We work to change the outcome of the world.

Greenfleet powers Future Neutral

Greenfleet is a leading not-for-profit environmental organisation on a mission to protect our climate by restoring our forests.  

We plant native biodiverse forests to capture carbon emissions on behalf of our supporters and help fight the impacts of climate change. 

Since 1997, Greenfleet has planted 10 million trees in over 500 forests across Australia and New Zealand.  These forests will capture more than 3.9 million tonnes of CO2-e over their lifetime. 

Our forests provide critical habitat for our native species. In 2021, we planted more than 120 hectares of protected habitat for our koalas and this is particularly important as koalas have recently been reclassified to endangered in New South Wales, ACT and Queensland.

We ensure that our forests are protected for up to 100 years so that they can grow to their full potential and have a long-term, positive impact on our climate and planet.

In 2022, Greenfleet celebrates 25 years of fighting the impacts of climate change and we are proud to be growing our forests and growing climate hope.

 

 


Greenfleet logo

Founders' Story

Brothers Oliver and Ben know that climate change is a serious problem, but the sense of urgency to act and the opportunity to be part of a business with climate impact as its purpose struck in 2019.

That year, Oliver had the privilege of travelling around the world on an extended nine month honeymoon (the tenting may not have been so romantic). During the trip the effects of climate change were apparent in every country visited. Benjamin has a 3 year old daughter and 1 year old son and their future and his contribution to the world they will live in is a strong motivator to get something done.

Oliver and Benjamin both have previous founding experience, complementary skill sets, a working business relationship and a deep bond as brothers to tackle one of the hardest challenges - moving the needle towards positive global climate impact.

Oliver Ranck

Co-Founder
Director and former CEO of Octomedia

Benjamin Ranck

Co-Founder
Former CTO of Jetabroad

Advisory Panel


Dr Stephanie Fahey

Board Member Australian Design Council
● Former CEO Austrade 2020
● Fellow Aus. Institute of Company Directors
● Member of Chief Executive Women
● Council member of the European Australian Business Council
● Board member of The Asia Foundation

Paul Shepanski

Director at Jetabroad
● Former Group General Manager e-Commerce of Qantas Airways
● Former Partner with Boston Consulting Group; Managing Partner, BCG Auckland

Prof. Tony Capon

Director Monash Sustainable Development Institute
● Chair in Planetary Health in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University
● Member of the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health


Prof. Richard Harper

Professor Murdoch University
● Lead author on the 2014 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (WGIII) on mitigation using Agriculture, Forestry and other Land-Uses (AFOLU)
● Membership of the Australian Government’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee 2015-16
● President of the Australian Council of Agricultural Deans

Camille Reed

CEO Australasian Circular Textile Association (ACTA) & Founder Australian Circular Fashion Conference
● 12 years textile expertise
● Five years experience as a leader, and director of organisations dedicated to the circular economy and sustainability
● Extensive professional network covering media, private industry organisations, recycling, academia, resource management, agriculture, fashion retail, NPF entities and government

Our Goal

It’s simple, we work to reduce the impact and severity of climate change.  Future Neutral is a stepping stone for greater behavioural change, and allows for a nudge in everyday actions.  Through these micro-transactions we aim to contribute to larger projects then would be achievable on an individual basis.  Carbon offset projects are one way in which we can act. However there are many others, and we hope by being a constant reminder in everyday life, individuals will think about their Climate Action response more positively.  

Carbon Offset is only one component of a bigger picture, we must all adapt by reusing more, reducing our consumption and changing our lifestyles.  

In order to achieve our goal, Future Neutral is underpinned by three core values:

TRANSPARENT | COMMITTED | TRUSTED

We aim to be completely transparent in all our transactions, and in the workings of the business.  We want people to understand how the fee is broken up, and what offsets have been invested in.

We are committed to the highest level of carbon offset.  Often times, this means paying more per CO2 tonne reduced.  We know that the Carbon Offset environment is hard to navigate, and we vow to tread carefully with considered knowledge, thought and an expert advisory team.

We earn and retain our customer’s and partners' trust.  This means doing what we say, acting with integrity and inspiring confidence in our track record.

