Business carbon reduction

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Credible carbon reduction strategies are fast becoming an essential component of business success. Companies who demonstrate significant emission reductions experience benefits such as revenue growth, increased market share and improved corporate reputation.

Since 1997 we’ve helped hundreds of companies around the world meet their carbon reduction targets. We know that to achieve ambitious carbon reduction targets, companies need to find the most cost-effective and efficient ways of reaching their goal. Emission reductions fall broadly into two areas:

• Internal Reductions: these are a direct carbon reduction that can be made at source and occur through operational or behavioural changes.
• External Reductions: these are outsourced carbon reductions, also known as carbon offsetting, which many companies choose because they immediately deliver cost-effective, efficient emission reductions. Often used alongside internal reductions, they are easier to implement and cost less than some operational or behavioural changes.

As you consider the carbon reduction route that’s right for your company, we recommend you select the strategy that will deliver the biggest emission reductions for the lowest cost in a time frame that aligns with your business objectives.

Benefits of incorporating carbon offsetting into a carbon reduction strategy

Many companies recognise that carbon offsetting is an essential part of an integrated carbon management programme, delivering the following benefits:

• Carbon offsetting provides an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions to meet a significant target which will build reputation and leadership. Meeting a carbon neutral target is the only way a business can say it has taken full responsibility for its carbon emissions making it an integral part of their social responsibility programme.
• Frequently carbon offsets are more immediate and cost-effective emission reductions than those which can be achieved through internal reductions.  For leased offices or manufacturing facilities, infrastructure changes which make an impact on carbon emissions can take significant time and budget to implement. 
• Carbon offsetting creates a cost benchmark against which all other carbon reduction activities can be measured. By evaluating carbon reduction proposals on the cost to implement and the volume of carbon emissions reduced, companies quickly understand the most efficient and cost-effective means of reaching their target. 
• Purchasing carbon offsets through The CarbonNeutral Company provides assurance that emission reductions are real, measurable, permanent and have global benefit.  All of our carbon credits have been verified by a third party Designated Operational Entity, accepted by independent third party certification standard (such as the Verified Carbon Standard and the Gold Standard) and met our own stringent standards as outlined in The CarbonNeutral Protocol.
• Carbon offsetting can give businesses a story to tell beyond emission reductions.  Many carbon offsetting projects bring a range of benefits to local communities in developing countries. These benefits can include employment opportunities, infrastructure upgrades, education programmes, improved energy supplies and initiatives which give local residents new streams of income.  
• Carbon offsets are an essential tool in the global move to low carbon growth.  Without the revenue from carbon offsets, many developing countries will continue to grow using traditional fossil fuel power.
• For companies that depend on goods and services from overseas, carbon offsetting provides a credible way of counterbalancing the carbon emissions that are essentially outsourced to overseas suppliers. Accounting for these emissions strengthens a company’s carbon management programme and ensures it can withstand stakeholder scrutiny. 

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