Ecologi projects: How we’re helping tackle the climate crisis

Sustainability Projects
We offset our carbon footprint via Ecologi

At Wrapper, we know we’re at a critical point in our planet’s history. We believe we can no longer afford to sit back and wait for other people to solve our problems, so we’re stepping up and taking responsibility for repairing some of the climate damage that’s been done.

We’ve put our sustainability promise at the heart of our business and are taking small steps, on a local level, every day. But we know that’s not nearly enough.

We have partnered with Ecologi to have a bigger impact on a much grander scale, and through them we are planting trees, reducing carbon pollution and supporting climate solutions around the world.

These are just two of the projects we are proud to support…

Preserving the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in Guatemala

This project seeks to redress the impact of local deforestation by protecting and restoring 54,157 hectares of some of the most under-threat biodiverse land in the world.

This biological corridor, which covers a region comprising Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and some southern states of Mexico, is a richly diverse area. It consists of extensive unique habitats that provide a home to somewhere between 7 and 10% of the world’s known species.

Unfortunately, over recent decades, the natural tropical ecosystems have been flattened to make way for agriculture and other human activities, and the biological corridor has come under increasing threat.

The project we are supporting aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the area by addressing the drivers of mass-scale deforestation in the region and protect the biological corridor. Our partners are working hard with local organisations to educate organisation and individuals raise awareness about the problem, as well as creating economic opportunities that provide a viable and sustainable alternative for local communities.

Providing clean energy through hydropower in Kanungu, Uganda

This project supports a small, 6.5 MW hydropower station located on the Ishasha River in Kanungu District that provides 29.404 GWh to the Ugandan energy grid every year.

Energy poverty is one the biggest economic problems facing Africa at the moment, impacting massively on the ability of communities to develop and live healthy lives. Kanungu is a historically impoverished region with a population of just over 205,000. Those living in the area previously suffered with frequent and long-lasting power outages that disrupted daily life and made it impossible to build a healthy and sustainable way of life. A lack of reliable electricity is one of the biggest barriers to improving living standards, making the most of economic opportunities and building a healthy population. Without a modern source of reliable energy, medicine and food cannot be refrigerated, industries cannot grow and flourish, and children are unable to access quality educational resources or study once the sun has set.

The positive impact of the Ishasha small hydropower project has been immense. Small hydropower systems like this one capture the raw kinetic energy of free-flowing water, without the need for a reservoir or large turbines that disrupt fish migration and impact on water quality. With no barriers, diversions or storage, and only limited structural support, this small hydropower station is creating an almost continuous supply of electricity for the Ugandan people, with no emissions.

The benefits of this project go well beyond its immediate impact on the environment. The local community has benefited not only from a continuous and reliable provision of clean and renewable energy but from growth in the local economy. The project has supported a burgeoning community of entrepreneurs and helped increase the potential for expanding the rapidly growing telecommunications and manufacturing industries in what is a remote and isolated corner of Uganda.

For more about these projects and the work Ecologi is doing, head over to the Ecologi website.