A guide to carbon offsets

If you’re reading Sustainable Novato, you’ve probably heard about carbon offsets – and maybe even already bought some! Although the concept is pretty simple (fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions to offset those you unavoidably emit in your personal or business life) the details can be complicated. Here’s our quick guide to the ins and outs, answers to common questions and some links for a deeper dive.

Where does your offset money go?

The funds go to various projects around the world, carefully selected and vetted by dedicated 3rd party organizations to ensure they either eliminate GHG emissions, or actively draw down carbon from the atmosphere. These are projects which would not otherwise happen without sponsors/donors such as you, and other like-minded individuals. Ideally they also include a social benefit and include things like; reforestation, building renewable energy carbon-storing agricultural practices, waste and landfill management, and even distributing efficient cooking stoves.

How do you know they really work?

Check the audit and transparency credentials of any organization selling credits. The good ones have details on their websites, as well as other tools such as carbon calculators. Various non-profits also exist to audit and verify carbon offset projects around the world, so you can be confident they actually do what they claim. To dig deeper into the background and methodology of how various projects work and are verified, check out these organizations:

• Gold Standard,
• Verified Carbon Standard,
• Climate Action Reserve,
• American Carbon Registry,
• Plan Vivo,
• Climate Community & Biodiversity Alliance.

How do you choose the impactful offsets?

One of the important points to address in any carbon credit project is “additionality”. To avoid funding projects which would have happened anyway without offset money, in other words to make sure they produce additional reductions in GHGs, the following parameters must be checked:

• They must not already be required by law
• They could not have been built without offset money
• The underlying technology produces fewer emissions than the technology currently used in comparable circumstances.

Why are carbon offsets so cheap?!

Humans have not yet done much to reduce emissions, so there are all kinds of ways to do it very inexpensively right now. Most current projects are also located in the developing world where costs for labor, materials and land is far less than the U.S., and also where social benefits can have the most impact. As more people and companies start offsetting, or when governments begin to act seriously to tackle global warming, the price of offsets will inevitably rise, as the low-hanging fruit of emissions savings – the easiest and cheapest “quick wins” – get used up.

What kinds of offsets are there?

If you want to get specific, there are options and calculators targeted for various activities, such as:

• Travel and tourism
• Home and daily life
• Commuting
• Business activities
• Events

To save you some homework, here are our personal recommendations

• Best overall: Native Energy
• For air travelers: Sustainable Travel International (STI)
• For event planners: TerraPass
• For commuters: Clear
• For home: MyClimate
• For businesses: 3Degrees

Where can I learn more about offsets and how they work?

For more background and a deeper dive, here are some articles we found especially informative:

• The Guardian: A complete guide to carbon offsetting
• Treehugger: The 6 Best Carbon Offset Programs of 2021
• Investopedia: Best Carbon Offset Programs
• Conserve Energy Future: 15+ Best and Popular US Carbon Offset Providers
• Sustainable Jungle: 9 Best Carbon Offset Programs For When You Can’t Reduce Your Own Emissions
• MIT Climate Portal: Carbon Offsets Explainer

Does your company pay offsets for business travel or are you interested in offering such a program to your employees? If so, let us know!