What can we do to help save our planet?

James McQuarrie, co-founder of Glad Climate, aims to significantly reduce atmospheric pollution by the year 2050. Together with his co-founder Ben Wynn, they have more than 40 years of experience in designing, building, and delivering digital products and services. They founded Glad due to the belief that climate change is “the biggest challenge of our time,” realising that we need to not only reduce emissions to zero as quickly as possible, but also clean up the mess we’ve already made of our atmosphere.

James was originally inspired by becoming a dad. He saw how, in the very near future, his children will be learning about the climate crisis and wants to be able to tell them that he worked to make a difference. The Glad Climate Cleanup Club is the solution to cleaning up the legacy emissions that are already heating up our planet, allowing millions of people and businesses from around the world to club together and play their part in fixing the problem.

The approach at Glad is a combination of all the learnings over James’ 20 years of experience working with 26 founders, 15 startups, 5 multinationals, and 4 of his own businesses. One of their main priorities is “being obsessively focused on customers and their needs.” Glad really wants to understand what problems customers face and how they can help resolve them.

So how does Glad work? Individuals and businesses join the Glad Climate Cleanup Club on a seasonal basis. At the end of every 12 week long season, the membership fees collected buy greenhouse gas removal from a range of suppliers using different methods as part of a balanced portfolio.

Members get an Impact Score that shows how much impact they’ve had via their membership, a digital badge that can be shared online and that shows their score. They also get an Impact Record that details their impact, which seasons they’ve supported and other badges they’ve collected over time. Members also get behind the scenes access to the projects Glad supports, with video, photos and blog posts from the people on the ground cleaning up our atmosphere. And they get to vote on which projects the club supports in future seasons.

The portfolio approach to purchasing is designed to reduce risk and increase the impact their members have. Over time, the blend of the portfolio will be constantly monitored and updated as more removal solutions and technologies prove effective. Glad is always vetting solutions and is currently focusing on carbon removal, with plans to remove more greenhouse gases in the future.

James explains how several of the carbon removal methods work: Firstly, biomass sinking involves taking waste materials from agricultural and forest resources and sinking them to the bottom of the ocean, where it can be locked away for thousands, if not millions, of years. Biochar is created by burning biomass waste in a very low-oxygen environment to produce a charcoal-like substance that locks away carbon for potentially thousands of years. The by-product of biochar can actually be used to improve soil quality and water retention. Lastly, enhanced rock weathering speeds up one of nature’s methods of removing carbon, reducing the process from thousands of years to as little as five.

James grew up in a household where recycling and reducing electricity wastage were always emphasized, seeding his interest in sustainability. He has continued these habits in his own family home, always looking for ways to reduce his family’s negative impact on the planet. For example; using the car as little as possible, eating less meat, reducing plastic waste, etc. Four years ago, James even began making his own solid shampoo to help with this.

James recognises that sustainability is becoming more important to people. When originally conducting research for Glad, they found that over 70% of adults in the UK are concerned about climate change. However, many are unsure

how to help or if their efforts are making a difference. With Glad, James and Ben want to highlight that everyone’s individual efforts can make a big impact. "These actions may seem minor, but together, they create a powerful collective impact."

Due to James and Ben living in different parts of the UK, they work remotely. While James shares he hasn’t quite mastered a work-life balance yet, he benefits from not having to commute, which allows him to be much more involved with his children’s day-to-day lives than he otherwise would be.

For James, working with a wide variety of people from all over the world is a big highlight of his career to date, as he has had the opportunity to speak with businesses and customers from many different countries. A career goal is to be able to retire happily, knowing that Glad has made a significant impact and has helped cleanup the planet.

His advice to his younger self: "Invest in Bitcoin!"

For aspiring entrepreneurs, James expresses that the key is to learn from the experiences of others who have walked a similar path, but then trust your own instincts and disregard 90% of the advice. "What worked for them may not work for you."

You can find out more about James and Glad at jmcquarrie.co.uk and GladClimate.com.