We recently came across this Carbon Calculator and we just had to share.
Offsetting carbon is a way to compensate for your emissions from your commute, deliveries, using electricity and gas, and many more. Much of what we do in our day to day lives causes carbon dioxide, which is a big contributor to global warming.
Bulb's carbon calculator estimates the size of your carbon footprint and allows you pay it off on a monthly basis. It's an easy process - all you have to do is answer some simple questions!
Why should you offset carbon?
Offsetting is currently the best solution to climate change that we have. Here's why you should start doing it:
- Buying carbon offsets is easier compared to reducing your carbon footprint yourself, manually
- You don't have to do much to make your activities, events, products and even companies carbon neutral. All you have to do is workout how much carbon you emit, pay for the right number of offsets and your done!
- Projects that offset carbon aim to have long-lasting effects
- When going through credible organisations, you can rest assured that your contributions are making a difference
- Offsetting will help ease your conscience about your carbon footprint!
Where does your money go?
Different organisations will support different projects that offset carbon. Some of these organisations will be planting trees, others with more in-depth operations. This could include work in renewable energy, such as solar, hydro, tidal, biomass or geothermal energy. Other projects might be creating clean cooking solutions, tackling deforestation or waste management.
Are there any drawbacks in offsetting carbon?
Carbon offsetting alone isn’t enough to tackle climate change. Aside from avoiding activities that do emit significant CO2, offsetting carbon is the best thing we can do to reduce our individual carbon footprint. But what are the drawbacks of offsetting carbon?
- It will neutralize not reduce carbon, meaning that you will carry on contributing carbon to the atmosphere. To reduce your carbon, you have to change your lifestyle consistently and maybe even dramatically
- When you buy offsets, you're effectively paying someone else to your work while you carry on emitting carbon. The optimal solution would be to offset your carbon footprint, while reducing your footprint altogether.
So while this carbon calculator has many benefits, we'd recommend using it in alongside an active reduction in your footprint to begin with. This way, you'll have less carbon to offset, and you can emit less carbon into the atmosphere altogether!