Carbon offsetting
Carbon offsetting is becoming a popular way in which individuals and companies can help to repair the damage that they cause to the environment by investing in forestry schemes. The idea is that the carbon released into the environment as part of the person or business's activities will be offset by the carbon that the newly planted forest will absorb from the environment.
Joint purchasing
However, it can sometimes be difficult for smaller companies - or less affluent individuals - to participate fully in offsetting their carbon because planting forests is a pricey business. For that reason, many companies get together and offset their carbon together, through joint purchasing. Perhaps the best way to think of it is like owning shares in a racehorse - smaller stakeholders that could not afford to buy a horse themselves can still enjoy owning a part share, and the same principal applies to those smaller businesses whose carbon output and turnover does not mean that planting a whole forest is either necessary or affordable.
Unfortunately, it is very easy to get things wrong if you are not entirely sure what you should be looking for when it comes to carbon offsetting and even with the best intentions, it is possible to make things worse, rather than better.
Advice on carbon offsetting
For example, investing in a monoculture forest (ie made up of only one type of tree) can do serious damage to local ecosystems. Alternatively, the forest may not be a permanent or sustainable one, in which case the carbon that has been offset by growing the trees may be returned to the environment through logging at a later date - thus meaning you have wasted your investment and that the planet is no better off!
This is where the Unicorn Ecological Foundation can come in. We can offer you advice on the things to look out for when selecting a partner in offsetting your carbon, and put you in touch with the right people to make sure that you succeed in achieving your goals when it comes to carbon offsetting. Use the contact us page to get in touch with our expert team, and we can give you further specialist advice to help you play your part in reducing your environmental impact.