The New Broker - Carbon

 The New Broker   - Carbon

What started out as a germ of an idea, has grown like a weed!  Carbon Taxes has become one of the hottest topics in business.  There is no way we can cover the whole Carbon Tax issue in one blog, so there will be series looking at different business sectors and how this issue affects them.

This first blog is a quick overview of what is a Carbon Tax.  I encourage you to look for and share information through comments etc.

 

In 2018, the federal government introduced a carbon pricing system, known by most Canadians as the carbon tax.  This tax was priced at$10 per tonne of CO2 and will rise by $10 per tonne each year to $50 per tonne by 2022. The tax is expected to hit $170 per tonne by 2030.

Alberta was the first province in Canada to develop legislation regulating greenhouse gas emissions requiring large industrial emitters to report their emissions and take actions to make mandatory reductions.

In order to meet the reduction targets, regulated facilities have the following compliance options:

1.    Reduce internal on-site Emissions (Carbon Units);
2.    Contribute to the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Fund;
3.    Purchase and use Alberta-based Emission Offsets;
4.    Purchase or use Emission Performance Credits;

 Today we constantly hear about companies that are striving to be Carbon Neutral.  What does this really mean?  Can a company reduce/reshape their processing to emit no Carbon or not pay additional taxes?

Lets take a look at what the terms all mean:

A carbon credit (or carbon offset) is a unit of measurement that is equivalent to one tonne of CO2. The unit is used to facilitate transactions designed to reduce the climate impacts of human activities.

Each company is issued X number of credits.  If they go over those numbers, they must pay an additional Carbon Tax or purchase credits from another company.  This is where the new brokers come in!

Carbon Neutral

Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks.

Removing carbon oxide from the atmosphere and then storing it is known as carbon sequestration.  The largest storehouse we have is our land.

According to the Western Producer March 2021, agriculture will play a large role in the sequestration of Carbon in Canada and the USA.

“Only a minute into his speech on March 1, U.S. agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack mentioned carbon sequestration and paying farmers to store greenhouse gases in the soil.

Vilsack, who spoke virtually to the U.S. National Farmers Union annual convention, said he will be “very active” on climate change and is determined to create new streams of revenue for American farmers….

“We want to establish a system that’s designed by farmers, for farmers,” he said to the NFU members, noting American farmers need new sources of revenue.

A viable carbon market can generate “more income for farmers,” said Vilsack, who served as agriculture secretary under President Barack Obama….

…Vilsack’s comments are a strong signal that a carbon sequestration market for agriculture may become a reality in America.

Should that happen, it would put pressure on Canada’s federal government to follow America’s lead. “

In order to achieve net zero emissions, all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions will have to be counterbalanced by carbon sequestration.

Companies will get extra Carbon Credits by showing they have implemented new ways of becoming Carbon Neutral – Carbon Offsetting.

Carbon offsetting

Another way to reduce emissions and to pursue carbon neutrality is to offset emissions made in one sector by reducing them somewhere else. A contribution towards carbon offsets is an investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other pro-climate projects designed to reduce the level of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.

These incentives, for Albertans, allow all areas of the economy to be creative in innovation. Investment in these activities that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions - from farmers to municipalities to small renewable energy industry developers.

 

 If a regulated facility exceeds the emission limits set, they will then be able to compensate for excess emissions by purchasing federal offset credits being created by activities “not already incentivized by carbon pollution pricing.”

This is where the brokerage of Carbon Taxes comes into the equation.  There are a number of Energy companies that offer this service

Anova;  David Suzuki Foundation;  PlanetAir ;  RBC, to just name a few…

Statistics Canada found that Canada’s low carbon economy was already generating more than $66 billion and jobs for more than 317,000 Canadians in 2018. Imagine what it is generating now 3 years on!

According to The Mining Association of Canada, there is a natural synergy between mining and a low carbon economy.  Canada has all the ingredients—sustainably-sourced minerals, metals and energy products—needed for energy technologies that are powering imaginations and enabling the transition to a low carbon future.  For example, Canada has 14 of the 19 metals/minerals that are needed to make a solar PV Panels,

Agriculture is a major player in the offsetting market.

(more to come on these markets in future blogs)

We all see the effect of Carbon Taxes at the gas pump, in the grocery store, etc.

So, does the Carbon Tax program reduce the amount of Carbon in our atmosphere?

