Climate Change is scary... and getting worse every day. We see more and more evidence that we must make drastic changes to our lifestyles to save the planet. Things are dire and it’s hard to know what to do.
I have been trying to live more sustainably this year and one of the things I wanted to learn more about was Carbon Offsets. Offsets have been around for a long time and while the premise is simple, their execution has always left me so confused and bewildered that I’ve never actually followed through and purchased any. Offsets are exactly what they sound like - to mitigate your CO2 emissions, you purchase credits that put the same amount of carbon back into the ground - in theory. But how do you actually know how much you are emitting? How do you know that the money you invest in offset credits is actually going towards something that will zero out or reduce the amount CO2 in the air?
In the past, I’ve tried to use calculators to understand what my carbon footprint looks like but they are CONFUSING. They require tons of little inputs about your lifestyle - it feels overwhelming to know where to even begin tracking down that data! An example is the 2030 Calculator, a new initiative from a design firm in Scandinavia. Although their calculator is designed for products (not people) and is very well designed compared to others in the field, you can tell just how complex these calculations can be! Furthermore, most of the organizations that provide carbon offsets don’t have great calculators and most of the companies that provide intuitive calculators don’t always link to reputable carbon offsets. To be candid, this proved too confusing for me and I always gave up on my search for carbon offsets around this point in the search.
But I was delighted to discover a new company called Ecologi (formerly known as Offset Earth) that simplifies this process in the most obvious way - they take the guesswork out of finding your footprint by creating an automatic profile based on your location. Even though a generalized profile like this relies on some big assumptions - like the average number/distance of flights per year - you can trust that Ecologi rounds up to a bigger profile than average. You’re then given the easiest option imaginable - pay monthly to offset 1 footprint, 2 footprints, or more. No math! Ecologi also goes above and beyond to ensure that their CO2 sequestering projects are fully verified by international sustainability and offset certification standards. They work with the Eden Reforestation Project and One Tree Planted. And the best part is that you can see pictures from the projects on the ground and visit the locations on Google Earth! (Many kudos to my friend, Emma, who pointed me in the right direction and helped me learn about options for offsetting!)
With Climate Change and natural (and social) disasters around the world, I take a small consolation in the ingenuity of companies like Ecologi that are making it easier than ever to learn more about your emissions and then to put your money where your mouth is. There are many more new startups doing similar work - Wren, Klima, Capture - I encourage you to do some research and pick one!
Although I am excited about all of these new companies doing great work around offsets, I am still a little worried about the concept of offsets in general and the dynamics of human behavior that might cause them to backfire. For me, I worry I’ll use the offsets as an excuse to not feel guilty about my emissions, to continue flying around the world, and to continue using plastic bags and paper towels. For me - I hope as long as I continue challenging myself with these types of questions, I’ll be on the right track. I highly recommend this guide from the New York Times on reducing your carbon footprint in every aspect of your life!
A few other tools I use to live more sustainably:
The Environmental Research Group’s Skin Deep Database: The definitive way to figure out what’s in your cosmetics. For some reason, my shampoo and conditioner were the first things in my life that I tried to switch out with all natural and organic products (I’m a fan of Acure). I think I realized a simple thing - that the skin is a porous membrane and sucks up everything you put on it. Put chemicals on your skin and they’ll go into your body! Makes sense 🤷♂️. Now I use the Skin Deep database whenever I need to find a new product.
Good On You Directory: A rating system for the fashion world. I recently discovered this website and I am a little obsessed - I love to search the brands I already know and love to see how they’re rated and I love to explore the filters and categories on this site to discover sustainable brands I never would have found in the first place! Be prepared to become disenchanted with some of your favorite brands - Everlane is ruined for me - but don’t worry: you’ll discover new and better ones!
Ridwell: The most amazing Seattle company. They act as a complement to the city’s existing recycling program and they take many of the things that would otherwise go into the trash. The most impactful for me is “plastic film” which includes plastic bags and most food packaging. Ridwell has helped me reduce my weekly waste by a huge amount. Can’t recommend highly enough! (Sorry to everyone outside of Seattle - hopefully this amazing company will come to you soon!)