With 32 snowboarders performing amazing tricks while slicing through the rugged terrain of North America and Europe, Burton’s latest movie One World is an epic celebration of snowboarding.
As a top sustainable brand and one whose customers rely on a healthy, healthy environment to pursue their passions, Burton realized that the simple act of making a fantastic film was not enough. They also wanted to minimize the environmental impact of the many trips, snowmobile rides and other carbon emissions associated when making the film. As a Certified B Corporation, the company is a proven leader in advocacy for climate policies and reducing the environmental negative impact of its products and operations.
To create One World, Burton worked together with Bank of the West to minimize the impact of the production on the climate by purchasing carbon offsets an increasingly popular way through which corporations and other organizations collaborate to offset their environmental impact. Burton and Bank of the West teamed up to aid in the sequestration of 563 tonnes of CO2 the foundation of a project to protect forests along the Alaskan coast. It’s equivalent to taking cars from the roads for a whole year.
Emily Foster, Burton’s environmental impact manager, says that the firm’s approach in this instance was a mixture of idealistic thinking and practicality.
“We are looking forward to the day when people are able to explore the world and follow their passions powered entirely by renewable energy sources, but we’re still not there as a nation,” Foster explains. “For emissions that we cannot eliminate currently, we are investing in carbon credits of the highest quality, validated and certified that help reduce greenhouse gases and safeguard ecosystems. Carbon offsets may not be the answer, we employ them to make ourselves accountable and be proactive while low-carbon alternatives emerge.”
Carbon offsets like Foster mentions the issue, aren’t a flawless solution, but they can be useful in the process of transitioning towards a non-carbon future. It is impossible for us to turn off the lights and go away from fossil fuels immediately. Therefore, for the time being carbon offsets are an important part of the equation as environmentally conscious and forward-thinking actors strive to build an environmentally sustainable future.
We’ll look at a deeper understanding review of carbon offsets, what they are, the reasons they’re important, arguments in support of their use, as well as some of the arguments against carbon offsets.
What is Carbon Offsetting?
Carbon offsets are a method whereby funds are redirected to projects that reduce global emissions. Businesses or individuals often purchase carbon offsets, instead of decreasing their carbon footprints when emissions appear inevitable, or they use both methods to help their emissions reduction efforts extend.
Carbon offset projects consist of efficient stoves for cooking in villages, bio-gas generation from organic matter, and a range of projects that aim to reduce deforestation, or regenerating forest areas that are degraded.
The procedure of certifying a project to be eligible for carbon offsets isn’t an easy task. Carbonbay is involved in shepherding initiatives through the Byzantine regulatory maze that were implemented in the framework of the U.N.’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to make sure that not only emissions reductions are legitimate and legal, but also that there isn’t any existing funding to support projects of this kind. This usually means that they’re a deviation from the norm and have a low chances of success without credits. Credits for emission reduction allow projects to be compensated for each metric tonne of carbon dioxide emissions that are avoided. They are able to be verified with CDM or other recognized standards which include The Gold Standard, and the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).
“Carbon offset … assists environmental projects that don’t have funds by themselves.”
What are the Pros of Carbon Offsetting
The carbon credit exchange has advantages at both ends It helps environmental projects that cannot get financing on their own and also gives businesses the opportunities to reduce the carbon emissions of their operations.
A lot of companies aren’t able to reduce their carbon footprint as they’d like. In certain cases, this could be due to their footprint being already very small (e.g. software companies) however they would like to grow their business. Other industries, for instance, heavy equipment and ocean transportation, do not have alternatives that are low carbon to meet their needs in the moment. Through helping fund projects to reduce emissions, businesses can help make more up for the emissions they aren’t able to eliminate themselves.
Although most offset purchases are not required however, there are certain jurisdictions where offset purchases are required to meet local laws and regulations to get rid of fines. Another benefit of this system of carbon offset. It provides regulators with a means to enforce environmental laws.
Some companies also make use of offsets to demonstrate that the majority or all of their operations are “carbon non-carbon” or “carbon positive.” They also provide an opportunity for these businesses to monitor their carbon footprint. A lot of consumers nowadays prefer to do business with these companies.
