In a bid to become more sustainable, carbon offsetting is set to become a key part of reducing businesses’ carbon footprint. Communicating this offsetting activity is an often overlooked, but important part of the process. That’s why we’ve put together a step-by-step guide to publicly sharing your carbon offsetting activity in a clear, concise and effective way.
1. Ensure full disclosure and total transparency in offsetting
So, you’ve done your research, accounted for your unavoidable emissions and taken action to offset them with high-quality carbon credits to become a more sustainable business. The next step is to share this achievement with your employees, stakeholders, customers and wider public and press relations.
Before diving right into the impacts and metrics of your offsetting, it’s important to remember the first and arguably most important thing to do: ensure full disclosure and total transparency in your communication.
This begins with knowing, and openly disclosing, the details of your carbon offsets.
You’ll need:
- The project name and/or ID – this will be a short reference code which tracks your offset in a carbon registry database to ensure access to all project details.
- The country of origin (where the emission removal/reduction/avoidance took place)
- The technology used
- What year the removal/reduction/avoidance occurred (referred to as its ‘vintage’)
- Any co-benefits beyond carbon removal, sequestering or avoidance. These are often aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and could be environmental, social or economic benefits .
It’s helpful to directly link to the project or offset registry in your communication, to enhance transparency. You’ll also need to be clear about your overall long term carbon reduction strategy and how this offsetting activity fits into it. Your carbon offsetting could backfire if you are not 100% clear that your offsetting is not a license to continue polluting, but a final step in the pathway to reducing emissions in line with science-based targets.
Part of this is emphasising that you are offsetting your unavoidable emissions. This includes being transparent about the internal carbon reductions you have already made before looking to purchase offsets. For example, have you reduced staff corporate travel as much as possible? Have you switched to a renewable energy provider for your manufacturing and operations or installed renewable heat pumps in your office spaces?
2. Request proof of the offset retirement
There is more to carbon offsetting than purchasing carbon credits. As an offset buyer, you will receive a certificate of the total amount of emissions your carbon credits account for but there is one more crucial step.
You must be certain that the offsets you purchased have been retired or cancelled.
If you don’t have an account with your offset registry, you can request proof of the cancellation or retirement of your carbon credit from your supplier. This essentially means that the carbon savings from your offset purchase are removed from circulation and can’t be sold on to another offset buyer.
This is a vital step in the effectiveness of the carbon offset market. It’s proof that the emissions reductions from our offsets will not be double counted as they have been retired from the registry, which means they are no longer available for purchase in the carbon market. In order for your offset supplier to generate new carbon credits, they will need to provide evidence of further offsetting activity and more carbon cuts.
3. Request a full media package from your offset supplier/project
Most offset suppliers will be ready and willing to equip you with a full media package, inducing any logos,images and footage you need to share your offsets in a blog, newsletter, press release or on social media.
This is all about building trust and confidence in your offsetting activity through social proof and data. This is essential in communicating your offsetting activity and positioning your business as a climate leader. Your climate action doesn’t need to revolve around regulation and compliance and monitoring. Those elements are important, but behind every high-quality carbon offsetting project is a powerful story that can help build your brand image as a climate responsible company and offer engaging, visual content for your stakeholders and customers.
For example, if your offsets are protecting a vibrant, ecologically important tropical forest, use the high quality imagery and photography provided by your offset supplier to enhance your communications. If one of the co-benefits of your offsets is energy access for rural homes in India, ask your offset supplier for a case study from the people and families that benefit from this new technology.
Try to offer a full picture of the scope of your offsetting activity, whilst putting into context the carbon reductions you have purchased. Remember, carbon offsetting is no silver bullet and can’t save the planet on its own, but there are incredible projects unfolding all over the world that go beyond emissions reductions.
4. Don’t exaggerate or overestimate your offsetting activity
This is where many companies and organisations can draw criticism for their carbon offsetting communications. Be cautious not to overestimate or hyperbolise your carbon offsetting activity.
Consumers are becoming more aware of greenwashing than ever. There are some who see carbon offsetting claims as a license to continue business-as-usual operations without implementing a proper carbon reductions strategy.
Always remember, and mention in your communications, that your offsets are one element of your journey towards emissions draw down. Be absolutely clear in your use of terminology – don’t use the term ‘carbon neutral’ unless you have first reduced and then offset all your emissions across Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3.
If this is not the case, it is advisable to refer to your actions as ‘climate responsible’ as an alternative to accurately reflect your position and avoid falsely claiming to be carbon neutral, until you have accounted for, reduced and offset Scope 3 emissions.
It is important to show that you are actively working towards reducing your carbon footprint and demonstrating a commitment to science-based targets, outside of your carbon offset purchase.
5. Continue to share and be proud of your offsetting achievement and the project you have supported
Your offset purchase has an impact. This doesn’t vanish when the offset is retired, in fact high-quality carbon offset projects have impacts that last, and often keep generating positive returns.
This is something to be genuinely proud of as a company, and to share consistently. Give semi-regular updates on any offset projects you support to keep your stakeholders engaged with your climate action. Help your employees share the projects you support by communicating internally about your offsetting activity. For some businesses, it may be possible to involve team members in the decision making process when selecting carbon offsets, which improves collaboration and partnership.
Stay up to date with project news from your offset supplier by reaching out for updates or following their appropriate social media accounts and sharing any news you feel is engaging or relevant to your own audience.
Carbon offsetting is edging toward becoming an integral part of responsible, sustainable business. By getting to grips with the best practice for communicating this part of your operations, you are already showing leadership in sustainability and future-proofing your business.
