Bohlsen Group Goes Carbon Neutral

By: Vicki Bohlsen, President

Despite 2020 being a tough year, that resulted in the most change the company has ever seen, we have remained committed to being a socially responsible company that puts the importance of people and the planet alongside the need for profitability.

We don’t do this because we are a B Corp certified company; rather, we follow the B Corp ethos to help make company decisions because it is the right thing to do.

When negotiating Bohlsen Group out of its lease and going fully remote by June, we knew from a positive standpoint we had saved a lot of commuter miles and in turn would have a smaller carbon footprint. 

As the summer went on and environmentalism became a beating drum in the upcoming presidential election, I began to wonder if there was even more that we could do.   

Then one day, I saw a colleague post on social media that his household had gone “carbon free.” I followed the link in his post to an environmental start-up called Carbon Neutral Indiana. I was so thrilled to see that someone, in a land-locked state to boot, was addressing this for Hoosiers and companies in the state.

Long story short, my team each spent some time with Carbon Neutral Indiana’s founder – Daniel Poynter – to answer questions about their household usage. Within a short time, I was given the results on what it would take for Bohlsen Group to become carbon neutral.

I was surprised by just how small of a monthly commitment it would be to offset their usage while working from home! Daniel had told me it would be equivalent to “a monthly Netflix payment” per person… and he was right.

So, beginning in 2021, Bohlsen Group committed to becoming carbon neutral. When the pandemic subsided and we grew our team, we were proud to tell new employees that they work for a company that is committed to operating with a carbon neutral footprint.

I hope that other households and companies will consider following suit.

NOTE: If you want to hear more about Carbon Neutral Indiana, subscribe to my “Taking Care in Business” podcast email newsletter. Podcast production will resume February 4, 2021 and Daniel Poynter will be a guest on a future episode. You don’t want to miss it.