In the face of the climate crisis, we at Cabify decided to take action. Transport is one of the main industries that impacts global warming, which is why we are the first app in Europe and Latin America to offset 100% of our emissions through local initiatives in the countries in which we operate.
CARING FOR WHAT MATTERS MOST
We want this journey to be one that leaves a mark, but not a carbon footprint.
That’s why we carry out initiatives that seek to minimise our impact on the environment, hand in hand with the largest sustainability team imaginable. Because all of us at Cabify share the same goal: to continue growing while caring for the environment around us.
The offset projects would not be possible without the guidance of the Sustainability team and the support of the other local teams, including the Champions, an individual that helps us to better understand the context of the place to look for initiatives with real impact wherever we are.
With everyone’s help, in 2018 we became the first and only 100% carbon neutral app in Europe and Latin America, but now we are looking much further ahead. We are aware that the future requires us to look beyond offsetting emissions, so we already have reduction projects in place that will take us much further.
This is only the beginning of a story that has only just started.
GLOBAL VISION, LOCAL ACTION
On the coast of Coquimbo in Chile, the force of the wind pushes us towards a better future.
By collaborating with the Punta Palmeras wind farm, we help to keep the blades of its 15 wind turbines turning. The facility, opened in 2014 by Chile’s then President Michelle Bachelet, is home to the country’s most powerful wind turbines installed to date.
On 92-metre-high steel towers, these 3 MW wind turbines prevent the emission of 60,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
At full capacity, the wind farm generates a total of 124 GWh per year, enough to supply 60,000 Chilean households with clean electricity. To produce the same energy, a coal-fired power plant would emit 119,000 tonnes of CO2 or 215,000 barrels of oil would be needed.
So, we continue on our journey in Chile and wherever the road takes us, working to create a better future.
Since 2011, the Istmo de Tehuentepec, in Mexico has been home to one of the largest wind power complexes in Latin America. There, between two oceans, we are moving towards a more sustainable future at the pace set by the wind off the Mexican coast.
The three wind farms that make up the Oaxaca II-III-IV complex have a total capacity of 306 MW, capable of producing electricity equivalent to the consumption of 700,000 Mexican households.
With 204 generators on 80-metre-high steel towers, this huge wind farm prevents the release of 670,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. To get an idea of the scope of this figure, it would take 33.5 million trees purifying the air through the process of photosynthesis to achieve the same effect.
We support the project because, in addition to generating completely clean energy, it aims to promote socio-economic development in the area. An initiative that fits perfectly with the values that drive us.
That is a good example of the impact we seek to have on our environment. Positive, real, and long-term.
The Madre de Dios project is very special for us, as it was the first collaboration thanks to which we became the first carbon neutral mobility app in Europe and Latin America.
Thanks to this initiative, we helped reforest and protect 100,000 hectares of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, which is seriously endangered by illegal logging and the construction of the inter-oceanic highway linking Brazil and Peru.
We are doing our bit to ensure the safety of an area that is home to endangered animal species and the tribal communities that live there. In fact, these communities are a fundamental part of the project, as 70% of the employees are part of the indigenous groups in the area.
The enclave, 400 kilometres from the Machu Picchu sanctuary, is an area with a unique biodiversity that we must protect by contributing to the sustainable development of the rural producers who make their living from this land.
Here in Peru, we took the first steps towards environmental sustainability. We now look far beyond compensation.
The fields of Cerro Largo, Uruguay, previously dedicated to extensive cattle farming, now have another purpose thanks to the Guarané Project.
We collaborate with this initiative which, thanks to reforestation, manages to retain 127,416 tonnes of CO2 each year before it is released into the atmosphere.
By converting these spaces into sustainably managed land, we help to absorb the equivalent of the emissions of more than 1.5 million private vehicles each year.
The project, which covers a total of 21,298 hectares, will not only ensure the recovery of natural areas, but will also provide a source of stable and sustainable employment for around 1,000 people in the area, minimising rural poverty.
It is estimated that during the 22-year life cycle of the project, the reclaimed area will be able to absorb no less than 7,644,960 tonnes of CO2 through the planting of mainly eucalyptus.
We work to transform landscapes and realities, and not just in Uruguay.
In Colombia, we doubled our offsetting efforts by collaborating with two large projects in the Antioquia and Caldas areas. Two different journeys with the same destination: the protection of our spaces from deforestation.
In Antioquia, through the Livestock and Forest Carbon Project, we promote sustainable forestry activities on land previously used for livestock farming. This also stimulates the economy in the Urabá region of Antioquia, as the establishment and maintenance work is carried out by local labour.
On the other hand, through the Andean Zone and Atlantic Coast Associative Programme Project, we helped to unify reforestation initiatives in 29 municipalities located in Antioquia and Caldas, with a positive environmental and social impact.
By caring for the environment, we ensure that future generations are able to embark on their own journey in Colombia and beyond.
In Spain, the country where we were founded and put down our roots, we also want to leave our mark. To ensure that our footprint is carbon neutral, we promote reforestation in the north of the country, one of the most vulnerable green areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the Community of Montes Vecinales in Laza, Galicia, we contributed to the regeneration of the flora by planting pine trees on an area of 5.87 hectares.
By promoting reforestation and natural values in the largest wooded area in Galicia, and during the estimated 40 years of the project, we will be able to absorb approximately 3,745 tonnes of CO2 before it reaches the atmosphere.
Through this project we not only manage to retain a significant amount of emissions, but we also contribute to protecting an area that is often hit by fires.
We dream of greener and more environmentally friendly spaces, and we work to make them a reality.
In Latin America, we are beginning to make history in terms of care and preservation of the environment. The Peruvian rainforest saw the birth of our first carbon offset initiative, thanks to which we are now looking much further ahead.
By working with the Madre de Dios project, we helped reforest and protect 100,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest in Peru, which is at serious risk from illegal logging and the construction of the inter-oceanic highway linking Brazil and Peru.
There began a journey that has now taken us to other countries in Europe and Latin America. In Argentina, where reforestation projects are scarce, we found another interesting alternative as we continue to look for initiatives with a direct impact on the local flora.
Until then, we helped to replace the gas used in the La Providencia sugar plant with biomass. Over the 10-year duration of the project, it is estimated that CO2 emissions will be reduced by 417,000 tonnes from these facilities located in Tucumán, in the north of the country.
Replacing fossil fuels with more environmentally friendly energy sources is also an urgent task, and we want to be part of the change.
Find out how we offset our emissions with local projects in countries where we have a presence.
Science Based Targets initiative
We are very proud to be part of the world’s largest private initiative which, by setting science-based targets, aims to reduce global warming to a maximum of 1.5°, as well as committing to achieving a zero emissions target by 2050.
Climate Pledge
A project by Amazon and Global Optimism that uses technology to solve the climate crisis. This alliance, which has been joined by some of the world’s largest companies, aims to reach the Paris agreements 10 years early.
Leaders for Climate Action
An initiative that supports climate action in the digital industry by focusing on entrepreneurial leaders. To adhere to it, companies must comply with the “Green Pledge”, which dictates the measurement, reduction, and regular offsetting of carbon emissions.
Carbon Neutral Pledge
This public commitment, which we joined in 2019, is driven by leading Silicon Valley technology companies, which are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2022. We have already achieved this!
Climate Ambition Accelerator
A programme born out of the United Nations Global Compact to promote a carbon neutral economy and deepen our commitment to a sustainable future.
Climate Neutral Now
We are a member this alliance that aims to encourage and support all levels of society to take Climate Action to achieve a climate neutral world.
LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD