Do this before buying offsets

There are times when buying carbon credits, or offsets, really is a good option.

Let’s say you’re super keen to buy an electric vehicle. For whatever reason, it’s just not an option for you yet, but you still want to do whatever good you can while you have the car you have.

Reducing emissions is always better than offsetting them. Always.

Buuut, for projects when reducing emissions will take a long time to achieve (like saving up for an EV), or can’t be started for a while, or there just isn’t an obvious way to reduce the emissions from this thing, buying offsets is one easy way to get something rolling in the interrim.

Ok, so let’s say you’ve decided you’re going to offset your car use.

Before you pay for any offsetting program, try putting these 3 things into place first:

• Set a realistic date for when you expect to upgrade to an EV, eg: “by July 2025”. This is not a contract – you can change it, but giving yourself a pseudo “deadline” gives you something tangible to work with.
• Do your due diligence on offset providers, and try to ensure they meet the definition of “high-quality carbon offsets” (follow this).
• Acknowledge that you’re doing a good thing, but avoid declaring victory or claiming you’re saving the planet (yet).

For bonus points, if it’s related to your business, declare what you’re doing on a public page on your website.

State your pseudo deadline and the offsets you’ve purchased, as well as spelling out that last point above 👉 it shows that you know there’s more you can do–and fully intend to do when you can–without the smokescreen of “We’re 100% carbon neutral!” type messages.

And of course, this applies to more than just vehicles 😉