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THE CYCLE – OFFSET
KICK THE HABIT
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Offset while you work
A company called Vebnet, which supplies technology and support services
for employee benefits, has announced a service enabling 250 000 UK em-
ployees to help combat climate change directly through their monthly pay.
In partnership with PURE – the Clean Planet Trust, individuals can calcu-
late their emissions online and compensate the environment for their own
CO
2
pollution by “giving as they earn” through the flexible benefits pro-
gramme provided by their employer. By combining PURE’s and Vebnet’s
online technology, employees from 170 UK companies can take respon-
sibility for their household and travel emissions, offsetting all or part in
monthly payments from their pay.
SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS
For organizations in general, to offset their emissions they have to decide
whether they are worried about direct emissions generated during op-
erations; product life-cycle emissions, linked to a product from cradle to
grave; or emissions arising from a specific activity, such as business travel
or commuting. These questions should be answered by the GHG inven-
tory that is in the beginning of the process. Among others, one GHG
calculator especially developed for businesses is at
www.safeclimate.net/calculator
. For non-individuals, online calculators from offset providers
on their websites are in most cases not specific enough. However, many
offset providers offer their services in helping to calculate the emissions
to their customers.
Depending on the amount of offsets you need to purchase, you might want
to choose the type of project you would like to invest in. As mentioned
above, commonly there is a certain minimum amount required, but it
might be worth looking into that option in the interest of your organization
or for advertizing your efforts.
The GHG emissions of the FIFA World Cup in 2006 in Germany were en-
tirely compensated with carbon offsets that were financed by the sponsors
of the event and the FIFA. Until then it was the biggest single offsetting
project and it was executed by MyClimate in Switzerland. It was requested
that the emissions reduction projects should regard environmental and sus-