Carbon Offsets for Events

There is a lot we can do to reduce the carbon footprint of our events.  The most climate friendly act is to not emit carbon in the first place.  But what happens after you’ve banned single use plastics at your events, and adopted other sustainable practices.  There are always aspects of carbon generated at events that you can’t control, and when you can’t reduce those emissions, you can offset them.  

What are carbon offsets?

Carbon offsets are a donation or investment in an environmentally sustainable project made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.  Carbon credits are purchased, and these credits are invested in projects that offset carbon and other GHGs by removing carbon from the atmosphere or preventing new emissions.  

Carbon offsets don’t magically eliminate the carbon that’s being generated at your events.  However, when you offset the same amount of carbon you produce by reducing emissions somewhere else in the world, you can achieve a carbon neutral footprint.

Carbon offsets are not the solution to climate change.  But, carbon offsets are a good short term strategy for mitigating the effects of climate change.  

When planning events, there are certain emissions we can’t reduce.  The biggest one is air travel as events require a lot of transportation or people (and goods).  Air travel is necessary, and planes can’t be fueled by renewable energy (yet).  Air travel can represent up to 70% of an event’s carbon footprint, and carbon offsets are a great tool to reduce the impacts of transportation to and from your event.

The idea is to fund projects that would have a positive carbon impact, but they need funding.  Carbon offset projects may take place inside and outside the USA.  Some examples of carbon offset projects:

The Big Smile Wind Farm is a carbon offset project based in the US that generates enough energy to power 45,000 homes.  

Jari Pará Redd is a project in Brazil that avoids deforestation and restores natural vegetation in Brazil.  

The Cambodia Water Filter project reduces the need to boil drinking water, thus reducing the need to burn wood for fire, and which also results in cleaner air.

There are different categories of carbon offsets.  These include:

• Forestry / sequestration projects 

• Renewable energy projects 

• Energy efficiency projects 

• Methane capture

• Conservations of coastal ecosystems 

Ideally, carbon offset projects have additional benefits including protection of endangered species, local job creation, protection of traditional livelihoods, improved hygiene, health and education in their communities.  Offsetting can help redistribute wealth, and fund projects that allow the developing world to make a sustainable future for themselves.

How do you choose a project?

Not all projects are equal.  You need to make sure your money is going to a reputable source.  Historically, many of the arguments against carbon offsets came about because the projects themselves were not living up to what they promised to achieve.   In recent years, the carbon offsetting market has become more regulated.  Currently, there are rigorous standards in place to assure that the projects are worthy of investment.  Carbon offset projects should always be verified by third parties. The top third party verifications are The Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard, American Carbon Registry, and Plan Vivo.  

It can take up to two years to get accredited by these organizations, and cost fom $200,000 - $400,000.  They certify projects that not only protect environments and tackle climate change, but also have community benefits and support communities by making sure these projects meet various UN Sustainable Development Goals.  They calculate and verify the amount of carbon sequestered or reduced, and also monitor these projects over time.

These organizations investigate four categories:

• Additionality: If the project would have been pursued if not for carbon offsets, then the project is not additional.

• Leakage: If a forest is prevented from being cut down by a project, does the project prevent a logging company from cutting down a different forest instead?

• Permanence: Will the carbon emissions reduction or mitigation continue for the lifespan of the projects?

• Verification: Can the three categories listed above be verified?

Something to consider about tree planting offsets:  While the average tree absorbs 1 tonne of CO2 in its lifetime, it can take 20 years for trees to grow big enough to absorb that carbon.  Even then, there is always the risk that these trees will not survive, they could be wiped out by droughts, wildfires, tree diseases and deforestation.  

Integrating carbon offsets

Offsets for an event can be paid for in multiple ways.  The event host can pay for the offsets, the event sponsor could pay for the offsets, or the attendees can pay.  When the cost is built into the registration fee, attendees don’t have to justify additional costs to employers, or make separate purchases in order to be a part of the program. 

The cost can be built into the registration fee, or the carbon offset credits can be individually voluntary by creating an optional fee in the registration form. However, if you do it as an ‘opt in,’ there is a smaller take rate, whereas if it’s an opt out (it’s checked and you have to remove it) many more people will pay the fee.

Costs and purchasing

Offsetting air travel is low hanging fruit because it’s the largest part of the event footprint, and it’s easy to calculate.  On average, offsets cost from about $10 to $20 per attendee, depending on how far they have to travel.  

Air travel can be calculated by using the Carbon Footprint calculator here.  Remember to double the miles for a round trip.   My Climate calculates flight or automobile footprints here.

Using Terrapass’ flight calculator here, I determined that my round trip flight from JFK to LAX has a carbon footprint of 3,193 lbs of CO2.  The cost to offset this is approximately $16.

Where to buy carbon offsets

You can hire a company like Terrapass to work directly with you to identify carbon offset projects that fit into your organization’s mission and goals.  You can also buy credits directly from their site.  Terrapass has an event carbon footprint carbon calculator here.

Other companies that sell carbon offsets are Cool Effect and Atmosfair.

Conclusion

Carbon offsets are a donation or investment in an environmentally sustainable project to reduce the impact of the other polluting activities.  Reducing consumption is the most important thing, but sometimes that’s not possible, and we can choose to fund third party verified projects that reduce carbon and have other positive social and economic impacts. Make sure to choose projects that are third party verified using rigorous standards, and also one that has community benefits is very important.

Utilizing carbon offsets don’t remove carbon from the atmosphere, but they can at least neutralize it.  Being accountable for your event’s carbon footprint and taking responsibility to lower it is an important part of sustainable event production. Don’t forget to communicate the carbon offset program to attendees as it positions the event — and the event host — as an environmental leader.