Carbon neutral means that any CO2 (carbon dioxide) released into the atmosphere from a company’s or person’s activities is balanced by an equivalent amount of CO2 being removed.
How it works:
Ways to become carbon neutral are to emit less carbon, and if you add polluting emissions to the atmosphere, you subtract them from the balance by purchasing carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are simply credits for emission reductions achieved by projects such as wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency retrofits or by tree planting. You can purchase these credits and apply them to your own emissions to reduce your net climate impact.
Purchasing carbon offsets, becoming more energy efficient, and reducing carbon emitting activities are not perfect - but they are steps in the right direction as companies and people work towards a net zero economy by 2050.
Why it matters
To solve the problem of climate change, we all need to take account of our carbon emissions and make continued efforts to reduce them. While it is impossible to reduce our carbon emissions to zero, going carbon neutral by purchasing carbon offsets is a way to do something about remaining emissions.
Companies we work with who have the Climate Neutral certification include: tentree, Ocean Bottle, Chico Bags, Miir and many more.
Note: the terms Carbon Neutral and Climate Neutral are similar and sometimes used interchangeably. Carbon neutral refers to carbon only, while Climate neutral includes all greenhouse gases.
Next up: Net Zero; Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions; a circular economy.
