Should you buy carbon offsets?

Are you, an institution you're a part of, or the company you're working for looking to "go green?" Purchasing carbon offsets to minimize the impact of your emissions may be an option to consider (and an easy one at that). As with any investment, carbon offsets come with pros and cons.

There are several benefits to carbon offsets. Here are some top ones to keep in mind:

Environmental impact

Carbon offsets and the projects they support positively impact the environment. The most recent data shows that the current carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration in the atmosphere has reached about 406 parts per million. As this number continues to rise, trends show that overall temperatures around the earth are also increasing.

While climate change is still happening despite mechanisms like carbon offsets, the overall growth of offset projects and the purchasing of offsets can slow the increase in CO₂. The projects you invest in today (if they are additional and have permanence) will continue to impact overall emissions. A study reports that in 2015 alone, voluntary carbon offsets contributed to offsetting 84.1 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. Over the years since carbon offsets came about, projects have resulted in roughly 994 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent offset from the atmosphere.

Social benefits

While carbon offsets' primary purpose is to contribute to overall lower greenhouse gas emissions, the projects that are designed to offset carbon often have a lot of social benefits as well.

Many offset projects are built in developing countries. As a result, while you're not directly impacting your own community, these projects often benefit society as a while because they contribute to job creation in developing countries. In the case of projects like installing off-grid solar panel systems, they can also contribute to the advancement and implementation of technology in needing or remote areas. (An off-grid solar panel system reduces reliance on fossil fuels while simultaneously providing electricity.)

Corporate benefits

For businesses in particular, investing in carbon offsets can improve the company's overall image and contribute to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. More companies are placing a high value on CSR and self-regulating their own actions to benefit society as a whole.

Many actions under the CSR umbrella include sustainability or environmental initiatives. Purchasing carbon offsets can lower a company's overall carbon footprint for manufacturing, shipping, and employee travel. CSR benefits not only society and the environment but the business itself – it's particularly useful in employee retention and recruitment.

While there are benefits to the purchase of carbon offsets, there are consistent arguments against the purchase of carbon offsets, even when they're verified and considered reputable in the industry.

More people (and organizations) are purchasing carbon offsets – but the world's overall emissions of greenhouse gases are increasing, too. Opponents of carbon offsets argue that allowing parties to purchase carbon offsets to combat their own emissions is essentially a "license to pollute" and may make them more likely to emit more carbon if they know there is a mechanism for decreasing emissions elsewhere.

While purchasing carbon offsets can help to offset greenhouse gas emissions, they don't address the broader issue of how our habits contribute to climate change. Is there more that individuals and companies could do to decrease their own emissions before purchasing the offsets? Does purchasing offsets make it easier for individuals and companies to continue their everyday practices (that may be unsustainable) rather than working towards changing them?

Scientists and environmentalists tend to agree that if you're looking to have the greatest impact on overall greenhouse gas emissions, stakeholders should look first to decrease their own emissions in any way possible. For an individual, there are a number of actions one could take, such as reducing travel on airplanes, utilizing public transportation, limiting meat intake, and installing LEDs at home. Larger companies can do even more with actions like installing a solar panel system, utilizing video conferences instead of initiating business trips, promoting and rewarding the use of company fleets for transportation, and more.

Many opponents to carbon offsets also argue about many offsets' abilities to be credible. While many offset projects carry industry certifications, some do not. As a result, they may not contribute to a permanent or additional project with accurate measurements of offset potential.