Let’s take a look:

Company (A) is issued 25 Carbon Units.

It utilizes 50 Carbon Units to produce their product.

To offset the additional 25 units, they can:

1. Buy credits from another company.
• This does not reduce emissions; it just moves them from another company {B}.  Once Company B has sold them, the credits are removed from their profile. They do not revert at the end of the year. If Company B increases or changes practices and uses more Credits, then they now have to utilize one of the offset procedures.

 

2. Contribute to the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Fund
• This does not reduce emissions; it provides funding to help find ways to improve emission control and green energy.
• In Alberta the Low Carbon Economy Fund is an important part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.  This Fund supports investments in projects that will:

·         generate clean growth

·         reduce greenhouse gas emissions

·         help meet or exceed Canada’s Paris Agreement commitments

Federally, the $2 billion Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF) is an important part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (the Framework).

The Fund supports the Framework by leveraging investments in projects that will:

·         generate clean growth

·         reduce greenhouse gas emissions

·         help meet or exceed Canada's Paris Agreement commitments

The Fund is helping to:

·         create jobs for Canadians for years to come

·         deliver clean, sustained growth

·         support innovation

·         reduce energy bills

The Fund has two parts:

·         Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund

·         Low Carbon Economy Challenge

 

3. Reduce your emissions on-site by changing processes/practices.
• This will reduce emissions but can be more costly.

 

Any of these options includes a cost, that will certainly be passed along to the consumer.  Carbon Units are a new and prosperous investment.  Not only for the future of our climate, but financially as part of an investment protfolio.

In the next of the series, we will take a closer look at Agriculture and Carbon.....

 

Give a little click!

 

give a little click!

Just give a little click to show you are interested in a business/page!  Even in today’s updated algorithms (mathematical equations), “likes” affects how a business/page is rated on most Social Media platforms.

The higher the rating, the more people who will see it when they are searching for your service or business in the area.

“Giving a little click” is still be best way to support Online!

 

In Facebook:

When you like a Page, you're showing support for the Page and want to see content from it. The Page will show up as being liked in the About section of that your profile.

It also means you may receive updates about the Page in your News Feed.

Keep in mind that:

·         People who like a Page will automatically follow it.

·         Even if people like a Page, they can still choose to unfollow it, which means they'll stop receiving updates about the Page.

·         People can follow a Page, even if they haven't liked it.

·         The name or the profile picture of the person who likes the Page may be shown on the Page or in ads about the Page.

To like a Page:

1.      Go to the Page.

2.      Click Like below the Page's cover photo.

 

 

On Instagram:

In general, posts with high engagement (likes, comments, shares, views, etc.) will rank higher on your Instagram feed. When a post receives a ton of likes and comments, this signals to the Instagram algorithm that your post is quality, engaging content that more people will want to see, so the Instagram algorithm will show it to more users.

But it isn’t always about how much engagement a post receives. In some cases, the Instagram algorithm cares more about how quickly a post receives its engagement!

 

On Twitter:

How to like a Tweet

Likes are represented by a small heart and are used to show appreciation for a Tweet. You can view the Tweets you've liked from your profile page by clicking or tapping into the Likes tab.

 

Grow your following

Build an engaged audience to amplify your message — both on and off Twitter. Followers are incredibly valuable to every business, and gaining followers means growing an interested audience with whom you can engage over time. People who follow you not only see your Tweets, they're likely to become brand advocates and customers.

 

So “Give a little Click”!

 

Like, follow,  comment, share, retweet,  what ever the protocol, every click counts! 

 

Support Local – Shop Local – CLICK and LIKE Local!

 

 

 

 

Feeding our Community!

 COVID and your local Restaurant

According to the study done by Restaurants Canada – Alberta’s Foodservice COVID-19 Update Feb 2021 – prior to COVID there were over $12B in sales over 11257 establishments. 

SHOP LOCAL ALERT:  Every dollar that was spent at a restaurant generated $1.85 of spending in the rest of the economy!  So for every dollar spent, the restaurant would spend $1.85.  Wouldn’t you love that rate of return on your investment?  Not all of it will be spent locally, but the Didsbury Restaurants run a Shop Local First policy, ensuring that as much as possible is spent locally.

Does this mean our restaurants are making money?  Not as much as you expect.  For every $10 spent at a restaurant:  $3.08 is for wages & benefits;  $3.29 food & beverage costs: $3.20 operating costs; leaving a grand total of $0.43 pretax profit.   Reminder these are pre-COVID numbers!

