Carbon Offseting

Reducing our carbon emissions is great and any efforts we make deserve applause, but we are still releasing carbon into the atmosphere, just less of it. Carbon offsetting goes by the idea that even though we are releasing these carbon emissions we can compensate for it elsewhere. There are organisations whose purpose is to provide carbon offsets for individuals and corporation.

There are a number of ways we can carbon offset, but before we do, we have to calculate our carbon footprint so that we can establish how much we need to offset.

Calculating our Carbon Footprint

Some companies that offer offsets for businesses will consult with the business to establish their carbon footprint, however, for the consumer; there are online carbon footprint calculators available of which the breakdown of our carbon emissions may include the following:

Primary emissions

• Flights
• Motor vehicles
• Home energy consumption (electricity, gas, oil etc)
• Bus and Rail

Secondary emissions

The calculation of our secondary emissions may involve questions about

• The food we eat
• Clothes we wear
• Waste habits
• Material possessions and buying habits

Offsetting our carbon emissions

The bodies that offer projects for carbon offsetting will generally have an online carbon footprint calculator which can then calculate the amount of money required to contribute towards projects to offset these emissions. This makes the process of offsetting for the consumer quite a straight forward, quick and satisfying task.

Carbon offsetting projects

Carbon emissions are compensated by contributing towards projects that may encompass:

• Clean energy investment (e.g. turbines, hydropower)
  This contribution may go towards projects such as those that involve wind power, hydropower and solar energy.
• Reforestation\tree planting\forest conservation
  Such Projects involve the planting of new trees and forests in areas that will benefit from the plant diversity. The more trees we have, the more Carbon dioxide that is absorbed and the more oxygen that is released back into the atmosphere.
• Methane capture
  As a greenhouse gas, methane is 21 times more powerful then Carbon dioxide. Projects are underway which involve taking existing methane (such as that produced by landfill) and turning it into a clean source of energy.
• Energy Efficiency
  Investing in changes in the use of energy across the consumer spectrum is important. This includes the ever day light globe use and investing in the design and push to be light globe efficient.

Selecting the right carbon offset program

Not all carbon offset programs are created equally and it’s important to look around for a program that suits your needs. Factors that you should take into account include the price, because they do actually vary a great deal and the type and quality of projects and options they have available (though they generally offer similar projects as described above). Look at a company websites and see if you can find clear information as to the breakdown of funds and how the money is spent.

Carbon neutral

The carbon neutral term refers to the point where our carbon footprint is zero. For individuals and businesses, this means that either:

• No activities we engage in will result in carbon emissions into the atmosphere
• We fully compensate for our carbon emissions elsewhere

Being able to claim a carbon neutral operation is becoming common place for businesses and organisations, perhaps in a bid to increase their ethical reputation. Either way, in an age of global warming awareness, the pursuit in being carbon neutral is a crucial step towards slowing the greenhouse effect and individuals to large organisations can make a difference.