Emissions Management Process - Stage 3: Offsetting

For a business, a decision to buy carbon credits should be based on commercial reasons, such as contributing to brand enhancement, or customer retention and attraction. Buying carbon credits and achieving carbon neutral status is clearly more relevant for organisations operating in certain markets.

Offsetting should not be a substitution for taking reasonable action to reduce GHG emissions through efficiency improvements.

If purchasing carbon credits is consistent with business objectives, then CarbonGroup can help clients through the credit selection and purchase process, which includes the following steps:

• Decide whether to offset all or a part of the carbon footprint
• Decide on the type, and location, of the project providing the carbon credits. The main project types are forestation, renewable energy and energy efficiency, whilst projects are located in many countries of the world, although more so in the larger developing countries.
• Identify carbon credit providers meeting your preferences
• Ensure that the carbon credits are of high quality (i.e. check that they have been certified by a recognised body enforcing high standards).

 More basic information on offsetting and carbon credits is available here.