Don’t Shop By Price!

Until carbon offset costs are better regulated, the best way to choose your offset provider is not by price but by reliability, trustworthiness, and personality (see below for standards). If you like the environmental projects available through your provider, but your carbon offset total is beyond your budget, purchase fewer offset credits, rather than search for a less expensive and possibly less reputable provider. The old adage “You get what you pay for” may certainly apply to carbon offset companies. If a deal seems too good to be true, be skeptical. Think about it: Is your first priority to save money or to save the planet? Here’s a sampling of what’s out there:

• Conservation International - Protect tropical rainforest acreage in Indonesia, Madagascar, Philippines, Brazil, and Columbia.
• TerraPass - Capture methane at landfills in Maine or Arkansas and use it to create clean, renewable energy.
• Native Energy - Fund renewable energy projects (wind farms, solar arrays) in Iowa, California, Alaska, or Texas.
• MyClimate - Help in the construction of the first wind farm in Madagascar. Convert waste materials with low thermal value (formerly burned or left to rot in fields) into efficient fuel for the production of energy in India
• Carbonfund - Reduce tailpipe emissions generated by 18-wheelers across the U.S.
• E-Blue Horizon / The Conservation Fund - Contribute to reforestation and conservation projects in the United States

How To Choose A Carbon Offset Provider — Quality Standards

The most important feature when choosing a carbon offset provider is the quality of their carbon reduction projects. Because you are dealing in intangible, distant, and difficult-to-measure entities, complete confidence in your provider is essential.

• Additionality - Are your offset funds essential to the project’s inception or continuance, or would this project have happened anyway?
• Baseline Emission Levels - Is it possible to determine levels of GHG emissions prior to the start of the project, so real measures of success can be ascertained later?
• Wide-Ranging Benefits - Has research been done to ensure that environmental damage (emissions or other pollution) will not occur in other locations as a result of this project? Will the project benefit the environment and/or the community in other ways?
• Permanence - Are there guarantees against failure of the project? What is the timeline of the carbon offsets? Are there major barriers (financial, legal, political) that may impede the success of the project?
• Transparent Disclosure And Trust - A reputable provider will clearly and painstakingly explain every aspect of the operation so you have no doubts. They should also guarantee that your offsets are owned by you and/or retired, and will not be resold to another consumer.
• Monitoring And Verification - All projects should be monitored and verified (throughout the course of the project) by one or more independent third parties (CDM, VCS, Gold Standard, and others). In addition, the projects should be registered to provide a paper trail for further verification.
• Education - Aside from or in conjunction with the carbon offset programs they offer, one of the most important responsibilities of a provider is to educate customers and others about global warming and the need for strong and effective global warming policies in the future.