With the arrival of spring, legions of backyard barbequers will be preparing to enjoy the highlight of the non-winter months: sizzling meat right off the grill.

What many of us don’t realize is that what we put on the barbeque can heat the planet just as much as the grill itself. Food in general is shipped great distances to get to our tables, and that means climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions. A steak dinner, with potatoes and salad, can produce more than 5 kg of CO2.

But don’t let that spoil your appetite.

B. Wells Marketplace, an innovative food shop in Unionville, Ontario, is going carbon-neutral by offsetting the CO2 emissions associated with their energy consumption, and they’re giving their customers the opportunity to do the same with their purchases.

“No business is going to be successful if it doesn’t give customers what they want or if it can’t tell which way the world is moving,” says Tim Petrou, manager of B. Wells. “We know that people want to do the right thing, and we know that climate change is an urgent issue. We’d be asleep at the wheel if we didn’t take that into consideration.”

B. Wells stocks locally grown organic product, but also imports meat from other provinces. To make the out-of-province beef more environmentally friendly, B. Wells encourages customers to offset their purchase at the cash register. For customers who choose not to, B. Wells will pick up the tab for the carbon.

“It’s totally voluntary, and it costs pennies,” says Petrou. “But it makes a difference when you add it all up.”

Zerofootprint, a not-for-profit organization a not-for-profit social network dedicated to reducing ecological footprint, calculates the carbon emissions per unit of meat. When customers choose to offset their purchases, the revenues will be channeled into forestation projects that soak up atmospheric CO2.

“It’s important to recognize that absolutely everything we do has consequences for the environment,” says Deborah Kaplan, Executive Director of Zerofootprint. “It’s not as though the fate of the planet depends on a single purchase, but it’s no exaggeration to say that it depends on the aggregate of all of our decisions. My hat is off to B. Wells for giving their customers the chance to reduce their footprint.”

B. Wells grand opening will be held April 14 at 139 Main St, Unionville.

For more information, or to book an interview with Zerofootprint, please contact Talia Klein at 416.365.7557 or talia@zerofootprint.net.