TerraPass carbon offsets - frequently asked questions

TerraPass is a resource for those looking to meet the challenge of global warming by taking responsibility for their own carbon emissions. With TerraPass, you can calculate your carbon footprint and find ways to reduce it with energy-saving tips and ideas. Through TerraPass, you can also balance your emissions by funding clean energy and carbon reduction projects that help to fight global warming.

TerraPass has calculators for all of the major activities responsible for carbon emissions: driving, flying, and home energy use. We also offer products to balance emissions from weddings or events and business energy use.

A carbon offset is a certificate representing the reduction of one metric ton (2,205 lbs) of carbon dioxide emissions, the principal cause of global warming. Although complex in practice, carbon offsets are fairly simple in theory. If you develop a project that reduces carbon dioxide emissions, every ton of emissions reduced results in the creation of one carbon offset. Project developers can then sell these offsets to finance their projects.

There are hundreds of different types of carbon reduction projects. For example, a wind farm generates clean energy, which reduces carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants. In order to finance its operations, a wind farm can sell these reductions in the form of carbon offsets.

Your “carbon footprint” represents the sum total of all the greenhouse gases you personally are responsible for putting in the atmosphere. The term carbon footprint is named after carbon dioxide, the principal cause of global warming.

Whenever you use energy created from fossil fuels such as oil or coal, you’re generating carbon emissions. Common activities that add to your carbon footprint include:

• Driving
• Flying
• Home heating and cooling
• Electricity use

The products you buy also contribute to your carbon footprint, because energy was required to create and transport them. To estimate your carbon footprint from various activities, use our carbon calculator.

When you buy a carbon offset from TerraPass, your purchase supports three types of projects: clean energy produced by wind power; farm power such as dairy farm methane digesters; and landfill methane capture.

All TerraPass projects meet the highest quality standards: independent verification, ongoing monitoring, and reductions that take place in the present year. For more information visit our projects page.

We put a premium on the quality of the carbon reduction projects we support and on accountability to our customers. We were the first carbon offset vendor to seek independent auditing of our purchases and marketing claims, and the only vendor to publish our complete carbon purchase history.

You can read more about the TerraPass difference in our section TerraPass carbon offsets: the TerraPass difference.

Yes. To ensure maximum transparency and accountability, every TerraPass offset purchase is verified on two levels: our carbon reduction and clean energy projects are verified by independent environmental auditors. Every year TerraPass submits its carbon accounts to an annual audit. This audit covers several aspects of our business:

• Purchase history. Do we actually buy the necessary amount of carbon offsets on behalf of our customers? To ensure that we do, the auditor examines our customer records and offset purchase contracts.

• Offset quality. Do we adhere to the quality metrics that we say we support? The auditor examines our carbon offset portfolio to ensure that it meets our stated standards.

• Consumer protection. Do we publicly disclose the contents of every TerraPass purchase? We are required to include a product content label with every TerraPass purchase, which is sort of like an ingredient list alerting customers to exactly what they’re buying.

We publish all of our audits on our web site.

TerraPass members come from all 50 states and from countries around the globe. They are united in their desire to take responsibility for their carbon emissions and to take positive action on global warming.

Recently we surveyed our members and found that they were a very green group. The majority have already installed compact fluorescent light bulbs and about half of them walk, bike or take public transit to work. 16% drive hybrids, and 6% have even installed solar panels on their home! Read more about our TerraPass customer survey.

TerraPass carbon offsets helps you mitigate your own contribution to global warming by funding greenhouse gas reductions. Of course, fighting climate change begins with conservation. Drive as fuel-efficient a car or truck as possible. Reduce your driving by carpooling, bicycling, or using public transportation. Cut back on plane travel. Lower your thermostat.

But most people will still have a carbon footprint. With TerraPass carbon offsets, you can balance out 100% of the emissions you can’t eliminate through conservation.

Additionality refers to the concept of whether your carbon offset purchase really brings about carbon reductions, or whether the reductions would have happened anyway. If the purchase of carbon offsets is a critical factor in making the reductions happen, the reductions are said to be “additional” to the business-as-usual case.

Additionality is an important feature of high-quality offsets. To ensure that TerraPass offsets are additional, we apply a number of quality metrics to our projects. We evaluate them prior to every purchase, we require that they adhere to third-party additionality standards, and we subject our own purchasing history to an external audit.

TerraPass is a strong proponent of quality standards in the voluntary offset market, and we participate actively in the standards development effort.

No. The climate advocate’s mantra is that whenever you have a choice of two solutions, the answer is always both. Conservation is an essential way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, particularly in the near term when we are making the switch over to clean energy sources.

But it is difficult to eliminate all your carbon emissions through conservation. That’s where TerraPass comes in. If you still fly, drive a car or buy electricity and natural gas for your home, we can help you take responsibility for your global warming impact by balancing out your remaining carbon emissions.