Carbon offsets are market-based instruments that are designed to lower the amount of GHG in the atmosphere (mainly CO2). Offsets provide credits that can be purchased and applied to reduce an organization’s carbon footprint by accounting for CO2 emission reductions that occur elsewhere. Carbon offsets fund specific projects that either lower CO2 emissions, or sequester CO2, meaning they take some CO2 out of the atmosphere and store it. Common examples of projects include reforestation, construction of renewable energy infrastructure, carbon-storing agricultural practices, and waste and landfill management.
Response Details
For this question Answer Yes if: Your facility purchased and retired carbon offsets for the reporting period. If another business entity (e.g., Manufacturing group or brand partner) purchased and retired the offset on behalf of your facility, it must have been registered/retired under your facility’s name and location (i.e., legal business entity name and address).
Suggested Uploads
- Documentation that demonstrates your facility purchased/retired offsets or that offsets were registered and retired on behalf of your facility in the reporting year (e.g., documentation from the relevant carbon offset registry or scheme that shows the offsets have been used/retired).
Technical Guidance:
There are a number of carbon offset schemes that are available globally, and the specific requirements relating to the purchase and use of offsets are typically defined by the jurisdiction or scheme under which they are issued. Several carbon offset schemes are listed below:
- CDM Registry (Clean Development Mechanism) – https://cdm.unfccc.int/about/index.html
- American Carbon Registry (ACR) – https://americancarbonregistry.org/
- Gold Standard Registry – https://www.goldstandard.org/resources/impact-registry
- Climate Action Reserve (CAR) – https://www.climateactionreserve.org/
- Social Carbon Registry – https://www.socialcarbon.org/
- Plan Vivo Registry – https://www.planvivo.org/
- Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Registry – https://verra.org/programs/verified-carbon-standard/
- Climate, Community, & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) Registry – https://www.climate-standards.org/ccb-standards/
Carbon Offset projects typically allow users to purchase a specified amount of Carbon equivalents in tonnes (tonnes of CO2e) and are registered in a tracking system as part of the offset scheme. Offsets will have several unique identification and data attributes associated with them such as:
- Project name/type
- A unique identification number or Registry system ID
- Total of carbon offset (in CO2e)
Retiring Carbon Offsets
Once the end user of the offset claims the carbon credit to offset their emission, it is then retired and no longer available to be used. Each carbon offset scheme/registry will have established criteria and/or procedures for the purchase and retirement of offsets that should be followed.
Resources:
Details on specific carbon offset schemes can be found at the links provided above. Additionally, an overview of how offsets can be applied in a GHG accounting program can be found in the GHG Protocol at the link below:
Greenhouse Gas Protocol – Corporate Standard – https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard