Overview
In Dec 2020, Moonshot launched the first ever explicitly climate-friendly snack brand. Part of our commitment to the climate is to share our work, because we believe in the power of transparency and progress over perfection. To stay true to our commitment to you, our climatarian community, we wanted to share our first annual Impact Recap. This recap outlines the deliberate climate-friendly actions we’ve taken in 2021 to create a healthier planet and food system.
How we’re climate-friendly
60% OF GLOBAL EMISSIONS COME FROM CONSUMER USE.
As a brand, we’re committed to minimizing our emissions wherever possible and offsetting the balance with vetted, high quality carbon offsets. Before we talk about our impact, we must first share our baseline.
Here’s a look at how our products’ emissions and how they stack up against industry standards:
Our average GHG emissions per box of crackers are 29% lower than industry standard for similar materials. We drive this impact through:
1) Sourcing ingredients with lower emissions
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The primary ingredient in Moonshot crackers is our organic, regeneratively-grown wheat. Regenerative farming is a method that makes our land healthier over time – practices like growing plants year-round and planting in rotations improve the quality of our soil and store excess carbon from our atmosphere.
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According to Planet FWD models, growing the wheat that went into all Moonshot crackers produced in 2021 actually removed about 1 metric ton CO2e from the atmosphere per year, which is equal to carbon sequestered by 1.2 acres of U.S. forests in the same period of time (nearly as big as a football field!).
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Note: We are committed to measuring soil health baselines aligned with leading regenerative standards with the farms we work with. The initial data on our soil organic matter indicates improvement over time!
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TLDR: Moonshot’s regenerative wheat has 49% lower emissions than conventional wheat.
2) Baking our crackers in a facility that uses renewable energy.
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Our crackers are produced in a LEED-certified facility that uses 100% renewable energy.
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TLDR: This saves 41% emissions compared to producing w/ conventional energy sources.
3) Using recycled packaging materials.
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Our cartons are made from 100% recycled materials and are recyclable.
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Our corrugated shipping boxes are made from minimum 50% recycled content.
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TLDR: Our recycled packaging emissions are 2% lower than if we used virgin materials (aka materials that weren’t recycled)*
*Note: while we’re committed to switching away from fossil-fuel based packaging, currently compostable materials actually tend to have higher emissions than single-use plastics because they are thicker and produced at a lower scale. We expect this will change in the future as technology advances, and are committed to making this transition!
How we’re offsetting our emissions
While how we grow, make, and package our climate-friendly crackers gives us a head start, we still encounter unavoidable emissions that contribute to our carbon footprint.
In order to ensure every box of Moonshot produced in 2021 was 100% Carbon Neutral, from cradle-to-grave (including emissions from distribution, consumer use, and waste management), our partners at Planet FWD used the following equation to calculate our emissions:
Product type x Emissions per unit x Production volume
=
Carbon Footprint (mt CO2e)
Based on this equation, they able to calculate our carbon footprint and determine the amount of emissions we need to offset to reach carbon neutrality.
In 2021, we offset 34.0 metric tons of CO2e with Tradewater, a high-quality carbon offsetting program. If you want to read more about why we partner with Tradewater, read here!
How we plan to improve over time
Our mission to be a climate-friendly snack brand also applies to our commitment to continuous improvement over time. After evaluating our impact in our first full year of business, we’ve identified the following key areas for continued climate action:
Research:
Evaluate feasibility and collect data for switch to non-fossil fuel based packaging formats by 2023
Advocacy:
Support at least 1 climate advocacy campaign on a quarterly basis, amplifying the campaign across Moonshot social channels
Education:
Communicate emissions reduction potential to Moonshot partners and educate consumers on how to properly dispose of their Moonshot cartons
We will continue to hold ourselves accountable to take care of our planet and the people who call it home. We are excited to report back again next year on how we’re doing - make sure you follow along all year by subscribing to our newsletter. Thanks for being a part of the climate-friendly food movement with us!
