How does carbon offsetting/neutralising work?
Carbon offsetting is a process that allows individuals and businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by supporting projects that reduce emissions elsewhere. The goal of carbon offsetting is to neutralise one's carbon footprint, meaning that the total impact of an individual or organisation's emissions on the environment is effectively zero.
Here's how carbon offsetting works:
1. Measurement: The first step in carbon offsetting is to measure your carbon footprint, which is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that you are responsible for producing. Tweak has automated this process by collecting your bank account information (after you have given your consent) which includes all your consumption information such as fuel, electricity and food purchases, etc., which form the basis of someone's carbon footprint.
2. Offsetting/Neutralising: Once you have a measurement of your carbon footprint, you can then offset your emissions by supporting projects that reduce emissions elsewhere. This may include investing in renewable energy projects, supporting reforestation or recycling efforts, or funding the development of carbon capture technology.
3. Verification: To ensure that carbon offsetting is effective, it is important to verify that the emissions reductions from offset projects are real, permanent, and additional to what would have happened without the project. This is typically done by third-party organisations that specialise in carbon offset verification. In the case of Tweak, we have partnered with Credible Carbon who maintains an updated record of what projects receive support, how the project is developing and what has been achieved. The project baseline (how much greenhouse gas is emitted before the investment) is prepared at the start of the project, and verified in an independent audit.
4. Retirement of offsets: Once you have purchased offsets, they will be retired in your name, so that no one else can use them to offset their own emissions. This helps to ensure that the emissions reductions are real and are not double-counted.
By supporting emissions reduction projects through carbon offsetting, you can effectively neutralise your carbon footprint and reduce your impact on the environment. It's important to note that carbon offsetting is not a substitute for reducing your emissions as much as possible, but rather it is a way to further minimise your impact and contribute to a more sustainable future.