The planet is on fire, literally.

Not only is Earth warming at an alarming rate, our climate is also becoming more unpredictable and extreme, making our planet significantly harder to live on. Droughts are happening 1.7x more often, there is 1% less global snow cover, extreme precipitation happens 1.3x more often and our planet is now 6.7% wetter and 1.2℃ hotter. As seen with the recent flooding in Pakistan, this extreme weather can be devastating. But how can brands and companies take real action to measure and minimise their carbon footprints? We're here to help you navigate the carbon offsetting controversies, and help you make an informed decision on the carbon issue our industry is facing.

Carbon is part of the problem

Carbon is a greenhouse gas, which means it traps heat on the surface of our planet and stops it from escaping in a phenomenon called "the greenhouse effect". Whilst there are multiple greenhouse gasses, carbon is considered the main climate change driver because it contributes more than any other gas. Not only is carbon responsible for the majority of our planet's warming, it is also here to stick around. Once C02 is emitted into the atmosphere, 40% will remain for the next 100 years, 20% will reside for 1000 years, while the final 10% will take 10,000 years to dissipate. This means our current emissions are literally determining the climate for our children, grandchildren and future generations.

Carbon solutions

For an individual or business to state they are "carbon neutral" they must accurately purchase carbon credits that are equivalent to the total emissions being released. When looking at purchasing these credits, there is a minefield of options which can be overwhelming. There are two overarching types of offsets: carbon avoidance and carbon removal. Generally carbon avoidance, such as investing in wind power, is cheaper (under £10/tonne) and more readily available. Whereas, carbon removal is more expensive (£10-100/tonne) and not as easy to purchase on the voluntary credit market.

Carbon Avoidance projects:

• Developing renewable energy projects, such as [developing wind farms]
• Incentivizing farmers to leave fields fallow to stock carbon
• Protecting endangered forests from deforestation, leaving carbon stocks intact

Carbon Removal projects:

• Nature-based, such as regenerating forests and wetlands, which stock carbon and restore biodiversity
• Tech-based, using strategies like direct air capture (DAC) or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
• Hybrid strategies, such as enhancing root crops

Avoid or Remove?

Whilst carbon avoidance is arguably a more passive approach and will not reduce the carbon we currently have in our atmosphere, it mustn't be overlooked as part of the climate solution. Offset projects often involve a mixture of both carbon removal and avoidance, although avoidance is much harder to measure than removal.

"It's very difficult to separate the effects of pulling carbon out of the air from not putting pollution back up in the air," explains Danny Cullenward, policy director of CarbonPlan, a nonprofit that analyzes carbon removal opportunities based on the best available science and data.

Organisations that set standard protocols for offsetting and verify projects, such as Gold Standard are key to understanding the minefield that is carbon offsetting.

Oxford University has created a "principles for credible offsetting" that outlines the most effective ways to mitigate our carbon crisis. These principles state that "most offsets available today are emission reductions, which are necessary but not sufficient to achieve net zero in the long run". Carbon removal is the only viable way forward to align with our warming goals. Although removal credits are still hard to get hold of in the voluntary credit market, creating demand for these offsets today will increase supply.

Photo by Unsplash

Overall, carbon removal may be the only realistic option when aiming to align with global warming goals, and with new and exciting removal technologies being regularly developed, this is a great time to get clued up on this mitigation strategy. However, we must not overlook the power of carbon avoidance.

The best strategy we recommend is to align your sustainability goals with removing your current emission footprint at an accurate level, with the end goal of setting avoidance targets and ultimately aiming for a net zero level.

Not sure where to begin? Good-Loop can help you. We've launched Green Media Technology that can help you measure and minimise your campaigns' carbon footprint. Reach out to our team to find out more.