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quality criteria

There is quite some controversy around carbon offset and carbon offset programs and projects. Some of it is valid and much is avoidable. Being aware of the challenges and concerns that exist, we have defined a set of quality criteria in our offset strategy that we will use in the selection of the partners and projects we invest our money in. These criteria are in line with the key criteria for high quality offset programs as defined in the carbon offset guide1. Below we provide more insight into the key challenges to tackle.   

debate about the actual contribution

There is debate about the actual contribution and role carbon offset must play in the mix of actions needed to fight climate change. There is skepticism about the actual impact that can be achieved, and the extent carbon offset is just a tool used for greenwashing by (large) corporations and governments. In addition, there are reservations about the quality of carbon offset programs and the carbon credits traded as a result of these programs. There are 3 key topics to address when looking at the quality of carbon offsets: how carbon credits are used, the quality of carbon offset projects and their additionality.  

The topic of additionality is the key to making sure that money invested in carbon offset projects creates an impact that would not have been realized anyway and therefore actually compensates for emissions that occurred elsewhere. We need to make sure the projects we invest in reduce greenhouse gas emissions on top of all the other things that are done to fight climate change. At the same time additionality will always be somewhat subjective so the best that can be done is to determine how likely it is a project is additional. The carbon offset guide states on additionality:  

“Evaluating whether GHG reductions are additional can be deceptively difficult. The challenge is that GHG-reducing activities occur all the time. Sometimes this is because activities are required by law. Landfill operators in California, for example, are required to install equipment that captures and destroys methane. In other cases, investments that reduce emissions are made simply because they are profitable, without any consideration of carbon offset credits. An investment in energy-saving lighting, for example, can pay for itself through avoided energy costs. Similarly, renewable energy technologies, like wind and solar, are increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels, without revenue from carbon offset sales. For an activity or project to be additional, the possibility to sell carbon offset credits must play a decisive (“make or break”) role in the decision to implement it.”

Other important quality issues that we need to be mindful of when evaluating projects that we want to invest in are the potential to overestimate actual reductions achieved and the permanence of reductions. For carbon offset to have a lasting effect the reductions achieved should be permanent and not be re-emitted into the atmosphere at any time. Many carbon credits make use of the standard convention that carbon “only” needs to be kept out of the atmosphere for a period of 100 years or even less. There are also types of projects, for example forestry projects where work of the land or a fire may lead to a re-emission of some, or all CO2 stored. Scientifically anything less than indefinite should not be seen as permanent. More details about these and other quality topics can be found here

The last topic we want to discuss here is the topic of greenwashing. This basically comes down to having the wrong incentive for using carbon offset programs or credits, not using them to create additional climate change mitigation for unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions on top of other greenhouse gas reduction goals. There can be a temptation to use carbon credits to achieve a large part or all the greenhouse gas reduction goals rather than investing in measures to reduce the carbon footprint. Carbon offset should always be part of a broader sustainability strategy that includes a mix of measures with a strong focus on avoiding and reducing carbon emissions wherever feasible. 

In this page you can read more about our current carbon footprint offset strategy. 

our offset strategy

Much of the text on this page is based on the text of “common criticism of carbon offset” and other texts provided by the carbon offset guide website.  

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