A stunning collection of 32 riders performing astonishing tricks as they ride across the rugged terrain of North America and Europe, Burton’s most recent One World film One World is an epic celebration of snowboarding.
As a top sustainable brand and one whose customers rely on a healthy, healthy environment to pursue their interests, Burton knew making an amazing film wasn’t enough. It also wanted to mitigate the environmental impact of all of the flights, snowmobile trips, and other emissions associated with producing the film. A accredited B Corporation, the company is a proven leader in advocating for climate change policies and reducing the effects of its productions and operations.
As part of One World, Burton worked together with Bank of the West to minimize the impact of the production on the climate through the purchase of carbon offsets, a popular method through which companies and other entities work to mitigate their environmental footprints. Burton and Bank of the West collaborated to support the sequestration of 563 metric tons carbon dioxide through the support of an effort to protect forests on the Alaskan coast. This is equivalent to removing 122 automobiles from the road for one year.
Emily Foster, Burton’s environmental impact manager, says the company’s thinking in this case was a blend of optimism and practicality.
“We hope for the day when people can explore the world and follow their passions entirely powered by clean energy, but we’re still not there as a whole,” Foster explains. “For emissions we can’t eliminate right now, we’re investing in high-quality carbon credits that cut greenhouse gas emissions and help preserve ecosystems. Carbon offsets may not be the solution, we utilize them to hold ourselves accountable and to act while the development of low-carbon alternatives.”
Carbon offsets, as Foster mentions, are not a perfect solution–but they are useful as the world moves out of fossil fuels. It’s not possible for society to simply flip a switch and abandon fossil fuels in a matter of hours. So, in the meantime carbon offsets can be a part of the equation as forward-thinking and environmentally responsible actors work to put together a sustainable future.
Here’s a look at the details a look at carbon offsets–what they are, the reasons they’re important, arguments for their use, as well as some of the criticisms that are made against carbon offsets. Learn more on carbon.credit
What Is Carbon Offsetting?
Carbon offsets are a method whereby funds are redirected to projects that reduce global emissions. People or companies often purchase carbon offsets rather than cutting their carbon footprints when emissions appear inexpensible, or can both do so to make their efforts to reduce emissions extend.
Carbon offset initiatives include energy-efficient cook-stoves in rural villages, bio-gas production using organic matter, as well as a wide range of initiatives aimed at reducing the deforestation rate or regenerating damaged forests.
The process of certifying an initiative as being eligible to offset carbon isn’t a simple process. Carbonbay is responsible for guiding companies through the Byzantine regulatory maze that have been put into within the U.N.’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to ensure that not only emissions reductions are legitimate, but that there is an existing source of funding for projects such as this. It is generally a sign that they are a departure from the norm and have a low chances of success without credits. Emissions reduction credits permit projects to get compensation for every metric tons of carbon emissions sucked up. They can be recognized with CDM or other respected standards that include The Gold Standard, and the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).
“Carbon offset … helps environmental projects that can’t secure funding by themselves.”
Pros and Cons of Carbon Offsetting. Pros of Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offset offers benefits at both ends It assists environmental projects who are unable to obtain funding on their own and gives businesses a greater chance to decrease the carbon emissions of their operations.
A lot of companies aren’t able to reduce their carbon footprint as they’d like to. In some cases, this is due to the fact that their footprint is already very small (e.g. software companies) However, they’d like to expand. Other industries, for instance, heavy equipment and ocean transportation, don’t have alternatives that are low carbon to service their market at present. By helping to fund environmental projects that cut emissions, businesses can help make more up for the emissions they can’t eliminate themselves.
While most offset purchases are voluntary however, there are certain jurisdictions in which they are required in order to adhere to local regulations and standards to get rid of penalty. Another benefit of using the offset method. It gives regulators a tool to enforce environmental policies.
Other companies use offsets to prove that all or some portion of their operations are “carbon zero” or even “carbon positive.” Additionally, offsets provide an opportunity for these businesses to keep track of their own carbon footprint. A lot of consumers nowadays prefer to do transactions with such businesses.
