FAQs

A carbon offset is a claim to reduce GHG emissions in the atmosphere in direct proportion to the amount emitted by the creation, distribution, use or recycling of a product or service. For example, if the total CO₂ emissions associated with a product is 1 kg over its lifecycle, and 1 kg of CO₂ is actively (and permanently) removed from the atmosphere "on behalf" of the product, then one could argue that the product's CO₂ emissions have been offset.
With this context, our guiding philosophy is:

• We don't give credit to offsets that either would have (or even should have) been undertaken anyway
• As an approximate corollary, we favor offsets where it can be shown that they would NOT have been undertaken without an individual or company's direct involvement
• We take a "show-me-don't-tell-me" approach to offsets: pointing to something tangible is quite important for us
• We expect offsets to be tied to discrete activities and emissions associated with producing a product or service (this links the cost of an offset to an action and aligns economic incentives to reduce GHG emissions)
• We expect offsets to reduce atmospheric GHG emissions in the same timeframe as the emissions occur
• We will look for offset use to decrease over time as technologies associated with lower-GHG emissions mature and their costs decrease
• We disfavor offset use to prolong the use of technologies that are not aligned with achieving Net Zero emissions in a timely manner