Stand out as an environmentally responsible business, make your business, product or event Carbon Neutral

"By the end of this century we will be living in a low carbon economy. We have no choice. Our current reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable; our carbon emissions are throwing the climate out of balance" - UK Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks (2006)

What is Carbon Neutral?
When a business claims to be 'carbon neutral' it refers to offsetting the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted from all aspects of a particular activity through the purchase of carbon offset credits.

In March 2007 Virgin Blue announced that it would offer carbon neutral flights as accredited under the Australian Greenhouse Offices (AGO) Green House Friendly Program.

What does my business get at the end of it?
We provide you with our own Carbon Neutral Logo to use on marketing material. In addition we are able to host an edited summary of your carbon neutral assessment on our website. When clients, staff, customers and stakeholders ask about your assessment simply direct them to your online summary to answer their questions.

How do I ensure going Carbon Neutral is successful?
We provide you with our own Carbon Neutral Logo, a clear indicator that your business or activity has undergone an independent evaluation.
We believe the key to managing stakeholder scepticism is transparency. Validate your carbon neutrality by hosting your Carbon Neutral Assessment on our online platform. Verification by an independent third party external to your business lends credibility to your claims. When a client, customer, staff member asks how you became Carbon Neutral simply direct them to the edited summary on our website to answer all their questions.

Can I use an online calculator to go Carbon Neutral?
For a business the simple answer is "No". Going Carbon Neutral is a very involved process that must take into account all aspects of your businesses operation. Simply offsetting your greenhouse emissions associated with activities such as electricity and natural gas consumption, diesel use, and flights is not sufficient to label your business as Carbon Neutral.

What are the issues with going Carbon Neutral?
There is growing confusion and scepticism regarding the widely over used term 'Carbon Neutral'. This is largely due to the fact that there are no national requirements for a company to be allowed to use the term 'Carbon Neutral'.

We believe transparency is the key to managing stakeholder scepticism. To achieve this we can host on our website an edited summary of your carbon neutral assessment to answer all your stakeholders' questions.

Isn't buying carbon offset credits just paying to pollute?
A common argument against purchasing carbon credits is the ‘pay to pollute’ standpoint. Companies have attracted criticism by continuing with 'business as usual' and buying carbon credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions without making a significant effort to improve the efficiency of their operations.

Purchasing carbon credits should be seen as the last step in an energy and greenhouse management program. First try to reduce your greenhouse emissions by conducting energy audits, sourcing energy efficient technology and implementing effective energy management.

We are able to provide energy audits to identifiy energy efficiency opportunities to reduce your energy usage and greenhouse emissions.

What is a carbon offset?
One carbon offset credit equates to one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent green house gas emissions (tCO2-e). By purchasing one carbon offset credit you are effectively paying someone else to either absorb one tonne of greenhouse gasses through a method of carbon sequestration such as tree-planting, or to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne.

Note that not all carbon offset credits are the same. Your choice when purchasing carbon credits can affect the end success of going carbon neutral. The rock band Coldplay recently received criticism when it was alleged that up to 40% of the mango trees planted in India to offset the carbon emissions of their CD had died.

We can work with you ensure that you purchase carbon credits that from sources that align with your environmental sustainability image.

Want more information?
Contact us to discuss how we can make your business, product, service or event carbon neutral.