Alberta restaurants employed 6.4% of the provinces workforce, ranked #3 in the private sector employers.

Then COVID arrived!

Having some provincial wide statistics, I asked our local Restaurant Chamber Members if they would share if these #’s reflected their situation. 

1 – 65.6% OF FOODSERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS INDICATED THEY WERE OPERATING AT A LOSS.

While our local restaurants are not running at a loss, at this time, the margins are very tight.  Factors include :

costs of products – we have all experienced the higher food prices in the stores

costs of packaging – shortages of supplies, due to increased demand

payroll – many of our local restaurants have tried to keep staff on as long as possible but unfortunately this is one area that has been cut to help keep afloat.  Many owners have also opted to not pay themselves or pay minimally.

operating costs – utilities, rent, insurance, etc still need to be paid and have not gone down.  In fact, at least one of our restaurants is facing up to 25% increase in rent alone!

            1B – WHY DO YOU KEEP OPERATING?

Community was the resounding answer here!  Didsbury is home and they are committed to being a part of the community.   Small business is an important part of the culture of Didsbury.

2 – 36% OF FOODSERVICE COMPANIES INDICATED IT WOULD TAKE 12-18 MONTHS TO RECOVER, WHILE 28% INDICATED IT WOULD TAKE 18+ MONTHS TO RECOVER.

The question was, facing these hard numbers what have they done to keep their names out there? 

The answer is the Lifeline of COVID survival– Social Media, Internet   Not only daily use of social platforms to indicate hours, specials etc but making sure FB, Website, etc information is current.

Many use pictures of their foods to entice.   Praire Whistle makes sure you see what they are making today as they post enticing pictures each day!

Word of Mouth and/or referrals has become more important than ever!  So keep talking up the great service and food Didsbury offers!  Ask Vintage Coffee of the power of word of mouth!

3- In Oct 2019 57% of food was served through Drive Thru/Pick up, this changed to 80% in Oct 2020.  Do these #’s reflect your business.

After taking a pause, to evaluate how to Pivot with the changes in March 2019,  most food companies made the change to 100% curbside/takeout.  One of our local Food Trucks, Grillz, added to their menu and increased the hours they were available.  Again using Social Media to get word out of locations and times.

Our restaurants are striving to keep us fed. Lets show our support by being the Community that keeps our local food companies alive! 

Great food, great chefs, great coffees, expanding menus…..we have it all!

Support Local – Buy Local

Didsbury  - welcome Home  and a great place to grow!

Thank you to the members who replied, I am sure their answers reflect every other food companies in town!

Prairie Whistle; Vintage Coffee Bar; Grillz

Small Business: The Fabric of our Community

 

Small Business: the Fabric of our Community      

As a Fibre Artisan ( someone who works with fibre – spinning, knitting, crocheting and a little weaving) attending the Town Hall on Wednesday Mar 3^rd it was interesting to hear numerous businesses speak my language!

Many times the phrase “ Small Business is the Fabric of our Community” was used.

If we look at our community as a fabric, or tapestry what do people see?

Are we fraying at the edges?   

I would say yes we are.  Our Local Businesses are struggling and COVID is the latest attack. 

                     Sales are down: by as much as 65%

Employment is down; many businesses have had to make the heartbreaking decision to reduce staff.

Bills still need to be paid!  Some businesses are also facing rent increases on top of their normal rates…as if using your personal savings was not enough most business owners stopped taking a salary.

                     Many who sponsored/donated to local groups/events are no longer able

The edges are fraying, the fabric is thinning and the colours are fading but the picture is still there!  Small business is part of our town culture, a support system for the town and we need to find ways to repair or rejunivnate the fabric! 

What would you suggest?

Shop Local – Support Local  is already an initiative that has been promoted at all levels of business and government.    

Promote one another!  If you know of someone who is looking for a service or store, promote local first! 

Be positive!  We live in Didsbury because we want to be here, so let everyone know what a great community we offer.

Lead!  Show that we are following all protocols to stay safe. This is a safe place to come and live, shop, or run your business.

Our fabric may be in need of some TLC and repair, but we are not beyond repair!  Lets see how we can pick up those loose threads, darn those holes and be ready to hang for another 100 years showing off our colours! 

What else would you suggest?