{"id":2119,"date":"2022-12-19T07:00:15","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T07:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ie.amtivo.com\/resources\/%resource%\/https-ceurope-submerge-digital-insights-how-to-start-with-carbon-offset-schemes\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T11:25:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T10:25:39","slug":"how-to-start-with-carbon-offset-schemes","status":"publish","type":"resources-filter","link":"https:\/\/amtivo.com\/ie\/resources\/insights\/how-to-start-with-carbon-offset-schemes\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Carbon Offsetting? How To Get Your Company Started"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carbon offset schemes are top of the agenda for many businesses looking to become more sustainable and do their bit in combating climate change.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

As well as helping the environment, taking responsibility to tackle climate change can have business-related benefits, such as an improved public image.<\/p>\r\n

There is a growing public concern over climate change.<\/p>\r\n

A 2021 survey revealed that 45% of Irish consumers<\/a> have stopped buying products from companies that had failed to take action against climate change, with 57% of consumers<\/a> choosing to buy goods from companies actively trying to reduce climate change.<\/p>\r\n

These figures highlight the need for organisations to take responsibility for reducing their carbon emissions. Carbon offsetting is one way an organisation can take action to reduce its carbon footprint.<\/p>\r\n

The government\u2019s Climate Action Plan<\/a> has set national targets for tackling climate change, including recommendations for organisations to adopt carbon-reduction practices such as switching transport to electric fleets, cutting emissions and working towards a greener economy and society.<\/p>\r\n

For organisations struggling to reduce unavoidable emissions, carbon offsetting is a viable option to decrease their carbon footprint.<\/p>\r\n

Read our guide to how to make small business sustainability a priority<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

\"carbon<\/p>\r\n

What is carbon offsetting?<\/h2>\r\n

Carbon offsetting balances out the existing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions you produce by removing, capturing or compensating the equivalent GHGs somewhere else.<\/p>\r\n

It allows organisations to balance the carbon emissions they cannot reduce by investing in environmental projects, such as capturing and storing carbon or planting trees elsewhere to compensate for their company’s carbon emissions.<\/p>\r\n

The scheme can benefit energy, transportation or logistics companies, for example, that are unable to avoid the release of GHGs due to the nature of their business.<\/p>\r\n

Carbon offset scheme works by removing from the environment the equivalent amount of GHG emissions produced by an organisation.<\/p>\r\n

Read our guide to going green \u2013 sustainability challenges and how to overcome them<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

What are carbon credits?<\/h2>\r\n

Essentially, carbon credits allow your business to emit GHG in the future.<\/p>\r\n

Like carbon offsetting, a single carbon credit represents one tonne of carbon removed from the atmosphere for each tonne of carbon produced by an organisation. Carbon credits are a helpful way to set a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas a company emits and can be used as a ceiling on the amount of GHGs their activities produce.<\/p>\r\n

Carbon credits act as a monetary incentive for companies to reduce their emissions. Organisations are capped at a certain number of credits but will not be penalised for overbuying credits as if they emit fewer emissions than the number of credits they have bought they can sell their excess credits to another business.<\/p>\r\n

Carbon offsetting and carbon credits are similar, but the main difference is that carbon offsetting aims to balance created emissions with similar sustainable activities, while carbon credits give an organisation the right to produce a capped amount of carbon.<\/p>\r\n

Learn more about the circular economy and what it means for organisations<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

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Is carbon offsetting bad?<\/h2>\r\n

Carbon offsetting is a controversial subject. Critics argue that it is a cheat’s way of reducing your emissions, while supporters see it as a viable way for an organisation to do their bit in offsetting the carbon they must emit as part of their core business operations.<\/p>\r\n

There are both pros and cons of carbon offsetting.<\/p>\r\n

Pros of carbon offsetting<\/h3>\r\n