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 our quality criteria: independent verification, ongoing monitoring, and reductions that take place in the present year. For more information visit our projects page.
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, and TerraPass itself is audited according to standards established by the non-profit Center for Resources Solutions (CRS). The TerraPass 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.
At the moment we don’t support any projects located outside the United States. However, we do have many customers and from around the world and we expect to expand our portfolio to international projects in the future. From an environmental perspective, the location of the projects isn’t very meaningful. Global warming is a global problem, and a ton of emissions reduced is equivalent to a ton anywhere.
TerraPass is always looking for great projects that meet our requirements: real, permanent greenhouse gas reductions; independent verification; and ongoing monitoring. Currently TerraPass supports three types of projects: clean energy produced by wind power; farm power from methane digesters; and landfill gas capture.
There’s only one atmosphere. Unlike smog or acid rain, global warming is not limited to any specific region. Carbon dioxide reductions in one part of the world are equivalent to carbon dioxide reductions in any part of the world because they all play a role in global warming.
We only claim reductions of carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalents, because our focus as an organization is to combat global warming. It is true that the projects TerraPass members support may have side benefits, such as the reduction of particulate emissions and pollutants such as mercury. But TerraPass makes no claim regarding such reductions.
No. Trees are a beautiful and vital part of our environment. However, they are problematic as a source of carbon offsets. Chief among the problems is the timing of the carbon reductions that result from tree-planting projects. If you plant a tree today, it may take up to 100 years to achieve full size. 100 years is too long to wait to address a global warming problem that is already affecting us today.
A number of reputable organizations are working to develop high-quality offsets from projects that involve protecting forests that already exist. If these organizations are successful, such “avoided deforestation” projects could be a beneficial way to reduce atmospheric carbon and preserve threatened ecosystems. TerraPass is closely monitoring these developments.
Yes. Every TerraPass carbon offset project is published on our web site at the close of our audit cycle. We publish the project location, project type, and amount of carbon offsets purchased from each project.
Yes. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases officially recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a major cause of global warming, along with carbon dioxide and four others. Methane comes from a variety of sources both natural and manmade, such as farm waste and landfills.
All of the six major greenhouse gases are typically converted into their “carbon dioxide equivalent” for ease of comparison. For example, methane is 21 times as powerful a warming agent as carbon dioxide, so we multiply methane reductions by a standard factor to calculate their carbon dioxide equivalent.
The reduction associated with each TerraPass purchase is stated in pounds of carbon dioxide, but we’re really talking about carbon dioxide equivalents. In fact, all carbon offsets are denominated this way.
No. Every TerraPass sold to members consists of the same mix of projects: clean energy produced by wind power; farm power from agricultural methane digesters; and landfill gas capture. The TerraPass project portfolio is carefully balanced to represent a good mix of carbon reductions and secondary environmental and economic benefits.
The carbon offsets you buy are tied to reductions that happen in the same year as your purchase. TerraPass only buys carbon offsets that have been audited by independent third parties.
We don’t support Gold Standard projects because right now there are no U.S.-based Gold Standard-certified projects. Our portfolio is broadly consistent with the goals of the Gold Standard.
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