About Offsetting

You can think of carbon offsetting as a way of compensating for 'damage' done.

If releasing Carbon Dioxide (C02) damages the atmosphere, and if there are C02-releasing activities that you have to do, then, through a carbon offsetting scheme, you can do something to repair the damage.

An offsetting scheme works by taking the money paid into the scheme and investing it in projects that will actively reduce the amount of C02 being released into the atmosphere. There are numerous such schemes that work in different ways, invest in different projects and have different levels of openness and accountability.

With some justification, many of these schemes have been criticised as not being 'fit for purpose'. We have the same concerns, and that is why we have set up our own properly managed and open scheme, that we - and you - can trust.

Offsetting your carbon emissions is not an excuse to pollute. Rather, it's a way to take responsibility for C02 emissions that can't be avoided. If you are keen to combat climate change then, first and foremost, we encourage you to reduce the C02 emissions you are personally responsible for - your carbon footprint.

However, you will not be able to reduce your climate footprint to zero, and so you can invest in an offsetting scheme to counter those C02 emissions that you can't avoid being responsible for.

You can find out more about our approach to offsetting by visiting our main site, Combat Climate Change.