Points To Keep In Mind When Selecting A Carbon Offset Program

The market for voluntary carbon offsets provides environmentally minded businesses with a wide range of options for making up for their inescapable carbon impact. To accommodate the demand from businesses wishing to implement effective carbon management strategies through net-zero emission roadmaps, the Science-Based Targets initiative (STBi) and the voluntary carbon offset market have exploded. But how can you choose which carbon offset projects are best for your company when there are so many possibilities available? The following are some considerations you might wish bear in mind

Definition of carbon offset projects

Carbon offset projects are green initiatives that aim to cut back on, eliminate, or prevent new CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere. By funding these projects and paying to earn a credit for a recognised unit of CO2 reduction or removal, businesses can indirectly reduce their unavoidable carbon emissions.

All carbon-offset projects are based on international standards, such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), and the Gold Standard, and regularly audited by independent third parties. The standards set out the rules and requirements that all carbon offset projects must meet in order to be recognised as a proven method of avoiding, reducing or removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

How do carbon credits work?

A carbon offset or carbon credit is produced for each tonne of emissions that is decreased as a result of an environmental project. In order to lower their own carbon footprints, businesses can actively invest in these initiatives or purchase the carbon credits.

Carbon credits are tradable on the market and their ease of acquisition can be debatable. The idea is the same, though: a business essentially invests in a green initiative to offset its own emissions.

Companies can choose to offset the equivalent CO2 generated by specific program or even offset double or even triple of these emissions and moving beyond being carbon neutral to become carbon negative. Several people go even further to make up for historical emissions from prior commercial activity.

When are carbon credits used?

There are various scopes to the greenhouse gas emissions that organisations must consider.

Scope 1: Direct emissions from company operations such as company vehicles or factories

Scope 2: Indirect emissions from company operations such as purchased electricity generated by fossil fuels

Scope 3: Indirect emissions from company supply chains such as shipping, business travel, and raw material extraction

Completely eliminating carbon emissions through mitigation methods is not always possible. That’s where carbon offsetting comes in.

Types of carbon offset projects

- Green Conservation or Nature Conservation projects—including afforestation, reforestation, and ecosystem restoration such as coastal mangroves (also called blue carbon)

- Community-Programs —They offer access to cleaner cooking stoves, “energy-free” water purification and off-grid solar lighting and electricity

- Renewable energy projects—onshore wind power plants, solar photovoltaic farms and electricity from landfill gas

Best practices when choosing carbon offset projects

There are quite a lot of variables to consider when choosing carbon offset projects to ensure they align with your company’s values and strategies. We’ve boiled these down to the following checklist, which we’ll work through point by point:

Carbon Offset Scheme Site

There are a lot of projects to choose from, with projects available on almost every continent. A huge proportion of carbon-offset projects are small-scale initiatives located in developing countries. Generally speaking, the less developed the project’s host country, the greater the developmental, social and economic benefits to marginal and rural communities

Cause and Sustainable Development Goals

Choose carbon offset projects that reflect a cause or set of values shared by your company. Since many climate-conscious corporations today use the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a compass when creating their CSR strategies, selecting projects according to the SDGs they contribute to can be a useful option.

Understand the Mitigation Measure: Emission reductions vs. Carbon removal

The majority of global projects currently available to companies enable the based on emissions reduction that would have taken place without the sale of carbon offsets, instead of outright removing carbon emissions already in the atmosphere. Carbon removal technologies—such as injecting CO2 into basaltic rock to permanently store it—are expensive and at an early stage of their development and require substantial infrastructural investment to become feasible.

Carbon Offset Scheme Site – Performance and Duration

In order to maximise the full emissions reduction or carbon removal impact of your project, look for carbon offset projects that have long-term agreements to sell their carbon offsets to investors and intermediaries. The period of time CO2 being eliminated from the environment is known as the "measure of permanence

Support a Range Of Causes

You can support a variety of projects through a portfolio approach as opposed to just one carbon offset project. With this strategy, you can support a variety of project kinds, communities, and SDGs while ensuring a stable and foreseeable offset price. As new projects become available for support, a top-notch offset supplier will be able to regularly update and refresh the portfolio.

Brand Image & Values

Always select a dependable carbon offset partner. Support high-quality carbon offset initiatives that have been independently confirmed by a reputable third party, have been rigorously certified,