What Are Carbon Offsets?

Wikipedia defines Carbon offsetting as the act of reducing ("offsetting") greenhouse gas emissions. A well-known example is the planting of trees to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions from personal air travel.

The idea of paying for emission-reductions elsewhere instead of reducing by own actions is also known from the closely related concept of emissions trading. However, in contrast to emissions trading, which is regulated by a strict formal and legal framework, carbon offsets generally refer to voluntary acts by individuals or companies that are commonly arranged by commercial or not-for-profit carbon-offset providers.

A wide variety of offset methods are in use — while tree planting has initially been a mainstay of carbon offsetting, renewable energy and energy conservation offsets have now become increasingly popular, and purchase and withdrawal of emissions trading credits is also seen.

Carbon offsetting as part of a "carbon neutral" lifestyle has gained some appeal and momentum mainly among consumers in western countries who have become aware and concerned about the potentially negative effects of energy-demanding lifestyles and economies on the environment.

The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned official offsets for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits which can be traded on a marketplace. This has contributed to the increasing popularity of voluntary offsets among private individuals and also companies. Offsets may be cheaper or more convenient alternatives to reducing one's own fossil-fuel consumption. However, some critics object to carbon offsets, and many have questioned the benefits of certain types of offsets (such as tree planting), and other projects. (Wikipedia 7.18.07)

What are Voluntary Carbon Offsets?

The voluntary carbon market isn't new. The first record of a business voluntarily offsetting it's carbon footprint occured in 1989 when AES Corp., an American electric company payed farmers in Guatemala to plant 50 million eucalyptus and pine trees on their land.

In addition to philanthropic and marketing motivations AES hoped to reduce it's carbon footprint.

Since the deal wasn't forced upon AES by legislation or global treaty, it marked the beginning of the voluntary carbon market.

In spite of the controversy surrounding the business, Voluntary Carbon Offsets continue to provide a way for businesses and individuals to help reduce their Carbon Footprint.

TreeBanking, Inc. was created with the controversy in mind.

Among the biggest concerns are:

1. Education: Many people are just beginning to realize that their actions and lifestyle choices are having an impact on the planet. As this realization begins to sink in, we're hoping they'll want to learn how to reduce that impact. Our education section offers an ever-growing list of changes people can make in their lives.  When they've reduced their emissions as much as their circumstances allow we offer a way for them to offset the rest. Offsetting Carbon  is new concept to most Americans. We offer them access to the education they need to make an informed decision about how to offset their carbon footprint. 
2. Transparency: One of the biggest concerns most people have with buying voluntary carbon offsets is that they don't really know how their money is being used. We're proud of the work we're doing and  invite our clients to visit our reforestation projects. We're required to keep very detailed records of all the trees we plant. These records include: Tree species, planting date, the exact location (including GPS location of the field) and ownership. All of our tree owners receive a title that specifies all of this information. It's very easy to walk directly to your trees and verify their location and condition.
3. Additionality: This will probably continue to be one of the most hotly debated issues in the carbon offset world. Simply put, the test of additionality is whether a project would have occurred if it were not for the carbon offset funds. Our projects pass this test easily. The only way we will ever be able to plant the millions of trees that we plan to plant in our reforestation projects is with the help of our clients.
4. Verification: As legitimate standards emerge in the voluntary carbon offset business it will be simple for any third-party verifier to visit our projects. The gates are always open to anyone interested in our reforestation projects. We feel that the more people that get involved in rain forest reforestation the better.
5. Project Type: There's a obvious divide in the offset community between those who think offset funds should be used for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and those who think that offset dollars should be used to fund forestry projects that sequester, or absorb, excess CO² from the atmosphere. We believe that both are needed in order to address the issue. Our primary focus is on reforestation of the rain forest. We believe that these projects provide the best all-around benefit for everyone involved.  As the voluntary carbon offset business matures and industry-wide standards are adopted we plan to purchase offsets from other projects to offer to our clients. 

6. Permanence: Is the carbon permanently reduced or locked away? This is one of the big arguments that some people have with forestry projects. ‘What if there’s a forest fire?’; ‘What if a storm knocks the trees down?’; ‘What if the trees aren’t cared for and they die?’; ‘When the tree dies it releases its carbon back into the atmosphere.’

    

   Our system addresses these concerns nicely.

    

   With 160 inches of rain per year, forest fires are rare; So rare in fact that when Fred Morgan, owner of Finca Leola, asked about forest fires in Costa Rica the reply he got from the locals was "What's that?"

    

   Storms that are strong enough to knock trees down are rare in Costa Rica. The last reports of a storm that strong occurred in the 1960s.

    

   Since we're growing an extremely valuable crop, the trees are carefully maintained and cared for. A quick trip to the plantations will assure anyone that these trees get the best of care.

    

   As the teak trees we plant as the pioneer species in our reforestation projects are harvested, they're processed into lumber and furniture. The carbon is permanently "locked up" in the wood.

    

We Don't Sell Carbon Offsets

We teach people how to Offset their Carbon

Even though we've put together a forestry system that addresses all the concerns of the Carbon Offset industry, we have decided not to sell offsets until industry wide standards have been adopted.

Instead of selling  offsets we offer a verifiable, *permanent, profitable system that allows people  to offset their carbon footprints.

(*teak furniture and lumber is about as "permanent" as solar panels and wind generators)