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Carbon Offsets for Business
Did you know that the “average” office of six to ten people will produce approximately 70 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year? Does that sound ridiculous? It isn’t when you consider that everyone in that office will have to somehow get there and home every day. Additionally, the office itself will require electricity, paper, supplies and business travel among other carbon dioxide producing events and issues.
What does all of this matter? Global warming is not a joke and if every single person and business does not take action to combat their own output and reduce carbon emissions the effects on the planet are going to be catastrophic. We are already witnessing the problems of climate change in our generation, imagine a few decades from now.
How can a business reduce its carbon footprint? They can purchase carbon offsets from a reliable resource. Carbon offsets are calculated contributions towards balancing out a company’s carbon output against an environmentally beneficial activity. For example, the best carbon offset groups allow their contributors to direct their funds to their carbon combating effort of choice. This means that a small company who makes a seven-hundred dollar contribution could direct their funds to renewable energy, reforestation or energy efficiency initiatives.
This means that a small insurance company in New York City could work hard to reduce their own carbon emissions by allowing employees to telecommute, instituting as much paperless activity as possible and generally addressing energy and resource consumption. While working to reduce what they could, they could also offset that which they couldn’t reduce and make a tax-deductible donation that would direct their funds to something like a wind farm in Texas or a solar farm in California.
How would this be of benefit to a business? Not only would it show responsibility to future generations, it would allow a business to work at reducing their carbon footprint to almost nothing. Additionally, many of the carbon offset organizations provide media attention to companies of all sizes that have partnered with them to address the environmental hazards of carbon emissions.
The easy availability of carbon offsets makes it a simple and streamlined affair to calculate a business’ carbon emissions and then take steps to offset or reduce them to as little impact as possible. In doing so a company is dedicating its commitment to the future and making a lasting contribution to developing the technologies that will take us there in a healthier and better way.