The Home Depot will offset all carbon emissions created this year by the company’s Atlanta headquarters and a portion of emissions created by employees commuting to work and traveling on business.
The Home Depot will fund the planting of thousands of trees across metro Atlanta to offset the carbon emissions.
The Home Depot’s commitment marks the largest such carbon offset through reforestation in the U.S. The Conservation Fund estimates that The Home Depot annually creates 36,500 tons of carbon dioxide at its 35-acre headquarters complex, 2,300 tons from air travel for business and 12,100 tons from automobiles used by employees commuting to work.
“By offsetting our carbon emissions through reforestation, we are doing more than sequestering carbon,” said Ron Jarvis, The Home Depot’s vice president of environmental innovation. “We are planting trees that will help reduce the heat island effect in urban areas, reduce erosion and storm water runoff, and help clean the air.”