ChangeNOW 2024: More Data, More Participants, More Insights
For 2024 as well, ChangeNOW partnered with ClimateSeed to conduct a comprehensive GHG assessment for their annual summit, for the third year running, which took place from March 25th to March 27th, 2024. This approach is part of an ongoing effort to better understand and reduce the environmental impact of the event, but also of the organization as a whole.
Impact Measurement of 2024 ChangeNOW Summit
The 2024 edition of the ChangeNOW Summit, held from March 25 to 27, generated a total of 1,259.7 tCO₂e. This represents an increase of 10% compared to 2023 (1,145 tCO₂e). This rise can be explained notably by:
- the growth of the event (+24% participants), leading to higher emissions from transportation and catering;
- more precise data collection and categorization, allowing for a more reliable assessment of the carbon footprint;
- the introduction of a digital broadcasting system, absent in 2023: although it generated additional emissions, it also allows the event to reach a wider audience and paves the way for more sustainable alternatives in future editions.
In concrete equivalents, 1,259.7 tCO₂e represent:
- 3 hectares of temperate forest needed to absorb the equivalent emissions.
- 525 round trips between Paris and New York (based on an average of 2.4 tCO₂e per flight).
- The annual electricity consumption of 840 Europeans.
- 2,738 round trips by car between Paris and Berlin (based on an average of 460 kgCO₂e per trip).
Impact Measurement of Corporate
Carbon footprint
ChangeNOW's Corporate carbon footprint as a company amounts to 97,4 tCO2e for the year 2024. This is equivalent, for example, to 41 round-trip flights Paris/New-York or 212 round-car trips Paris/Berlin.
Top 3 emitting categories:
1) Business Travel
2) Service purchases
3) Employee meals
The corporate carbon footprint increased by 34.72% between 2023 & 2024, primarily due to a more comprehensive emissions assessment and a rise in air travel mainly linked to ChangeNOW’s participation in COP16 in Riyadh.
ChangeNOW 2024 : for 2024
Climateseed is committed to improving the quality of methodology used for accounting of the emissions. Staying true to its commitment, the data collection methodology was improved for 2024 to ensure a more precise representation of actual emissions. Some categories were refined to provide better traceability of impacts and enable more reliable year-over-year comparisons.
To ensure optimal comparability moving forward, we will continue our efforts in 2025 by stabilizing our methodological framework and strengthening the documentation of our accounting choices. This approach will allow us to measure our progress more accurately and further optimize our environmental impact. ClimateSeed has built its framework using BEGES methodology as a reference. By adhering to their principles regarding calculations and categorizations, while considering event-specific data and reporting requirements.
Year Two of Climate Action: ChangeNOW & ClimateSeed Reveal Event Footprint
For the second consecutive year, ChangeNOW collaborated with ClimateSeed to carry out a comprehensive GHG assessment during their annual summit, held from May 25 to 27, 2023. The assessment revealed that the total GHG emissions for this event amounted to 1,145 tCO2e.
Top 3 emitting categories (summit):
1) Transportation of participants: 976 tCO2e
2) Purchase of services: 95 tCO2e
3) Raw Materials: 27 tCO2e
85% of the emissions were due to the participant’s transportation during the summit.
Corporate Carbon Footprint
ClimateSeed has calculated the Corporate carbon footprint of 2023, which is 72 tCO2e.
Top 3 emitting categories
1) Services: 34 tCO2e
2) Employee lunches: 7 tCO2e
3) Purchase and lease of goods: 5 tCO2e
This is equivalent to:
30 round trips by flight Paris/ New York
157 round trips by car Paris/ Berlin
Behind the Scenes: The Climate Cost of the 2023 Job Fair
ChangeNOW’s Job fair had a carbon footprint of 6 tCO2e.
Top 3 emitting categories:
1) Transportation of participants: 5 tCO2e
2) Raw materials: 1 tCO2e
3) Purchase of Services: 1 tCO2e
This is equivalent to:
2 round trips by flight Paris/ New York
13 round trips by car Paris/ Berlin
Methodology for 2023
The GHG Protocol & the BEGES are widely used for this purpose, primarily for emissions related to organizations, but also for GHG assessments related to events.
ClimateSeed has built its framework using BEGES methodology as a reference. By adhering to their principles regarding calculations and categorizations, while considering event-specific data and reporting requirements.
ChangeNOW 2022: Measuring Impact,
Driving Change
In 2022, Climateseed embarked on a lasting partnership with ChangeNOW, beginning with the first-ever calculation of the summit's carbon footprint. The ChangeNOW summit, held in Paris from May 19th to 21st, 2022, was found to have a carbon footprint of 2302 tCO2e. A significant portion of these emissions fell under the "Scope 3" category, which accounts for indirect emissions.
