon neutral by getting your employer involved in our Carbon Neutral Workforce certification.
If you are an employee, reach out to your employer and get talking about the climate crisis. If your business wants to take responsibility for their emissions, put them in touch. If they don’t, ask them “Why not?”
If you are an employer, open up a discourse in your business to see if your employees and customers would like you to be more responsible for your emissions. There are real measurable benefits to measuring emissions. Big brands like Tesco’s are calling for suppliers to report on GHG emissions. It’s an opportunity to stand out from the competition!
There are also some fantastic companies that are doing great things for consumers. If you want to calculate your own personal carbon footprint then try the WWF carbon footprint calculator. We’ve looked at them all and are confident that this one is the best. If you want to support climate action on a monthly basis, sign up to Ecologi. They really know what they’re doing in the consumer space.
