There are a growing number of companies around who provide carbon offsetting facilities. The basic idea is that if you do something that generates carbon emissions, the amount of emissions can be calculated, and you can pay the carbon offset company to offset your emissions by reducing them elsewhere by an equivalent amount. Many companies are now claiming to be “carbon neutral” because they are buying offsets.

Emissions are offset in a number of ways. The simplest, and most frequency encountered, is forestry planting. Others include renewable energy schemes and energy reduction initiatives.

Offsetting companies websites offer calculators, for example to work out your emissions for a long haul flight. Results have been found to vary considerably between websites, for the same flight. Also they focus on carbon dioxide emissions, often ignoring nitrogen oxides emissions and contrails (aircraft condensation trails). Some advisors suggest multiplying the results by a factor of 3 (or as much as 7) to get closer to the real environmental cost of a flight.

There is currently a lot of debate as to whether offsetting is an effective method of fighting climate change. Concerns are that some companies are profit making, some utilise existing schemes, so that your contribution does not mean for example that any additional trees are planted over what was already planned. Friends of the Earth and WWF-UK said in a joint statement in early 2007 that they have “strong concerns over [their] environmental credibility… and the contribution of the projects to sustainable development.”

An alternative to offsetting is to calculate the amount of money you would be paying the offsetting company and donate it to a charity tackling climate change. This has the benefit of adding Gift Aid to your donation.

Offsetting is a way of assuaging your conscience, without actually tackling the real causes of climate change by loving to a lower carbon lifestyle. Due to the uncertainty around this subject, Mygreenfootprint is not providing links to carbon offset companies at present.

Looking for an Offsetting Company

If you still decide you want to offset your CO₂ production then follow these guidelines:

• get information from the company about hos they calculate your carbon footprint - does it cover everything it should?
• does the company use its own carbon calculator, or the DEFRA Act on CO₂ calculator, or some other approved standard?
• does the calculator ask for energy input in KWh or £ - KWh is more accurate as the price you pay for energy varies constantly?
• make sure you understand exactly what your cash is going to be used for. How much goes to the offseting projects, and what is the administrative overhead, proportion taken for salaries, etc.?
• are the carbon savings in addition to savings that would be made anyway?
• are they genuine savings, or just delaying emissions that will eventually happen anyway?
• are the savikng "double-counted", e.g. as part of an emissions trading scheme?
  
• is the company, and its offsets, independentally verified?
• is the company not-for-profit?

You can see why it's such as minefield!

A government kitemark scheme for offsetting companies is being introduced in 2008. It appears to be strict, ruling out some popular schemes. Watch this space!