10 Steps to Becoming a Carbon Neutral Business

Page 31 STEP 08: BALANCE YOUR REMAINING EMISSIONS / Hot air? There has been considerable criticism of carbon offsetting. As carbon offsets consider how much CO2 will be mitigated over a period of time, this requires a set of assumptions about the duration of the project and the CO2 reduced. For example, when you invest in a tree-planting project, assumptions have been made about the average life of the trees and what their carbon absorption would be. For cooking stoves too, assumptions need to be made about the firewood or fuel consumption a stove reduces and its durability. As such, the CO2 mitigation of carbon offsets cannot be 100 percent accurate. Beyond the future-oriented nature of carbon offsets, there has been a discussion on the “additionality” of carbon offsets. In the context of carbon neutrality, “additionality” means that the CO2 saved by the project should be additional to what would have happened under normal circumstances. In other words, additionality proves that your investment would not have been provided by some other means, such as government regulation or business-as-usual. As with the CO2 savings, this would mean making assumptions about the future. It may also be the case that while your offsets are considered “additional” initially, they are no longer considered as such in the future. For instance, if you invest in cooking stoves, but the government two years later initiates a policy to distribute them too – your project ceases to be additional. Usually, carbon offsetting project developers then switch the investment to another project to ensure that the promised emission reductions are still realized. Finally, the entire concept of offsetting has been challenged by those who think that it allows organizations to keep emitting while not reducing emissions internally. While offsetting is not a perfect solution to reduce your emissions and you should focus on internal reductions first, carbon credits do present an opportunity to drive positive development within sustainability. / Go for gold or similar Despite its limitations, there are widely accepted carbon offsetting standards available that make your purchase more credible. Carbon offsetting standards offer a framework for verifying greenhouse gas emission reduction activities and criteria for determining the additionality of the project. Among the leading international standards for carbon offsetting are the Verified Carbon Standard and the Gold Standard. Besides international standards, there are country or region- wise standards that regulate the carbon offsetting market. Make sure to select a widely accepted standard as it gives at least some reassurance the projects you invest in are legit and you limit your reputation risk. A number of organizations sell carbon credits but only few organizations actually develop the projects behind. If this is an important parameter for you, there are in reality a very limited group of potential partners to work with which can make some things easier.