Understanding carbon offsetting and your footprint

You’ve probably heard of offsetting emissions as a way of reducing your carbon footprint. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in greenwashing in this area, with schemes making misleading claims and false promises. Carbon offsetting does not reduce emissions at the source and purchasing offsets should be a last resort, after other measures to reduce or avoid emissions have been explored.

We see a lot of organisations offsetting their footprint to claim they are carbon neutral, or claiming that for every product you buy, they will plant a tree, and therefore their product is ‘green’. If a company is not publicly reporting its emissions and then working to reduce its footprint instead relying solely on offsets, then this is greenwashing.  

One of the most common offsetting schemes is tree planting. There’s no guarantee a forest will be permanent or well-managed, or that native species will be planted in the right areas with proper consideration of nature. Also, reforestation doesn’t reduce global demand for fossil fuels. You should check whether an offsetting organisation has considered these points before investing.  

And, before you decide to offset, check the credentials of offsetting projects to ensure they’re certified by ‘The Gold Standard’ (goldstandard.org). This is an independent, transparent, internationally recognised benchmark for ‘high quality’ carbon-offset projects. 

We suggest the following steps when it comes to reducing your footprint. We’ve listed them in order of how effective they are:   

1. Avoid: for example, instead of driving, cycle or walk when you can. This prevents emissions in the first place.  
2. Reduce: the amount of emissions being released. For example, take the bus or train rather than driving, or cut energy use in your home by turning off lights or swapping old appliances or bulbs for more energy-efficient models.
3. Substitute: switch to renewable energy. There are two options: you could invest in your own renewable energy, such as solar panels for your roof, if possible. Check to see if there are any financial incentives offered locally to help with the cost. Alternatively, you could switch your energy provider to a 100% renewable tariff. By switching to renewable energy, you reduce the carbon footprint per unit of energy used in your home.   
4. Offset: finally, once you’ve explored all of the above, consider offsetting your footprint, as a last resort.