“Now, carbon offsets allow different companies to essentially accelerate doing things that wouldn’t otherwise be financially sustainable.” 

 

Marketplaces for carbon offsets sound like a great idea, but may seem a little shrouded in mystery as to how they actually help the environment. Brent Thumlert, the Managing Director of Software and Technology at Radicle, helps to demystify these sorts of marketplaces. He describes how Radicle helps users account for their carbon footprints and then, ultimately, reduce their carbon impact on the environment. He also shares how he entered the industry and what motivates his desire to help sustain the planet.

Key Insights

 

 What’s changed that’s motivating more companies to focus on reducing their carbon impact? (04:05)

 

“[In] years past, there really wasn’t a collective kind of consciousness or awareness of what my carbon footprint was. And… you’re starting to see consumers [be concerned about carbon footprints and] you’re starting to see commitments by really big kind of supply chains towards net zero. And so, as this kind of rise in the collective consciousness of consumers [is developing], we see a greater and greater demand for people to understand their carbon footprint, to reduce that carbon footprint, and then what can’t be reduced to then [be] offset or [dealt with through] removals.”

Are Carbon Offsets Just for Big Companies? (11:00)

Certainly, some very large companies are sharing their intentions to take care of the planet. From his position at Radicle, Thumlert describes how SMBs as well as big companies are becoming more engaged in reducing their carbon footprints. When it comes to caring for the world, all companies and people are welcome to do their part. 

 

What Are Some Tangible Results that Have Come From Carbon Offsets? (06:56)

One of the difficulties in understanding a carbon offset market is it can seem like an intangible product that is bought and sold. Thumlert provides grounded examples of how offsets can really make a positive impact on the environment, including for people. These examples involving Radicle range from helping limit the emissions from methane wells that are no longer in use to providing people in third-world countries with stoves. For any tech company, the ability to share how products yield tangible results can go a long way into educating and engaging consumers.

 What’s Your Motivation to Sustain the Planet? (34:31)

 

“I’m [a] big skier, climber — all that kind of stuff. And in the Rocky mountains [area], I’m seeing the impact myself. In like the 10, 15, years I’ve been in the mountains, I’ve seen the glaciers move. I’ve seen the weather patterns change. All of this stuff is happening. This global warming is really kind of the biggest challenge facing us.” 

Thumlert shares his motivation to help sustain the environment. What’s your motivation? And then: What can you do personally to make a difference, and what can your company do?

About the Guest:

“Technophile with a penchant for outdoor adventure.

Brent is the rare breed of professional who balances deep technical knowledge with an entrepreneurial flair. An autodidact from youth, he started multiple businesses, and self-taught the necessary technical skills along the way. In elementary school, Brent learned the challenge of operating costs — he had to shutter his lawn care business after his parents refused to allow the continued use of their lawnmower. In high school, he founded a software company that provided development, infrastructure support, and system administration to several larger commercial projects.

From there, he went on to work for a small IT operation where he gained exposure to the oil and gas and service industry, as well as several startups that were launched from within the organization, One of which was an application created for the first-to-market operations under the new carbon credit legislation. It generated the first serialized and audited CSA carbon offset emission credits for resale and led him to Radicle, where he oversees the deployment and evolution of our proprietary software.

When he’s not sitting behind a computer screen with a furrowed brow, Brent is outside climbing, skiing, biking, or sailing somewhere exciting and exotic.”

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