To buy offsets, the first thing to do is to determine the size of your carbon footprint. The easiest way is to use an online carbon footprint calculator. Reduce your emissions as much as possible through other means, and then decide where to purchase your offsets. Many organizations (some for-profit, some non-profit) offer offsets, including Carbonfund.org, ClimateCare, Less Emissions, Sustainable Travel International, and TerraPass. Some organizations allow you to choose a specific project to support, while others use a portfolio approach. One pound (454 grams) of carbon generally costs about US $10-30 per tonne. As a bonus, some offsets purchased from non-profits may be tax-deductible for both individuals and businesses.
Many people purchase offsets annually to cover their footprint for the year. However, offsets can be purchased for specific things, such as an airplane trip, often right when you are buying a ticket. Also, a growing number of iPhone and Android offset apps allow the purchase of offsets as you are shopping or travelling. These are great options in terms of convenience, but offer less of an opportunity to research the quality of offset providers.
In all, the most important thing is to be conscious of your carbon footprint and to do what you can in your daily life and business practices to keep that footprint to a minimum. A great way to start the year is to calculate your carbon footprint and make goals for reducing it in practical ways throughout the year. From there, you can become a savvy offset purchaser by being aware of the variety of offset providers and choosing one with a strong reputation and significant transparent third party verification.
In our modern world where some emissions are unavoidable, carbon offsets can be a great way to round out your efforts to decrease your personal and business footprint this year and into the future.
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