Carbon offsets are one of the hottest topics in business right now.
The economy is trying to rapidly go carbon neutral, and business leaders want to know how to integrate carbon offsets into their strategy.
Most people focus at least a little on reducing their carbon footprint. They'll drive less, eat vegetarian or vegan, turn off the lights, etc. You know, all those little things that add up.
But business leaders have an amazing opportunity to make an even bigger impact by reducing the carbon footprint of their business!
Take a moment to think about your carbon footprint. How much greenhouse gas pollution comes from your lifestyle? I'll wait...
Done? Great.
Now, calculate the carbon footprint of your business. All the shipping, energy consumption, manufacturing, materials, packaging, etc. It’s probably waaaaay more than your personal footprint, right? In terms of cutting emissions, there’s so much more opportunity and a much greater impact to be made by cutting your business’s emissions.
So, how can Carbon Offsets help?
Carbon Offsetting simply means you pay a small fraction of your profits to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, to counteract the CO₂ that's produced from your business operations.
Customers love supporting businesses that are actively part of the solution to the climate crisis. Forbes found that a whopping 88% of consumers want businesses to help them make a positive impact in the world. So reducing your business’s carbon footprint is not only vitally important in terms of global warming, it’s also a brilliant business strategy. Going green is likely to attract many new customers, especially Millennials and Gen Z who have enormous purchasing power and are likely to recommend their favorite businesses to their peers.
How can you integrate Carbon Offsetting into your business strategy?
1. Eliminate all the emissions you can from your operations.
Do a systematic audit of your business, no matter how big or how small it is and find out where can you reduce your emissions:
Where can you choose to use a more sustainable material?
Use a cleaner fuel or go electric?
Switch to renewable energy?
Optimize your delivery system for minimal fuel consumption?
Choose energy efficient appliances?
Eliminate waste?
Use reusable containers instead of disposables?
Reduce energy consumption?
Etc.
No matter what your business is, unless you’ve already done this work to go carbon neutral, there’s some way to reduce your business’s carbon footprint.
This is certainly the most important step, but the one too many business leaders skip over. This is why many people feel that Carbon Offsets are just eco-indulgences, a way for businesses to greenwash their brand image without making meaningful changes to their business model. Consumers today are very savvy to greenwashing, so it can easily backfire on business owners looking to boost sales without creating meaningful changes. So let’s be clear: Carbon Offsets should be only one step in your sustainability strategy. Please invest in tangible sustainability goals, and reduce your emissions before you turn to Carbon Offsets.
2. Contact a Carbon Offset Company
Carbon Offset companies are organizations that help businesses and individuals direct their money toward projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere. This is mostly done via tree planting and nature restoration, but there are so many different kinds of projects that your dollars can fund. Carbon Offset companies have done the work of verifying these projects, to make sure they meet strict criteria, so that your money has the greatest impact:
Projects must be permanent, meaning for example, that if trees are planted, they’re protected and they won’t be logged in the future.
Projects must also provide additionality, meaning that the project actually needs your funding to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Otherwise, your money isn’t having a real impact. That's why tree-planting projects are the most common type of carbon offset, because they need constant funding to grow saplings, hire planters, and run their operations.
Many Carbon Offset companies also go the extra mile to find projects that provide many co-benefits, meaning the projects have a larger positive impact than just carbon removal. For example, when you fund mangrove forest restoration in Mozambique, your dollars go toward employing local people to replant a native species that then provides habitat for other native flora and fauna, while also protecting the local community from storm surges, preventing coastal erosion, and providing economic benefits for the community, from food to eco-tourism.
Many Carbon Offset companies will also give you regular updates on the progress that’s been made with your contributions, which you can then use in your business’s marketing materials. The Carbon Offset Company even provides contributors with a personalized dashboard to track the progress made by your business's contribution.
3. Tell The World!
Yes, greenwashing is an issue. It undermines the public's confidence in solutions to the climate crisis and breeds cynicism. But, greenhushing is also a problem!
Greenhushing means a company is doing something good for the environment, but they don't publicize it. We need businesses to talk loudly about the real, tangible progress they're making toward carbon neutrality and sustainability. Why? Because it pushes your entire industry to catch up!
And customers want to know. The public is so keen to support green businesses right now, so make sure you let everyone know about your substantial green achievements.
How?
Plaster it on the front page of your website.
Put reminders on every price tag.
Advertise it on your packaging.
Email all your subscribers.
Contact your local news station. They usually love to interview local sustainability champions, and you get a ton of local credibility. Plus you can post the story on your website.
And of course, post it on all your social media channels. Put it in your LinkedIn Bio, your Twitter bio, your Instagram bio, and your Facebook about me. You can make periodic posts about your progress, like tree count posts that you can post as Instagram photos or stories, Facebook updates, Tweets, Pins, even Tik Toks! The Carbon Offset Company has materials our partners can use for social media marketing as well.
Integrating Carbon Offsetting into your business strategy can set your company apart as a thought leader and reshape how the public perceives your brand. Your business can become a forward-thinking, action-taking model for your industry. If you want to get started right now, visit our consultation page to get the ball rolling today!
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