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Carbon Offsetting

Carbon Offsetting enables any Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emitter - an individual or an organisation, to offset some or all of their annual emissions by funding an activity that will reduce emissions elsewhere.  This is done through intermediaries who channel funding to projects across the world.  Carbon offsetting is a rapidly growing practice with an ever increasing range of options available.

“The debate has moved on to what kinds of carbon offsetting have credibility, and which fall into the ‘snake oil’ category. Those that have genuine integrity are now, actually, driving a massive cottage industry around the world, which is every day reducing CO₂ emissions…”

Al Gore

Offsets are typically generated from emissions-reducing projects, including renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams, energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts, destruction of landfill methane, and forestry projects.  It has been estimated that in 2006 $5.5billion of offsets, representing 1.6 billion tonnes of GHG were purchased to meet statutory obligations and a further $91 million, representing 24 million tonnes of GHG, were purchased voluntarily.

Having minimised your organisation’s carbon emissions, Carbon Offsetting is essential if you want to be “carbon neutral” and is relatively inexpensive at a cost of under £10 a tonne.

Key issues in deciding if and how to voluntarily offset are:

• Choosing a scheme that meets your preferences – for example, do you want to invest in offshore wind farms or energy efficient cooking in the developing world?
• Ensuring you buy into credible respected offset projects that deliver real carbon benefits
• Deciding the basis for how many tonnes of carbon offsets to buy (carbon footprinting)
• Incorporating this activity into your overall carbon management systems

You can also read more about this topic in the Ethical Corporation's intelligence report.

The Green Consultancy will be pleased to:

• Brief you on Carbon Offsetting
• Identify the best options for you
• Ensure these options are credible and reliable
• Operate your Carbon Offsetting scheme 

For your no obligation quote, or to discuss your requirements, please contact Michael Webb or phone him on 08450 176299.