Top 3 emitting categories:
1) Transportation of participants: 2912 tCO2e
2) Services: 58 tCO2e
3) Goods: 36 tCO2e
Breakdown of emissions
A significant portion of these emissions fell under the "Scope 3" category, which accounts for indirect emissions.
Emission per Activity:
Transportation of participants total: 2192 tCO2e
Emission des déplacements des participants:
Airplane visitors: 83%
Purchase of goods & services:
Services novellty: 42,2%
Project 1: continued support for forest conservation in the Peruvian Amazon
Proceeds from ticket sales at the ChangeNOW 2024 Summit are helping to sustain the financing of a biodiversity conservation project in the Peruvian Amazon in the Madre de Dios region. This initiative is dedicated to protecting tropical rainforest in the Tambopata-Bahuaja conservation corridor, which is one of the most pristine and ecologically important parts of the Amazon rainforest.
The project has dual certification, VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) and CCB (Climate, Community and Biodiversity), due to its strong socio-environmental impacts.
Certifications :
Protection of forest and communities at Tambopata-Bahuaja
The destruction of the tropical rainforest cover also destroys the habitat for a variety of rare and endangered wildlife and adversely affects indigenous communities and local livelihoods.
The Tambopata-Bahuaja Biodiversity Reserve conserves threatened tropical rainforest while addressing the root causes of deforestation. The project supports local farmers in transitioning to sustainable cacao cultivation through commercially viable agroforestry systems.
This approach restores degraded land, reduces pressure on forests, and promotes forest-friendly, sustainable livelihoods. Additionally, it leverages climate finance to reward forest monitoring and long-term environmental stewardship.
4.7M tCO2e
emissions avoided
460 jobs
were created, of which 30% are held by women
1,200T
of cacao exported
4.8M€
contributed to the local community
Project 2: Biogas development projects in rural Maharashtra
In response to the need of bold climate action in line with IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), ChangeNOW is actively engaged in reducing the GHG emissions and advancing mitigation efforts at both corporate and event levels while supporting carbon reduction projects, and continues to support high-impact environmental and social initiatives.
Aligned with its commitment to climate & social solutions, ChangeNOW, in partnership with Climateseed has financed a Gold Standard-certified project that provides biodigesters to 12018 households across 16 districts in rural Maharashtra. The initiative has successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions & enhanced the well-being of local communities.
From Waste to Power: The Bet on Rural Biodigesters
Even today many families in the rural areas in the state of Maharashtra (India) rely on firewood as primary source of fuel for their household energy needs. The inefficient use of firewood has contributed to indoor pollution and reduction of forest cover. Moreover, families have to trek a distance of 2-5 kilometers to acquire the firewood.
To address these challenges and promote a cleaner, more sustainable energy alternative, the project aims to replace traditional wood-burning stoves with biodigesters. These systems convert cow dung into biogas, offering a reliable and eco-friendly source of household energy.
SDGs covered: 
48,551 tCO2e
emissions reduced per year
12,474
plants commissioned
12,018
users now have access to clean energy
20
people employed by the project
Conservation of tropical forests in Peruvian Amazon
The destruction of the tropical rainforest cover also destroys the habitat for a variety of rare and endangered wildlife and adversely affects indigenous communities and local livelihoods.
The Tambopata-Bahuaja Biodiversity Reserve conserves threatened tropical rainforest while addressing the root causes of deforestation. The project supports local farmers in transitioning to sustainable cacao cultivation through commercially viable agroforestry systems.
This approach restores degraded land, reduces pressure on forests, and promotes forest-friendly, sustainable livelihoods. Additionally, it leverages climate finance to reward forest monitoring and long-term environmental stewardship.
The project integrates conservation and sustainable approaches to productive land use, helping local people to pursue viable, sustainable livelihoods through a cacao cooperative. 460 jobs have been created and €4.8M have been contributed to the local economy.
The project works with the local communities to empower women and has provided jobs to 460 people, 30% of those jobs are held by women.
The project has developed a cacao cooperative and has built a cocoa facility, which includes 400 local farmers to transition to regenerative agroforestry for cacao production. It has exported more has exported more than 1,200 tonnes of cacao.
The project protects around 600,000 hectares of threatened forest in the Peruvian Amazon, a recognized biodiversity hotspots. The project has avoided 4.7 million tCO2e.
The project protects 30 High Conservation Value Species, including the giant river otter, spider monkeys and jaguars. This tropical rainforests provide habitat for an incredible variety of rare & endangered wildlife.
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