By Sarah Kohlbeck
Artisan Dental has become the first general dentistry practice in the United States whose operations have reached the status of carbon neutral.
“Carbon neutral” means all carbon and greenhouse gas emissions associated with patient care at Artisan Dental are offset through the purchase of carbon credits. This offset program includes all carbon associated with office space operations, production and shipping of products and services, team member commutes, and continuing education.
Carbon Capital Credit, who has helped companies offset carbon emissions for over a decade, collaborated with Artisan Dental to assess their Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
Artisan Dental purchased carbon credits from GreenTrees (ACRE) reforestation program in the Mississippi Valley. The Advanced Carbon Restored Eco-system project (ACRE) plants new forests to capture carbon, restore biodiversity, and clean and restore watersheds.
One carbon credit is created for each metric ton of carbon that is reduced, which is measured on a regular basis by independent verifiers based on how much carbon GreenTrees’ new forests have sequestered.
Artisan Dental emphasizes purchasing from suppliers that also offset the carbon associated with the production and delivery of its products, such as Raw Office, and work with these suppliers to consolidate shipments into fewer deliveries.
In addition to purchasing carbon credits, Artisan Dental also purchases 100% of the electricity used in their oral care service operations from MG&E’s Green Power program, which helps to prevent the emission of greenhouse gases.
Team members at Artisan Dental are offered an incentive to use carbon sensitive alternative modes of transportation in order to reduce their collective carbon footprint and emissions.
Artisan Dental sees carbon offsetting as “an important element of a comprehensive plan to reduce our negative impacts and enhance our positive impacts.” The cost of offsetting carbon is not passed onto the patients of Artisan Dental as they believe it is part of fulfilling their mission to serve the environment, one of their most important stakeholders.
Artisan Dental is a great example of how Dane County businesses are leading on efficiency and climate action. The Office of Energy & Climate Change is excited to share climate success stories like this one.
