Sustainability, the environment, recycling, carbon emissions – these are all hot topics on everyone’s lips, whether you work for an organisation and are responsible for CSR or if you’re an individual consumer, it’s everywhere and completely unavoidable.
We are all responsible for minimising our impact on the environment, so what options are available to organisations who want to give back? Offsetting your carbon footprint could be a great place to start.
Reducing your carbon footprint includes minimising the use of natural resources and buying consciously.
For some industries, energy use from fossil fuels is likely unavoidable, so offsetting carbon emissions is a responsible way to balance out the impact to the environment.
Partnering with a specialist organisation or investing in an environmental project to offset carbon emissions evidences your business commitment to the environment today and for the future.
We’ve been doing lots of research on this topic, and as we know that sustainability within our industry is an important for everyone, we thought we’d share with you what we found… In this post, we share 10 ways to offset your carbon footprint.
It’s important to note that we are not affiliated with any of these organisations, we are simply sharing some top initiatives that if you’re on a journey of sustainability, we think you might find interesting…
10 ways to offset your carbon footprint…
Carbon Footprint – https://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Leading online carbon footprint calculation tools and information to help reduce and offset your emissions – for business and individuals.
eForests – https://www.eforests.co.uk/Default.asp
eForests offer UK woodland creation and peatland restoration projects for carbon capture and ecosystem services or South American rainforest protection. Offer a tree gifting and naming initiative where you can use their tracker to locate dedicated trees.
Green City Solutions – https://greencitysolutions.de/en/
Green City Solutions tackle air pollution and create green urban places by using moss as a natural fine dust filter and combining it with smart IoT technology.
National Forest – https://www.nationalforest.org/
The National Forest Company leads the creation of the National Forest, a wooded landscape for the nation across 200 square miles of central England. There are many ways to get involved such as planting individual trees or entire groves, though to volunteering to manage and upkeep existing woodland.
Tiny Forests – https://earthwatch.org.uk/get-involved/tiny-forests
Environmental issues such as floods and heatwaves, and biodiversity loss, can have serious and long-term impacts on the environment and are only expected to worsen in the face of climate change and rapidly growing urban populations. Nature-based solutions such as Tiny Forests, can help protect cities from the effects of the climate crisis.
Earth Watch – https://earthwatch.org.uk/
Earthwatch is an environmental charity with science at its heart. They drive the change needed to live within our means and in balance with nature. They do this by connecting people with the natural world, monitoring the health of our natural resources, and informing the actions that will have the greatest positive impact.
Trees for Cities – https://www.treesforcities.org/
Trees for Cities is the only UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees in cities. They get stuck in with local communities to cultivate lasting change in their neighbourhoods – whether it’s revitalising forgotten spaces, creating healthier environments or getting people excited about growing, foraging and eating healthy food.
Woodland Trust – https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/
The Woodland Trust plant, protect and restore woodlands. They also partner with many councils and can provide high levels of funding towards planting for landowners.
Review Forest – https://reviewforest.org/en/
Review Forest help businesses get more authentic reviews while giving back to the planet. For each review, a tree is planted by our amazing partner: Plant-for-the-Planet. In addition, €1 is donated to their children’s academies.
Carbon Trust – https://www.carbontrust.com/
The Carbon Trust is an expert partner for businesses, governments and organisations around the world – helping them realise ambitious plans for a sustainable, low carbon future.
Selecting the right partner for you…
Deciding who to partner with will depend on a number of factors. There are so many different options out there so understanding each one properly and then establishing how you, or your organisation would like to offset your carbon and give back to the environment plays an important role.
From making an investment of money or time, right through to getting your hands dirty and volunteering, it’s up to you how you want to manage your journey of sustainability.