Carbon offset provides valuable resources for projects that typically trap carbon in the form of forest growth and other mechanisms or avoid emission, for example, renewable energy generation, or using clean energy appliances. Focusing on projects that will not attract different types of financing for example, a first-of-its-kind in a given region They can be a great alternative to the more traditional financing mechanisms.
Once a project that is successful is achieved by offsetting, and proven its viability It is usually much easier for similar, follow-on projects to attract other funding sources.
The results of studies that have been conducted have shown offsetting to be an effective way to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon Offsetting: The Cons of Carbon Offsetting
Many criticisms have been directed at carbon offsets, too. Certain of them are philosophical, objecting to the idea that rich businesses can buy their way out of their carbon emissions, instead of taking on more direct accountability for their carbon emissions. Some argue that offsets weaken the need for more aggressive collective action, like carbon taxes. Are offsets letting polluters out of the loop too easily?
Other sources point to more practical issues:
Certain forests protected by offsets have been later found to have been burned or burned or logged. It’s possible this may have been intentional by the people who were receiving the offsets.
Are they really required and could the work have been completed without the credits?
Are carbon measurements reliable, and can the companies that are monitoring them be trusted to conduct correct accounting?
What is the problem with fraud?
Are global warming occurring too quickly to carbon offsets be beneficial?
There are legitimate questions here. While no system is perfect However, many of these concerns have been acknowledged and will be addressed in the future as carbon standards and practices change.
Carbon offsets are not intended to substitute for immediate action but instead as a complement or in some cases, as the only possible option. The airline industry makes use of many offsets, as there is no way for commercial aircrafts to fly today without fossil fuels. As part of an international program called CORSIA that will see them limit emissions in 2019 and 2020 and have pledged to offset any increase in emissions beginning in 2021.
In the case of forests disappearing following qualifying for offsets, this issue was addressed in the most recent VCS standard. It only allows for payments to be made in the case of forest carbon sequestration that has already occurred, as in the past decade. To mitigate further risk, a proportion of credits earned are set aside in “pooled buffers” for unforeseen loss, similar to the insurance policies.
The measurement process is also changing. Renewable energy sources are simple to gauge, since the only requirement is to check the meter. Land-use projects like forestry may be more challenging However, the models are becoming more accurate, and technologies like GPS satellite imagery, drones are now useful in forming a more detailed picture of how much carbon remains stored.
How You Can Track and Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Carbon offset is a common practice across companies. But banks are working with tech companies to get consumers involved. For instance, Swedish fintech startup Doconomy has joined forces together with Finnish Aland Bank to help regular people understand the carbon impact on the majority of purchases.
The Aland Index calculates the carbon footprint of each item purchased by a buyer based on some 200 parameters. Paula DiPerna, who was key in the creation of the first global cap and trading system back in 2003 has called the index “a game-changing tool” which converts the intangibles into the form of a dollar. Consumers can then apply this value to offset emissions created from an item, thereby making purchases carbon neutral.
According to Helena Mueller, head of Aland Index Solutions and co-founder of Doconomy, “the index was created to establish a mutual language for the climate in all personal finance management, by setting a credible, global standard, in addition to giving the planet a voice in every pocket and at every point of sale.”
Customers are able to access the index using the DO app. It’s available only in Sweden, but Bank of the West teamed up together with Doconomy for the purpose of bringing it into the US to be part of its 1 percent for the Planet account. With the mobile banking app you can use you can use Aland Index is applied to transactions in order to determine the carbon footprint of purchases made using the 1% for Planet debit card. Planet debit card.
“The carbon footprint is shown in pounds and/or kilo carbon produced as well as Carbon’s social costs, i.e. the “real cost” of a product or service, after the negative effect of climate change is accounted for,” Mueller says. Mueller. “The bank in this instance, Bank of the West, has the option to let their customers see the carbon footprint for each transaction by day, week, month, and year.”
Armed with this information Individual consumers can control their carbon footprint. After all, it’s impossible to change the things you can’t measure.
