Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Great Lakes Cheese recently announce that the Middlefield-based company has purchased 300 carbon credits from the Kirtland Hills carbon credit project to help offset the company’s global emissions. In the future, Great Lakes Cheese will also purchase 300 credit s in 2026 and 2027 for a combined total of 900 credits over three years, according to a news release. “Carbon credit purchases support our mission at Western Reserve Land Conservancy in that they provide us the financial means to monitor and protect Northeast Ohio’s forests in perpetuity,” Sam Farabaugh, carbon credit specialist at the Land Conservancy, stated in the release. “Our buyers are investing in the long-term health and wellbeing of these forests and, likewise, the surrounding communities.” Great Lakes Cheese is a manufacturer and packager of natural and processed bulk, shredded, and sliced cheeses headquartered in Northeast Ohio. The purchase supports the company’s alignment with the US Dairy Stewardship Commitment of achieving neutrality on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “We are excited to support this project and help protect and preserve forests in Northeast Ohio,” Allison Bolet-Cafaro, generational impact manager at Great Lakes Cheese, stated in the release. “Conservation and maintenance of these areas and the ecosystem services they provide is essential to the health of our planet, and crucial for supporting current and future generations.” Carbon credits are equal to one metric ton of carbon stored by and in a forest; carbon credit projects work to protect forests from development, and in turn, sequester excess carbon and protect the atmosphere from increased greenhouse gases. The Land Conservancy partners with City Forest Credits, an internationally accredited carbon credit registry, to register and sell carbon credits, with thousands of credits available for purchase across seven active Northeast Ohio preservation projects. The Kirtland Hills carbon credit project was registered with the Village of Kirtland Hills in June 2024, when they partnered with the Land Conservancy to protect a 64-acre property known as the Kirtland Hills Community Forest. The forest consists of a mix of oak, pine, maple, beech, and poplar trees, and the property serves as a natural buffer to control stormwater run-off, prevent erosion, and mitigate flooding of downstream properties. ...read more read less