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It is possible to achieve net carbon zero in your business by working with partners that help offset carbon. Although carbon offset as an industry is still in its infancy, several partners are striving towards offsetting carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This article will explore the top partners you can work with to achieve your goals and join those working towards a solution for the climate crisis.
Best Organizations To Help Your Business’ Carbon Offset
Here are the top partners that can help your business offset carbon, including:
- Native Energy
- Sustainable Travel International
- Terrapass
- Paying Green
- atmosfair
- myclimate
- Verified Carbon Standard (Verra)
- GDM Gold Standard
- 3Degrees
So without further ado, let’s get into the details off what each of these organizations can do to help business owners reduce their company’s carbon footprint.
Native Energy
Native Energy is a well-established partner that has been around since 2000.
This program is third-party verified and certified by B Corp. B Corp is a business recognized for its high standard social and environmental programs.
For the past 20 years of operation, Native Energy has worked with many organizations (such as AVEDA, eBay, Ben & Jerry’s, and EVERLANE) to develop solutions to climate challenges faced by business owners.
The organization works alongside many specialists, including engineers, scientists, and legal counselors, who help it achieve its goals. For this reason, you can be comfortable that your money will be put to good use when working with Native Energy.
Additionally, Native is transparent about the quality of its services, giving you more confidence it can help you offset your carbon footprint. The projects it funds, as stated below, are proof of its transparency.
Native Energy has won several awards in the war against climate change. In addition, in 2017, it was recognized as a certified B Corporation. This certification gives it the confidence to offer a wide range of projects for both individuals and businesses.
Some of these projects are:
- On-farm
- Clean water
- Renewable energy
- Removals (CDR)/drawdown
- Nature-based
- Regenerative AG
Native Energy focuses on proving its accountability and transparency by applying certified techniques to all the projects it works with. The emissions reduced through the projects funded are above average.
Moreover, it validates its carbon offsets using third-party standards. These standards are:
- Climate Action Reserve
- Plan Vivo
- Gold Standard
- The Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance
- Verified Carbon Standard
- American Carbon Registry
Native Energy handles carbon offsets above expectations, and through market expertise, you will receive a portfolio to meet your requirements.
Start acting now. Calculate your carbon footprint using Native Energy calculators and buy carbon offsets.
Sustainable Travel International
Are you running a tourism business and want to offset your carbon?
If yes, your best choice of partner is Sustainable Travel International. This carbon offset partner specializes primarily in tourism, and its goal is to reduce the adverse effects of tourism worldwide.
It works towards protecting vulnerable tourist destinations and their occupants, which is achieved through partnerships with companies, organizations, government entities, and communities.
In addition, Sustainable Travel focuses on protecting natural resources and encouraging means of transport that lead to a healthier environment.
It also addresses the threats and crucial issues surrounding the safeguarding of nature and natural resources, tackling waste and production, combating climate change, and empowering communities.
Sustainable Travel International has both long-term and short-term goals, and both aim at more sustainable and environmentally-friendly modes of transport. Moreover, it has several projects verified by various standards.
These standards help ensure its projects are legitimate and of good quality. They include:
- Verified Carbon Standard
- American Carbon Registry
- Plan Vivo
- The Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance
- Gold Standard
- Climate Action Reserve
When you buy carbon offsets equivalent to your carbon footprint, Sustainable Travel International invests your money in projects that help reduce the footprint by capturing or storing it for eco-friendly purposes. Some of the projects you can fund are:
- Wind farm
- Water filters
- Biodigesters
- Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
- Forests
You can join Sustainable Travel International to donate, become an ambassador or learn to travel better. You can also offset your carbon footprints to compensate for the carbon dioxide you produce.
Terrapass
Terrapass is a commendable partner to help individuals and businesses with carbon offset.
One of its essential characteristics is its monthly subscription system. This subscription allows you to offset carbon without breaking the bank.
Originally, Terrapass was launched in 2004 to solve the carbon footprint acquired when driving. However, after great success, it began to deal with greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption and air travel sectors.
Since its inception, it has helped many individuals, institutions, and businesses with carbon offset and aims towards a zero-carbon footprint goal.
Terrapass has helped educate many people on climate change, its importance, and day-to-day life changes that can positively impact the world. The website is easy to use and navigate.
Additionally, you can use its carbon calculators to calculate your footprint.
To calculate your monthly subscription fee, Terrapass takes the average carbon emission per employee, taking into account the total number of employees in your company.
Terrapass is subject to independent third-party review, so you can feel comfortable working with the organization. These third-party reviews are:
- American Carbon Registry
- Verified Carbon Standard
- Gold Standard
- Climate Action Reserve
Some of the projects that Terrapass runs to help offset the carbon are:
- Wind power
- Farm power
- Landfill gas capture
- Organic waste management
- BEF water restoration certificate
- Abandoned coal mines methane capture
Other services provided by Terrapass are business gifts, festive business bundles, business BEF WRCs, and green e-energy certified Terrapass RECS.
You should consider investing in this program since your money goes to good use, and you certainly won’t be disappointed by the results.
Paying Green
Paying Green is an excellent carbon offset partner designed to serve small and medium-sized businesses. It is on a mission to create a positive impact on the decarbonization of the world by working with various businesses.
The company has one of the largest carbon offset communities.
Moreover, it offers unique climate-smart payment options that motivate people to take responsibility towards a better climate at no extra charge. These payment options allow you to offset your business at a fair cost.
