Terra Pass Decal
So here’s the dilemma. You compost, you recycle, get off the grid when you can, maybe even bought a fuel efficient car, getting 30+ mpg. But every day as you fill up on $2+ / gallon gas, you wonder if there is something else you can do to offset your emissions. Not everyone is into diesels and vegetable oil. Along comes Tom Arnold of TerraPass, a student owned and operated company.
TerraPass is a product of Benven LLC a company owned and operated by students at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Benven’s mission is to develop and market economically viable products that combat global warming by mitigating human-made environmental emissions. Their first product, TerraPass, effectively eliminates the carbon emissions from your car, offsetting the environmental impact of driving and helping to combat climate change.
TerraPass was initially created as a project for the course Problem Solving, Design, and System Improvement (OPIM651) taught by Professor Karl Ulrich, with teaching assistant Karan Girotra, and with entrepreneur George Favaloro. The students are all MBA candidates at the Wharton School of Business, with diverse backgrounds in operations management, finance, technology and entrepreneurship.
I spoke to Tom this evening, and he described the system. For $80 a year or less, I can buy a TerraPass to offset the pollution my car emits, by funding development of grid-tied renewable energy production (Wind, Biogas, etc.), or the purchase of pollution rights, to be taken off the market, and never cashed in. This reduces the yearly emissions by the amount I pollute.
This project was started by a group of college students in PA, and has blossomed into a real solution that you and I can use to make a personal and meaningful impact. I, Steve Spence, pledge to offset my yearly emissions of my ’97 Nissan Sentra by purchasing a Terra Pass. Won’t you?