#GoFutureNeutral

A simple call to action with far reaching consequences.  We can all participate in providing a better future for the generations to come. Actions today create tomorrow’s vision - one where our children don’t need to tackle meters of sea level rise, ultra extreme weather events, increased chances of pandemics, reduced habitable area and more.  We have a role to play, and need to play, changing our lifestyles is par for the course.  Humans have adapted for generations, and we’ll continue to adapt.  Let’s do it with our better selves in mind.

Go Future Neutral.

Facts

Sea Level Rise by NASA/UCI

“We declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.” (Oxford Academic, BioScience) The facts are in, the evidence is all around us if we but look. Our carbon emissions are going through the roof, and the impacts are phenomenal.

We have heard hundreds, maybe even thousands of times about 2 degrees of warming and staying under this number of planetary warming. The issue is, that in our heads voice that doesn’t sound so bad or catastrophic.

❝The issue is two degrees sounds small, in reality it's huge.

Two degrees? Doesn't sound like much, in reality it's huge. We are now starting to see the repercussions of climate change - and as it affects as personally more and more, that 'two degrees' becomes more tangible.

These tangible outcomes are truly devastating, including the likes of;
- Increased extreme weather events (that cause large amount of damage for societies) such as wildfires, floods, droughts and hurricanes.
- Mass human migration as weather patterns shift and force changes in food production and water availability which puts strain in other areas causing large social conflict.
- Biodiversity loss and species extinction.
- Coastal flooding and sea-level rise.

The time to act is now, we have the tools and technology at our disposal to make a difference and mitigate catastrophic outcomes.

Fee Calculation

How did we get to the fee model of Future Neutral?

Working out the exact carbon offset of a product is nigh impossible, let alone taking into account every unique contributing factor of a given transaction.  For example, how far down the rabbit hole of a supply chain do you go to offset even a simple coffee purchase? Down to the farming methods of the coffee farmer?  Do we take into account the jet-stream that helped the beans arrive quicker by plane?  What happens when the cafe changes beans, or decides to do a single origin for a day? How was the given cup washed that time, hand or dishwasher? Do you take into account the energy fluctuations of the day and the shared percentage of power the coffee machine used whilst making your coffee?

The complexities for carbon offset calculation are immense, and too complex to be considered on a micro level for Future Neutral, a practical implementation just wouldn’t be feasible.  Our product stems around amortising considered action over the course of the year. We are starting in the Australian market, our Founder's home country, and also a considerably large emitter relative to population size.  As Climate Analytics notes, at more than 20 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per Australian, the tally remains twice as high as the average of the G20 nations.

❝Many of us can afford to have a $20 t-shirt. Can you afford $20.60?
Small change to make a big difference.

Therefore we have looked at the spending patterns of Australia, and the total retail trading volume and settled on a 3% offset fee.  Many of us can afford to have a $3 coffee. Making it $3.09 is a small ask to make a big difference. To offset over a years worth of carbon per person would require 75% being directly put to the application of buying high quality carbon offsets.  The remaining goes to administering the program with 25% covering Future Neutral administration, software development, hosting, tax and growth.

The scientific consensus is that to avoid the planet experiencing irreversible and catastrophic climate change (i.e. the end of life as we know it), the planet's average global temperature has to be kept below a 2 degree rise from pre-industrial levels. Climate scientists have also calculated that a "safer" increase would be a 1 degree rise from pre-industrial levels. This equates to an atmospheric CO2 limit of 350 parts per million. Currently, our CO2 levels are much higher than that. This means that simply neutralising our annual carbon emissions isn't enough - we actually need to offset more than we're producing if we're going to save the planet. The Future Neutral 3% already takes this into account. Each time you choose Future Neutral, you're one step closer to removing your carbon footprint. With just one fifth of the population choosing Future Neutral on a regular basis, we have the ability to offset the entire population's annual emissions. Talk about small change for a big impact!

❝...investing in more efficient offset initiatives can see lower prices for carbon offset.  Meaning, Future Neutral will go beyond carbon neutrality.

Operating costs

Future Neutral administers the platform, integrates with each retailer, maintains the connections and manages the transactions. The retailers administer their payment systems to accommodate the extra charges and account for each offset transaction. The long-term success of Future Neutral relies on a sustainable return of capital for a stronger foundation and the opportunity to continue investing in carbon reduction projects.

Partners