The Castrol Vecton oil range is certified carbon neutral thanks to offsetting efforts in Tasmania
Engine oil supplier Castrol has launched Castrol Vecton Carbon Neutral, a carbon neutral oil for transport operators who “want to make a stance for the environment.”
The oil has net greenhouse gas emissions equal to zero across its entire lifetime thanks to offsetting efforts by Castrol and the Redd Forest Grouped Project in Tasmania.
To achieve the carbon neutral status, which Castrol says can take between six and 12 months, data from its production plants, product formulations, manufacturing, packaging, and logistics were all taken into account.
Once the data was collected, the company says it created a carbon reduction plan and committed to certification process that demonstrated it was serious about meeting the National Carbon Offset Standard.
According to Castrol’s Ash Kochar, “it’s a case of what you put in, you must also take out.”
“The CO2 we produce during the life of Castrol Vecton is offset by supporting projects that either avoid the release of CO2, or by supporting projects that absorb the amount of CO2 from the air that would have otherwise stayed in the atmosphere.
“The results obtained in these projects are measured in ‘offset units’ which represent genuine reductions or abatement of greenhouse gas emissions.”
The Tasmanian project supported by Castrol focuses on the protection of the states’ native rainforests and joint efforts with local farmers to leave areas of land unharvested for a 35-year period.
“By agreeing to protect their forests rather than logging them, the farmers involved will help to prevent the release of more than half a million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the lifetime of the project,” Kochar says.
The conservation effort has wider social benefits, Kochar says, pointing to “a more attractive landscape for an area looking to expand its ecotourism business and an improved ecosystem which benefits everything from crops to native bird species to water purity.”
Castrol says it’s commitment to the program means all Castrol Vecton products are certified carbon neutral.
“We have one of the world’s older truck populations in this country,” Kochar says, “so everything we can do to reduce the transport industry’s environmental impact is an important step in the right direction.”