Paying Green also has a not-for-profit structure to select and retire verified carbon credits. It strives to deliver smart net-zero climate solutions to raise the funds needed to develop as many carbon offsets as possible.
You are guaranteed that your money will be put to good use since the organization maximizes the number of carbon offsets per dollar.
Paying Green has developed a key environmental ratio that helps it know how well it has performed.
This ratio is: dollars raised/MT CO2 -e offset 2.
Paying Green has three primary solutions to help achieve the climate change goal. These solutions are Carbon Easy™, Carbon 360™, and Climate Smart Payments.
Under carbon easy, you will learn that reducing your business’s carbon footprint is easier than ever. You will also learn how to empower your customers at no additional cost.
For Carbon 360™, you become a member of Paying Green and enjoy the membership benefits, including access to the Paying Green membership portal, flexibility, robust carbon offsetting infrastructure and growing your social recognition.
Atmosfair
Atmosfair is a German non-profit organization that works towards offsetting carbon.
Atmosfair also emphasizes air travel and hopes to create renewable options for the industry. Since renewable possibilities are not yet available in aviation, it offers choices for air travelers to offset their carbon.
The organization works hand-in-hand with the travel sector to strengthen climate protection in the industry. These partners include tour operators, travel agencies, airports, and airlines. Additionally, Atmosfair works with organizations like the German Business Travel Association (VDR) and the German Travel Organization (DRV).
90% of the amount you pay to Atmosfair goes to climate protection projects, like:
- Solar energy
- Environment education
- Rebuild tourism
- Hydropower and wind energy
- Efficient cookstoves
This organization is a member of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative, which helps support and uphold the transparency of companies like Atmosfair.
Unfortunately, forest projects are not among the projects supported by
the organization. It fails to support forest projects due to:
- The uncertain market for CO2 offsetting
- Lasting CO2 binding and leakage
- Violation of human rights
Myclimate
Myclimate is one of the best carbon offset programs since it supports many projects. These projects include water, wind, solar, waste management, forestry, and biogas.
It has also helped create jobs for many people, thus improving their living conditions.
Having been in operation for about 20 years, Myclimate has hugely impacted climate change worldwide. It has reached over 25,000 children and 10,000 trainers.
Its projects adhere to third-party quality standards like:
- Clean development mechanism
- Gold standards
- Plan Vivo
It serves a wide range of customers like not-for-profit organizations, individuals, and companies of different sizes.
Before Myclimate invests in a project, it must confirm that it is worthwhile. You can, therefore, be confident that your investment is channeled in the right direction.
Verified Carbon Standards (Verra)
Verified Carbon Standards has been in operation since 2007.
It has standards that help private civic societies and multiple countries achieve climate action goals.
It is a tax-exempted organization since it is non-profit.
Over the years of operation, Verra has developed and managed many programs and initiatives. These programs and initiatives are as follows:
- Verified Carbon Standard Program (VCS Program) – allows you to turn your greenhouse emissions into tradable carbon edits.
- Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Program (CCB Standards) – assesses land management projects that create net profit benefits for climate change and mitigation, biodiversity, and local communities.
- Verra California Offset Project Registry(OPR) – helps administer the compliance of offset program components of its cap-and-trade system.
- VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+(JNR) – an accounting system for jurisdictional REDD+ programs and nested projects.
- Landscape – provides an adaptable and standardized framework to get the outcomes of jurisdictional sustainability.
- Plastic Waste Reduction Standard (plastic program) – enables robust assessment of scaled-up waste collection and recycling projects.
These standards and programs provide innovative solutions, work for people and the planet, and are trusted by reliable stakeholders.
GDM Gold Standards
GDM Gold Standards’ main goal is climate security and sustainable development.
It has three strategic pillars to help achieve its goals: environmental markets, corporate sustainability, climate, and development finance.
These pillars have helped GDM celebrate the accomplishment of 2300 projects in over 98 countries and 28 billion dollars of shared value created. Additionally, it has reduced up to 191 billion dollars of shared value.
GDM Gold Standards has an online calculator to calculate your carbon footprint, which helps you estimate the amount you will spend on your carbon offset. You can also join GDM by developing or supporting a project or funding the organization’s work.
Additionally, its website can give you tips to help reduce your daily footprint in your home, travel, shopping, and other day-to-day activities.
3Degrees
3Degrees is a recommended partner for businesses as it focuses mainly on industrial projects. It started operating in 2007 and has supported several carbon offsetting programs since.
For instance, it initiated some renewable gas transactions in the US and supported the beginning of the first voluntary community solar programs and renewable energy certificate option.
Other projects supported by 3Degrees are:
- Wind power
- Solar power
- Forest management
- Biogas
- Energy efficiency
- Oil recycling
- Landfill gas methane capture and destruction
- Improving access to low carbon commuting
- Conserving wetlands and waterways
3Degrees is the leading North American carbon specialist. It specializes mainly in carbon removal and carbon reduction projects.
Additionally, it holds high social and environmental performance standards, making it a certified B Corporation.
Some of the services 3Degrees offers are:
- Net-zero resource services
- Recs and other global EACs
- Transportation decarbonization solutions
- Utility partnership programs
- Energy and climate consulting
- Selling Recs and offsets
- Green tariffs
The goal of 3Degrees is to work towards reaching net-zero status by 2030.
To help achieve it, it works with a team of experts which has helped create jobs and build careers for many people.
3Degrees also offers internship programs for people seeking first-hand experience supporting cutting-edge climate solutions.