Although my business transportation isn’t a gas guzzler, it’s not a hybrid or high-mileage subcompact, either. So I want to balance out my carbon footprint. Carbon offsets are my best option, until it’s time for a new car or truck.
Buying carbon offsets for your business vehicles is easy and relatively inexpensive. I used a simple calculation to translate the gallons of gas used in a year to tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere. In my case, it’s about five tons, a mid-range amount. I visited NativeEnergy.com where I found an even simpler calculator, which gave me a comparable result.
The idea behind carbon offsets is to support the substitution of green energy for energy that would otherwise be produced by conventional means, thus reducing carbon emissions overall. You’re typically buying electricity production to offset whatever is your source of carbon emissions (for me, burning gasoline), but the carbon reduction is the same.
My carbon offsets from Native Energy came in the form of shares to capitalize a new wind farm in Greensburg, Kansas, developed by John Deere Renewables. The wind plant will provide all the electricity for the town, with more to spare for neighboring residential developments, farms and industry. Greensburg was 95% leveled by a tornado in May 2007. The residents committed to rebuilding as the greenest town in America, changing everything but the town’s name.
Until I’m ready to shop for a more efficient vehicle that meets my business needs, carbon offsets are a good temporary trade-off to reduce the overall carbon footprint.
