Carbon Portfolios

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Below are details of the 2009 portfolios sold through our online calculators. Details of the 2010 portfolio will be published here at the end of the year.

Our 2009 portfolio was made up of three credit types and each offers a distinctive type of offset project.  All emissions reductions offered in 2009 were verified and certified to the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)  or UN-registered CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects.
Most of the carbon credits in these portfolios come from past ‘vintages’ (a vintage means the year in which the carbon credit was generated) and have been verified and delivered at the time you buy them. Some of the credits may come from future vintages, which means that they will be verified and delivered in the future. If credits from future vintages are not delivered for any reason, we will replace them with credits from a similar project – giving you the peace of mind you need. Information about the vintage and delivery status of the credits in each portfolio can be found below.

Resource Conservation Portfolio

These credits are generated by  resource conservation schemes - energy efficiency, methane recovery and/or low carbon fuel switches. Whatever the individual project, the principle is to minimize CO2 emissions by re-engineering or rethinking processes which are often entrenched and part of the traditional infrastructure. The only way to make the change economically viable, is to find supplementary funding – and that is where carbon financing comes in: a verified carbon credit is created out of the CO2 savings achieved by the project; through ‘offsetting’, you pay for the carbon credits; the sale feeds back to the project and so helps make them viable. It’s a virtuous circle.
The projects in this portfolio were:
Raigarh waste heat recovery project, in India (Vintage: 2007, delivery status: delivered)
Fujian landfill, in China (Vintage: 2008, delivery status: not delivered)

Renewable Energy Portfolio

These credits are generated by  100% renewable energy projects – not only solar, wind and hydro but also biomass and re-use of waste products like biogas. Renewables can be relatively expensive to set up and maintain compared to fossil fuels which are (currently) plentiful and traditionally relied upon by the industry and infrastructure developers. Carbon finance helps to change the equation: by selling the CO2 reductions, project developers realise a new revenue stream which makes renewable projects more viable and price competitive.
The projects currently in this portfolio were:
Beijin Hydropower Station Project, in China (Vintage: 2007, delivered)
Sakri Wind Power Project, in India (Vintage: 2006, delivery status: delivered)
Bhambarwadi Wind Power, in India (Vintage: 2006, delivery status: delivered)

CER Portfolio

These credits are generated by CDM projects in developing countries and form part of the international carbon trading system set in motion by the Kyoto Protocol, where they are purchased by participants in these trading systems to meet their emission reduction targets. CERs trade on exchanges and tend to be more expensive relative to Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs).
As of January 2009, 1363 projects are registered by the CDM Executive Board of which China hosted 392 projects; India 391; Brazil 150. Unfortunately the CDM has not penetrated Africa in the same way, partly because the level infrastructureand industry does not exist to allow the volume of emission reduction projects that occur in more industrialised nations such as India and China.
The project in this portfolio was:
Link Canal CDM hydro power project, in India (Vintage: 2008, delivery status: not delivered)