Koozie Group achieves CarbonNeutral certification on writing instruments

Koozie Group (previously BIC Graphic North America), a supplier of promotional products, announced that eight of its writing instruments have achieved CarbonNeutral product certification in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol.

Koozie Group announced in September of 2023 that it had earned CarbonNeutral company status and promised at that time to continue its carbon-neutral journey. The supplier is said to be the first in the promo industry to offer certified carbon-neutral hard goods.

To achieve CarbonNeutral product certification, Koozie Group worked with Climate Impact Partners, a specialist in carbon market solutions for climate action. Koozie Group conducted an independent assessment of all Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions generated by each writing instrument in alignment with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance.

The company measured these emissions cradle-to-grave, which considers impacts at each stage of a product’s lifecycle, from the creation of its components, through each subsequent stage of manufacturing, transportation, product use, and ultimately, disposal. In addition to taking actions to reduce each product’s footprint through internal initiatives, Koozie Group has offset unavoidable emissions through the purchase of high-quality carbon credits.

“The next step in our carbon-neutral journey felt like a natural one: gaining certification for individual products,” stated Pierre Montaubin, CEO of Koozie Group. “Starting with the carbon footprint of the pens we manufacture in-house made sense as we’d already gathered much of that data for our company-level certification. Five years ago, we laid out our initial ‘Keep It. Give It.’ social responsibility and sustainability goals, and it’s rewarding to see how we continue to push the envelope in our industry to ensure we’re leaving a positive, lasting impact with our products.”

Partnering again with Climate Impact Partners was a no-brainer for Koozie Group, according to Victoria Sierra, compliance manager: “Climate Impact Partners are experts in this sector and have over 25 years of experience running some of the most innovative and largest voluntary carbon-offsetting programs in the world. Working with them means all the projects we are supporting are independently verified and have a real and positive impact on the climate.”

“We help leading organizations deliver action on climate change and create a more sustainable world. Our joined-up approach helps organizations such as Koozie Group address their environmental impacts through high-quality carbon market solutions that also deliver positive impact for nature and local communities,” explained Spencer Crim, senior business development manager for Climate Impact Partners.

The Koozie Group writing instruments that have earned CarbonNeutral product certification include four BIC-branded pens. The eight writing instruments are:

• CS | BIC Clic Stic Pen
• CSI | BIC Clic Stic Ice Pen
• DCCS | BIC Digital Clic Stic Pen
• DCCSI | BIC Digital Clic Stic Ice Pen
• 55155 | Contender Pen
• 56071 | Contender Party Pen
• 55426 | Metallic Contender Pen
• 55156 | Contender Frosted Pen

All carbon-neutral products will have an icon on their product page, and customers can also filter by attributes at kooziegroup.com to easily find products that carry this certification.

Koozie Group plans to continue expanding its selection of carbon-neutral products as part of its “Keep It. Give It.” social responsibility and sustainability commitment. Find more information about the “Keep It. Give It.” program here.