Footprints
Peter Pan has his shadow, I have a Carbon Footprint. Earlier this year, on a Zoom call with one of my Berlin-based founders, I casually asked if he was traveling to SF anytime soon (this was pre-covid-19). He told me he was “watching his carbon footprint” and reducing international air travel as much as possible. It was casual, like saying “no thanks” to dessert after dinner. It caught me off-guard. I started thinking about my CO2 consumption and whether or not I should put myself on a CO2 diet too.
I have only considered air travel from a mindset of abundance (and privilege) — family & friends to connect with; travel for work; explore cities, cultures, religions & histories; relax by a beach, ski on a mountain — and don’t forget the weddings.
Air Travel = Freedom, adventure, celebration. I love traveling and I love the planet. I want to learn more about what a carbon diet might look like.
One of my favorite authors, James Clear (also Denison Alum), recently shared his 2019 annual review, which included his decision to “buy carbon offsets not only to cover my flights, but also to be entirely carbon neutral for 2019.” He used Project Wren. This was the 2nd reference to Project Wren I’d heard as Fred Wilson, famous venture capitalist, Partner at USV - broke down USV’s Climate Thesis 3.0 which originally led me to learning about their investment in Wren.
About half way down Project Wren’s website, you can find their Carbon Footprint Calculator. I was super curious to see what moves the needle most in my life. My biggest CO2 consumption comes from my commute (+6.5 tons), air travel (+4.8 tons) and eating meat and dairy (+2.0 tons). This is the first time these things have had a personalized quantity to them. As well as a custom price tag for how much it would cost to offset them.
I’ve started noticing carbon “offset” options everywhere - TripIt tells me that an upcoming flight is consuming 0.17 tCO2 and what I could do to “reduce or offset CO2.” Sun Country Airlines offers the up-sells in checkout to buy Carbon Credits with my ticket. SFO Airport advertises “Greening your Travel with Carbon Offsets” through their “Good Traveler” Program encouraging travelers to “leave no trace” by buying $2 offsets for ever 1,000 air miles traveled.
I basically have gone down the rabbit hole and am trying to understand:
Are offset purchases just donations to a non-profit or the non-profit arm of a for-profit business? Some of the companies listed on the Good Traveler site are massive corporations.
Is there a governing body who certifies the work the project is doing actually “prevent or sequester greenhouse gas emissions”? Is there a rating system for projects or records of attempts at measuring the carbon they are offsetting?
Climate Action Reserve, The Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard, American Carbon Registry… a few that I came across along the way.
Are these offset providers taking a cut / fee before handing it off to the project? Should I just go direct?
Based on the # on the Good Traveler website, individuals (about 5,700) have purchased about $1.1M in Carbon Offsets (# comes from their 190M+ lbs of CO2 removed, $2 for every 344 lbs of CO2 removed - on their home page). If I purchase from this site, I don’t have a choice in what project I am contributing to.
Project Wren only has 3 projects (all international) and Good Traveler program only offers credits to support 5 projects (all US based). Should I stay local with my offsets (state of CA vs US vs International)? Or do I get more carbon for my $1 internationally?
From ocean carbon sequestration, rain forest rehabilitation, to landfills and composting - what are the best ways to prevent or sequester carbon emissions? (so much more to learn here).
Is buying carbon offsets or credits a new way for eco-non-profits to generate constant donations? (A new eco-business model?)
Or is this a new wave of eco-marketing by brands to up-sell the average consumer and take a cut?
What are the best ways to watch your carbon footprint in everyday life as well as through financial donations to carbon-offset non-profits
Covid-19 has reduced my carbon footprint dramatically. And in this strange window of time we’ve been given to pause and evaluate, I wanted to get some clarity on how to improve my carbon footprint moving forward. But I need more transparency. At this point, I am skeptical of “how” these carbon offsets really work.