Green Journal: Offset Carbon with TerraPass
August 13, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , trackback
All the Green Journal actions thus far have been everyday things like bringing reusable bags, gardening organically or pumping up fuel efficiency. This week, I added something different to my actions and explored the world of carbon offsets. Yes, I was casting my doubts on carbon calculators in my rant about carbon count of potato crisps. However, my husband pointed out that for many people, carbon footprints and offsets offer more tangible and measurable results – something a certain (unnamed) anal retentive wife should appreciate.
Carbon offsets have been taking a beating in the press over the past year (basically since its popularity emergence). The basic idea is for businesses or individuals to buy carbon offset credits, green tags or renewable energy certificates, which fund various alternative energy and environmental efforts. Critics have accused offsets of enabling indulgences to diverting attention from real environment solutions to lacking uniform standards. With the proliferation of offset offerings (for cars, planes, travel and home), I can’t say I completely disagree with the skeptics. We all can change every day habits to help the environment but practically speaking, most people (like me) can’t afford to ditch their old car for a new hybrid or install solar panels or not travel for work. With this frame of mind, how is buying a carbon offset so different than supporting the Red Cross or any organization that is furthering a cause? Of course, it is important to understand some comparison and measurement of credibility before “contributing” to any organization. For the offset industry, the experts seem to recommend the following considerations:
- Fund Portfolio: what kinds of projects are being funded and do these projects match your environmental priorities or values?
- Cost efficiency: how much does the company charge to produce equivalent KWH from a renewable project?
- Credibility: are any, some or all the funded projects certified by independent third parties like Green-e. These third parties review projects for accountability and environmental impact verifications. Also look for annual verification and progress reports from the offset companies. Good ones strive for transparency of actions and results, which conscientious participants demand.
After a bit of research, I decided on 
To be upfront, I am slightly biased as it is a local business and the brainchild of a professor from my alma mater. TerraPass began as a class project within the hallowed halls of the Wharton Business School and has evolved into a credible organization with a full team of scientific and industry advisors. Other than proving that not all MBAs are money-grubbing egotists, TerraPass is good for individuals seeking to purchase offsets. I like its project portfolio, focusing on alternative energy, greenhouse gas abatement projects and industrial efforts like the Chicago Climate Exchange. Projects are certified by Green-e, SES and First Environment. I also like the TerraPass Blog which updates members on green news, opinions and thoughts. Reading through the comments, I feel much more comfortable that TerraPass participants are not using the offsets to justify their lifestyles but as a part of their greener lives. TerraPass offers offset for road, travel and home. As I don’t travel much anymore, I purchased a Road TerraPass. The calculator was fairly simple and the pricing was reasonable (even though a bit more expensive than some of the others). I think a decal and a Terra Pass certificate comes with my annual membership. I could do without those but couldn’t figure out a way to decline it.
So my green tally this week (yes I’m trying to tally again):
Time consumed to implement this action: About 10 minutes to purchase the TerraPass but a couple of hours went into research before hand. If you want to save some time, check out this offset comparison chart
Cost: $49.95 based on my driving pattern
Resources spared: 12,000 lbs of CO2 offset (for one year) from the funded projects.
In any case, at initial sign-up, I’m fairly happy with my decision and found a nice blog to follow.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Comments»
While I understand the skeptism about carbon offset programs, I am wondering if any sort of study has been done on what kind of people actually purchase offset credits. I have a suspicion that most people who buy carbon offsets probably care about the environment to begin with (at least more than average) and are likely to be doing other things in their lives to reduce their impact on the environment. The “indulgence” arguement may only apply to a small percent of the carbon offset “consumers”. Just wondering.
I’m curious what your take is on the BusinessWeek article written about TerraPass, exposing their credits as largely useless and non-additional: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_13/b4027057.htm
Mike. Interestingly, the BW article actually helped me decide on TerraPass while browsing the offset industry. The article made good points about this nascent industry and that it really requires uniform standards and governing/policy organizations. Until the offset industry matures,and given its momentum I think it will regardless, these standards are probably slow to come. Like I said, I am still skeptical of carbon calculators, offsets, tags or whatever you want to call it. However, I am testing it as part of my green action portfolio. I would never call myself carbon neutral after spending a bit of money and don’t see the offset as an excuse to stop improving my lifestyle. I’m looking at it as an experiment. And after this “Tonitown” expose, TerraPass did what I think is the right thing by examining the issue and consulting independent experts to delve into the project and its policies rather than denying it. The expert panel conclusion was that Tonitown “met” the minimum requirements of additionality but TerraPass should really realign its portfolio for higher impact projects AND improve its portfolio standards and policies. Because they are now in the spotlight, under scrutiny and have learned their lesson, I believe that their portfolio will be more carefully selected than some of their competitors. If you are curious, there’s a running discussion as well as the final independent report/recommendation posted at http://www.terrapass.com/blog/tag/tontitown/
I think it’s crucial for these offset companies to get their acts together ASAP or else really good projects won’t be funded.
I am particularly excited to give carbon offsets as holiday gifts this year and plan to use 3 Phases Renewables as my source of RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates). They have a cool carbon offset calculator that tells you exactly how many RECs you need to buy to offset, say one trip from NYC to LA. It makes it so easy! Plus, they have been around before green energy was “all the rage” and I particularly respect their dedication to the cause and not to just bank on what some people consider this to be a ‘fad.’ Happy holidays!
Here is the link to the 3 Phases Renewables carbon calculator: http://www.3phasesrenewables.com/calculatoroverview.html
PS: love this blog! (first time poster)
On a different note, I found this article http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=3225220 listing the greenest cities in the US. This shows that municipalities care about climate change. I guess the general population cares about the environment and global warming. My score on their calculator was 400 but at least I am trying. Here is the link to the website that published the list of cites and where the carbon calculator can be found: http://www.earthlab.com. The test took me like 5 minutes tops, and then maybe another 2 minutes to find the pledges I wanted. Pretty cool application.