Carbon offset provides useful resources to projects that usually capture carbon by utilizing forest growth or other methods, or reduce emission, for example, green energy production or energy appliances. By focusing on projects which will not be able to draw different types of financing for example, a unique one in a particular region and provide a viable alternative to traditional finance methods.
After a successful project has been realized through offset and proved to be viable it’s usually simpler for follow-on, similar projects to be able to draw funding from other sources.
Offsetting has been proven by reliable studies to be a successful method to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Pros and Cons of Carbon Offsetting
Many criticisms have been directed at carbon offsets as well. Certain of them are philosophical and oppose the notion that rich companies can purchase their way out of the carbon market, instead of taking greater accountability for their carbon emissions. Some argue that offsets weaken the need for more drastic collective action, like carbon tax. Are offsets letting polluters get off the hook too easily?
Others draw attention to more practical issues:
Certain forests that are protected by offsets have been later found to have been burned or cut down. It could or might not be intentional on the part the people who received the credits.
Are the credits really necessary are they really necessary, or would the task be completed without credit?
Are carbon measurements reliable, and can the organizations that monitor these measurements be relied upon to conduct the right accounting?
What is the problem with fraud?
Is global warming taking place too quickly for carbon offsets to prove useful?
There are valid questions to be asked here. Although no system is perfect however, many of these issues have been identified and addressed when carbon standards and methods evolve.
Carbon offsets aren’t intended to replace directly taking action. They are instead as a supplement or, in certain instances, as the sole alternative. For instance, the airline industry, for instance is a major user of offsets since there is no method for commercial aircrafts to fly without using fossil fuels. As part of an international program called CORSIA which will allow them to stop the emission levels for 2019 and 2020 and have pledged to offset any increases in emissions after 2021.
In the case of forests disappearing following the qualification as offsets issue was addressed in the most recent VCS standard, which allows payment to be made to carbon sequestration by forests that have already occurred, as in the past decade. To mitigate further risk, a portion of the credits paid are put aside to be placed in “pooled buffers” to help cover unexpected damages, similar to the insurance policies.
The way we measure is also changing. Projects that use renewable energy are easy to quantify, as it is only necessary to take a look at the meters. The land-use and forest projects might be more difficult However, the models are becoming more accurate and technology like GPS and satellite imagery drones are now useful to provide a better view of the amount of carbon remains stored.
How to track and offset Your carbon footprint
Carbon offset is commonplace for businesses. Banks have partnered with tech companies in order to make consumers more involved. For instance, Swedish fintech startup Doconomy has joined forces together with Finnish Aland Bank to help regular customers understand the carbon footprint on the majority of purchases.
The Aland Index calculates the carbon footprint of each item purchased by consumers by analyzing more than 200 variables. Paula DiPerna, who was responsible for establishing the first global market-based cap in 2003 describes the index “a game changer” that converts intangible value into the form of a dollar. Consumers then can use the value of a dollar to offset the carbon emissions produced by the product to make purchases carbon neutral.
“The index was developed … in order to make the world heard in every pocket and at every point of sale.”
Helena Mueller, the head of Aland Index Solutions and co-founder of Doconomy
As per Helena Mueller, head of Aland Index Solutions and co-founder of Doconomy, “the index was developed to create a shared standard for climate-related issues for all personal financial management, establishing a reliable global standard as well as giving the world a voice every pocket and at every point of sale.”
Customers have access to the index via the DO application. The index is currently only available in Sweden and Norway, however Bank of the West teamed together with Doconomy for the purpose of bringing it into the US to be part of the 1 percent for the Planet account1,2. With the mobile banking application it is possible to use you can use Aland Index is applied to transactions in order to calculate the carbon footprint of transactions that are made using the 1percent for Planet debit card.
“The carbon footprint can be shown in kilo or pounds produced as well as Carbon’s social costs, i.e. the “real cost” of a a service when the negative impact of climate change are accounted to be accounted for” Mueller says. Mueller. “The bank in this instance, Bank of the West, is then able to let their customers see the carbon footprint of transactions by the day or week, month and the entire year.”
Armed with this data individuals can be in charge of the carbon footprint they leave behind. It’s true that you cannot alter the things you can’t measure.