Methodology

Footprinting

Cooler uses peer-reviewed methodologies and rigorous scientific standards to deliver highly accurate and conservative carbon footprint calculations through our carbon calculator. Developed by Dr. Michel Gelobter in collaboration with leading global, U.S., and European environmental organizations, our tools ensure that we assess and neutralize carbon emissions with the utmost integrity. It’s important to note that all carbon calculators produce estimates, not exact measurements.

Cooler’s calculators provide real-time carbon footprints for consumer goods and services up to the point of sale. Using an EEIO-LCA hybrid approach, our methodology adheres to the most environmentally conservative interpretation of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, covering Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Calculations require minimal input—such as the name of your product or service and its price. From there, Cooler leverages economic and engineering data across approximately 2,000 underlying categories and variables to estimate the carbon footprint.

Neutralizing Emissions

Cooler’s approach to emissions neutralization directly reduces industrial CO2 pollution at its source while supporting economic, social, and environmental development through community reinvestment of funds used to neutralize emissions. This service is provided automatically to our app customers, and can be extended to API users—just contact us at support@ to get started with neutralizing your carbon emissions.

Pooled Impact

Cooler pools your emissions-neutralizing fees with those from other customers to purchase pollution permits in regulated cap-and-trade markets. By reducing the availability of permits, we force industrial polluters to lower their emissions. This process certifiably eliminates greenhouse gases by preventing polluters, such as power plants, from acquiring the permits they need to emit CO2.

Then, in a virtuous cycle, the permit fees are invested in conservation and clean energy projects that have generated thousands of jobs. So when you neutralize with Cooler, you’re not just stopping new carbon emissions, you’re investing in a clean, green future.

Environmental Rights

By curbing CO2 pollution and financing clean energy projects, we are also supporting fenceline and frontline communities that bear the burden of both pollution and climate change earliest and most acutely.

Carbon Offsets vs Neutralizing Cooler’s method of eliminating your carbon footprint is not the same as carbon offsets. Offsets are often used by polluters to maintain business as usual and are frequently criticized for being both quantitatively and qualitatively unreliable, while Cooler’s method leads to actual, traceable reductions in GHG emissions.

Here’s some light reading on the issues with carbon offsets from a recent article.