Phnom Penh, August 2023, Hydrologic, a Cambodian social enterprise, issued over 100,000* carbon credits, totaling more than 1 million issuances since 2012– the equivalent of avoiding over a million tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions.
The funds from the sale of voluntary carbon credits help Hydrologic, the award-winning Cambodian social enterprise, in its mission to increase access to safe drinking water for 3 million Cambodians, through locally produced ceramic water purifiers. The water purifiers reduce the need for local communities to rely on wood burning techniques that are harmful to both people and the planet. Nexus for Development, an international NGO, operating in Cambodia, who focus on driving climate action in Asia, partner with Hydrologic to provide them with expertise in carbon market certification, carbon credits sales and financial investment.
Nexus for Development provides innovative financing models to low-carbon energy, water and waste management partners, who focus on addressing climate, social and economic challenges across Asia.
Gregoire Gaud, Head of Carbon Finance at Nexus for Development, said: “We have worked closely with Hydrologic for years, from providing experts to authenticate their projects following Gold Standard methodology – one of the highest quality carbon certifications globally – to selling their credits on the global market to companies aiming to offset their carbon emissions. Their project is going from strength to strength, not only does it bring environmental benefits but positive health and social impacts. We look forward to continuing our work with them to reduce Cambodia’s carbon emissions and benefit local communities.”
Sam Sothea, General Manager of Hydrologic, said: “In Cambodia, around 70% of people do not have access to safe water*. Boiling water can help prevent waterborne diseases, but indoor pollution can cause serious illness, especially amongst children, and the use of firewood contributes to increasing deforestation.
“Our aim is getting safe drinking water in homes across the country and protect vulnerable people. We have already distributed 550,000 purifiers and with the funds raised through the sale of carbon credits we can invest in further research and development and train more local producers and distributors.”
To date Hydrologic, has:
- Produced almost 350 million liters of clean water
- Reduced smoke exposure amongst households who own water filters by 90%
- Helped 200,000 women and girls save time on collecting wood, time that can be used for education and other income sources
- Created almost 100 new, safe jobs for local men and women
Voluntary carbon markets allow carbon emitters to offset a part of their unavoidable emissions by buying carbon credits from projects who are avoiding emissions.
Each credit, which corresponds to one metric ton of reduced, avoided or removed CO2 or equivalent GHG (Greenhouse Gas), can be used by a company or an individual to compensate for the emission of one ton of CO2 or equivalent gases.
Hydrologic carbon credits are available for individual sale through the Gold Standard registry or company packages are available through Nexus for Development.
https://marketplace.goldstandard.org/collections/projects/products/cleaner-safer-water-cambodia
*Total credits issued July 2023: 106,498
* https://www.unicef.org/cambodia/reports/water-quality-young-children-cambodia
Nexus for Development
Nexus for Development (Nexus) provides innovative and affordable financing solutions to local SMEs and social enterprises that provide renewable energy, clean water, improved waste and sustainable agriculture solutions to low-income households and underserved communities across Southeast Asia. Nexus is an international NGO, registered in Singapore with operations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and partners in the region and around the world to create and deploy innovative financing tools to scale locally driven solutions.
About Hydrologic
In 2001, iDE introduced ceramic water filters as an affordable water treatment option to benefit public health and environment in Cambodia. In 2009, iDE spun off Hydrologic Social Enterprise Co. Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary to scale up filter production and distribution.
The core business is the production and sale of ceramic drinking water filters. To date, more than half a million of these filters have been sold across Cambodia. Hydrologic currently employs almost one hundred people, with our headquarters in Phnom Penh and teams working across the country in manufacturing, sales, logistics, customer service, and consumer credit roles.
Hydrologic is a social enterprise with objectives for both financial achievement and positive social impact through improved public health, environmental care, stimulation of rural economic activity, and a commitment to ethical business practice