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Carbon and Climate

Most everyone reading this article is more interested in climate and perceived changes than they were a year or five years ago. Why we are can range from personal to business, from short term to long term concerns. Our interest may be what kind of world we leave for future generations to whether we can assure that our business can succeed and grow. Our concern may range from whether we can have an effect to whether we will be restricted in what we can do. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a fundamental though not exclusive compound involved in climate evolution. Offsetting increases in emissions is one approach toward addressing this issue.

An offset is the result of any activity that negates the impact of an organization’s emissions by avoiding an equal amount of pollution, usually at another site, or by sequestering an equal amount of carbon. Because reducing emissions to zero through efficiency measures may be impossible or cost-prohibitive, offsets are an important tool for organizations seeking to eliminate the climate impacts of their operations or to offer products or services that can be labeled “climate neutral” or “carbon neutral.” Some recent legislation such as Oregon’s law requires that new energy facilities avoid, sequester, or displace a portion of their carbon dioxide emissions.

There are three main types of projects that produce offsets: projects that prevent the release of CO2, projects that reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gases, and projects that sequester carbon in vegetation or soil. A company could achieve the first two goals by purchasing an energy-efficient heating system for a school, for example, thus reducing the school’s CO2 emissions. A company could accomplish the third goal by reforesting an area, sequestering carbon in trees and soil.

Offsetting enables companies to look beyond the limits of their operations to find emissions-reducing projects that are cost-effective. However, many of the internationally recognized mechanisms and rules that allow for companies to count specific offsets are still under development. Sequestration projects in particular present challenges of how to quantify the offset, and how to create assurances that carbon will be sequestered for sufficiently long time periods.
GEC has tools for climate change initiatives. We have been working with and establishing relationships in regions where dealing in such offsets is already a reality. We believe that you may want to give this possibility a closer look, given the following advantages:

Offset projects allow organizations to reduce or avoid carbon emissions through projects that are less costly than internal emissions reduction options.
Offset projects frequently provide significant benefits to the communities in which they take place by spurring economic development, improving the quality of life, or increasing recreational value. Sequestration projects often protect existing forests or entail reforestation.
Many offset projects -- such as forest protection initiatives -- make intuitive sense and thus are easy to explain to stakeholders. By sponsoring offset projects near or within communities where one’s products are produced or sold, a company can solidify ties with key constituencies.
Several types of offset projects can be underwritten jointly. This means that organizations can pool their resources, both financial and otherwise, to achieve projects of a scale that no single organization could or would undertake independently. There is another benefit in the flexibility that these arrangements afford. An organization that invests in offset through an intermediary organization can adjust the degree of involvement from year to year (just as one would adjust any investment portfolio) to meet changing needs, goals, and aspirations.
By undertaking a carbon investigation of their supply chains, all organizations can minimize the carbon emitted at every stage of a product’s lifecycle from source to shelf, consumption and disposal.

Offsets are already in play in various regions. Regulators at the recent National Environmental Partnership Workshop gave indications that they would support new initiatives. Let us help you capture those elements that can provide you with security and a strategic advantage.