What do you know about Carbon Offsetting?

Ever wondered how much your everyday activities impact the environment?

There is no way around it, climate change is happening and although it feels like a daunting problem to tackle, many Australians are becoming increasingly interested in having less of a negative impact on the world around them.

So, what are some small steps you can take to make a difference? These steps can be about how you reduce your personal carbon footprint as well as choosing businesses who are committed to offsetting their energy usage. These are two very effective ways to make your everyday life and home more sustainable.

1) Carbon Offsetting and it’s benefits

Simply put, a Carbon Offset is a way to reimburse for your emissions used by funding into emission saving programs. By making investments into carbon offsets, you are compensating for any emissions that you have produced. All of our actions produce carbon emissions, therefore, offsetting them is a great way to create a more balanced environment, and plan for a better future.

Offsetting alone is not the solution to climate change, but it is a great instrument in reducing your greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). We all have the opportunity to reduce our carbon impact on the world and every step taken helps.

It’s a similar approach for your energy usage. All carbon emissions generated from a customer’s energy usage through buying carbon offset certificates from local and overseas projects. These include tree planting, land management and investments in renewable power developments in developing countries. 1 carbon offset certificate = 1 tonne of CO2-e.

The benefit of carbon offsetting is becoming recognised worldwide. The Paris Agreement is an international treaty directed towards climate change. Governments are coming together under this treaty to face the problems and make changes now to better the world for future generations.

2) Tips on how to reduce your Carbon Footprint

When it comes to your personal Carbon Footprint, the last thing you want is to have a big foot. There are actions you can take in reducing your emissions, without totally changing your lifestyle, but these changes will better your future.

• Fly Less  > Well, Covid has changed our flying habits but according to The Guardian, flying is one of the largest contributors to everyone’s personal carbon footprint, particularly if traveling for work (which is again on the rise). As we learnt in 2020, by organising meetings over video chat, we cut out the need to travel by air, which reduced our carbon footprint. Flying for holidays can also be reduced (even as borders open), if you try and take holidays closer to home that doesn’t require flights.
• Try being emission free > Driving, even on shorter trips, racks up your emissions produced, making your carbon footprint a bigger impact. The less cars on the road, the better it is for the environment.It is worthwhile looking into different options on how to get yourself to work or your children to school - such as taking the bus or train. If you work or your child’s school is close to your home, walking or cycling is a great emission-free alternative to driving. Also, if you live a short distance from the shops, enjoy the walk instead of taking your car.
• Being energy efficient in your home > The most important aspect of making your home more energy efficient is to make sure that you are not unnecessarily using your cooling or heating systems. Running both incorrectly can greatly impact on your energy usage. For other tips, check out our blog on keeping your house cool or even our blog about keeping your house warm. Energy efficient lightbulbs and appliances are one of the best ways of reducing your carbon footprint from your very own home. Transitioning to new lightbulbs can also impact your carbon footprint, LED bulbs use around 85% less watts than traditional incandescent bulbs. And, don’t forget the tried and true tip of turning off your lights when you leave a room!
• Sustainability > Single use items have the most impact on our environment. By using items such as reusable lunchboxes and coffee cups, you cut out the need for non-reusable products and reduce the amount of waste. Even choosing locally supplied food means reducing the transportation costs of getting the food to you.

3) Is it essential to offset my carbon?

It is important to know more about your personal impact on the environment so you can make some adjustments to your daily lifestyle. It doesn’t have to be too difficult, it’s as easy as looking for companies who share similar goals as well as being more aware of your impact on the environment.

Nectr has made a commitment to help our customers be part of a smart and more sustainable energy movement by offering a 100% carbon neutral or a 100% GreenPower electricity plans for residential customers in NSW and QLD. We are dedicated to making a difference and our owner Hanwha Energy Australia, is a global leader in renewable energy.

In order for carbon offsetting to work, it’s important to educate yourself; and others. Share this blog with friends and family and make a step in reducing your carbon footprint and investing into carbon offset units together.