Many businesses want to be viewed as sustainable and environmentally conscious, and carbon neutrality is an excellent method to achieve this. Plus, it also benefits the environment.
Carbon neutrality is the current premium— more businesses are pledging to become environmentally benign through decarbonization initiatives. Microsoft has committed to become net-zero by 2030. Apple has pledged to be 100% carbon neutral by 2030 in its supply chain and products. Google declared a solid elimination of their carbon footprint and also, the switch to completely carbon-free energy by 2030.
What is going on, and what does this all mean?
Terms like carbon offsetting, carbon insetting, and carbon-neutral have been around for a while. But recently, smaller businesses to major enterprises have started using them, primarily for progressive marketing efforts. So, what are these terms— if the quintessential goal is to generate a net positive result, does that imply they all mean the same?
The variety of terms and the insufficient clarity surrounding the terms can drive even the most well-intentioned customer astray. Clear communication and transparency, on the other hand, can further motivate the consumers and also benefit businesses. It is critical to understand these phrases to determine whether a corporation is prepared to minimize or even eliminate its carbon footprint when proclaiming carbon-neutrality.
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What Is Carbon Offsetting?
Carbon offsetting allows businesses to contribute to decarbonization by investing in carbon offsets that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions past what they can accomplish via independent initiative. Organizations invest in carbon offsets (which can be located anywhere around the world) as an attempt to reduce the impact of their GHG emissions. The fundamental idea is that offset credits are utilized to transfer a net climate benefit from one business to another. From the standpoint of climate change, the consequences are the same if an organization discontinues an emission-causing practice or facilitates a comparable emission-reducing action elsewhere in the world.
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What Is Carbon Insetting?
Carbon offsetting and carbon insetting both aim to reduce carbon footprint by eliminating atmospheric carbon emissions—the difference is how they go about it. While carbon insetting is also about lowering the carbon footprint, rather than doing it in an entirely unconnected sector to neutralize the emission damage, it is fixated on lowering carbon emissions within the value chain itself.
Carbon insetting requires organizations to detect high-carbon hotspots throughout the production process while devoting time, money, and effort to decreasing carbon emissions from those places. It is about rectifying activities that emit massive carbon.
When compared to carbon offsetting, it involves a considerable amount of work but it is well worthwhile. With carbon insetting, businesses are not only putting out the fire and combating abusive behavior— but they’re also striving to change the poor behaviors that contribute to climate change, and preventing it from occurring in the future.
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What Is Carbon Neutral?
Carbon neutral indicates that any CO2 emitted into the environment as a result of a company's operations is compensated with an equal amount of extraction. The current motto of many corporations is to become carbon neutral, but how do they do it? One way to go about is by establishing a set of measures to assess the carbon program they're working on. Businesses can, in this way, calculate their company's carbon footprint. Assessing the overall carbon footprint can help gain a clearer insight into how much they need or can do to offset their carbon footprint. Then, taking action in the gravest carbon area (where the organization emits the most) can help minimize carbon emission (followed by balancing out the leftovers).
Carbon Insetting, Carbon-neutral, And Carbon Offset— They Are All Interconnected
Carbon insetting and offsetting are pillars towards achieving carbon-neutral. Insetting or offsetting your carbon footprint sends a clear statement to your community that you are dedicated to paving the road for a more sustainable future. The funds raised through these initiatives are utilized to provide low-carbon technologies to populations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. However, it is important to see to it that the decarbonization initiatives are fair and transparent, involving the local populations in the process.
Conclusion: The Right Head Start
Carbon insetting is the future of lower carbon footprints all around the world— it can give several benefits to organizations that carbon offsetting cannot. But with the enormous amount of work involved in achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the focus seems to be on offsetting emissions rather than insetting. Given the 29 years timeline limit for reaching global net-zero emissions (according to the Paris Climate Agreement's goals), many businesses are geared towards offsetting— a quicker and easier carbon neutralization pathway.
While the reasons are justified, carbon offsetting is still better off as a ditch effort for unforeseen leftover emissions. Insetting is a far more efficacious way for businesses to reduce Scope 3 emissions, increase their commitment to the environment, make a measurable difference in the communities in which they perform, and ultimately achieve carbon neutrality.
Statistics tell us that we have a fatally limited window to fight climate change and that corporations must fulfill their critical role in ensuring the safety of our planet.
So, is your organization deciding on insetting or offsetting to become carbon neutral?
