What’s your number one priority when investing in carbon offsetting projects? Of course, you need to know that every ton of carbon avoided is genuine, but what else is important?
Ambitious organizations are looking to make a bigger impact. They are choosing projects that deliver significant non-carbon benefits and help achieve global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
So how can you create positive non-carbon impacts by choosing the right offsetting project?
How Does Cutting Carbon Contribute Towards SDGs?
Increasingly, forward-thinking businesses are realizing that emissions reduction is not a standalone activity. The global nature of trade, supply chains, and brands is inseparable from the interconnected issues of climate change, sustainability, poverty, and equality.
To achieve climate security and sustainable development for everyone, each investment must deliver multiple positive outcomes through ambitious multi-dimensional projects.
Outcomes that were previously thought of as ‘co-benefits’ have become an integral part of offset project design, such as improving health, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods or increasing biodiversity.
Experienced offset project designers consider every potential impact – positive or negative – from the outset, to direct investment where it is most needed and deliver the maximum benefit.
This holistic approach ensures that every carbon offsetting project not only contributes towards limiting global warming to 1.5⁰C but also moves us closer to achieving the 17 Global Goals.
How Are Non-Carbon Outcomes Measured?
When designing a carbon offset scheme, there is considerable flexibility for developers to differentiate their projects, quantify a range of impacts and monetize their value to ensure improvement.
Different types of project can deliver multiple different SDG contributions. The Gold Standard has calculated that, for each ton of carbon avoided, its projects deliver up to $177 of additional value towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
It has been demonstrated that a clean water project, for example, can deliver $118 of health impacts per ton of carbon; a reforestation project can deliver $177 of biodiversity and employment benefits per ton; and a cookstove project can deliver $151 of employment, livelihood and health benefits for every ton of carbon.
Verification against a global carbon offset standard – such as the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard – guarantees that for every project, data are rigorously collected and impacts are accurately monitored and reported.
This enables investors to report the greenhouse gas emissions reductions with complete confidence while highlighting the measurable contribution their organization has made towards global sustainability.
Why Invest in Carbon Offsets?
If your company is keen to support biodiversity, alleviate poverty, improve health or promote gender equality, it may not seem obvious to invest in carbon offsets.
But a great offset project can achieve all of these – and more – by cost-effectively combining climate mitigation action with broader sustainability impacts.
Carbon offsetting schemes such as NativeEnergy’s Help BuildTM projects generate funding that would be otherwise unavailable to non-carbon projects by leveraging climate action.
By choosing progressive carbon offsets to reach your emissions goals, you can also make progress towards your other corporate sustainability targets, maximize the value of your investment and meet the expectations of your stakeholders.
Choosing The Right Offset Provider
As an expert provider of progressive offsets, NativeEnergy has the experience and know-how to design complex offset projects that meet rigorous international standards while helping you achieve both science-based emissions reduction targets and sustainability goals.
If you are keen to invest in progressive carbon offsetting projects that also contribute towards global Sustainable Development Goals in a meaningful way, contact us.