Carbon Neutrality

Carbon neutral, or net-zero carbon is a term which means the carbon emissions caused by an entity (a company, service, product, etc.) have been balanced out by funding an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere.

These carbon savings are generated through funding renewable energy projects and energy efficiency projects as well as reforestation projects. These projects, typically, also bring additional social and community benefits in developing countries and reduce greenhouse gases.

Carbon neutrality has become a very popular topic of discussion recently. COP26 highlighted the importance of lowering emissions and the need to achieve net-zero carbon in order to prevent runaway climate change.

There has been a growing trend towards businesses striving for an achieving carbon-neutrality as part of their sustainability and corporate social responsibility practices. Corporations such as Microsoft, Sky and Google have all achieved carbon neutrality, and Google aims to be carbon-free by 2030. Going green is good for business, and shows consumers that your business is aware of its impact on our planet.

Many businesses are now also promising to become climate positive, this means that their activities go beyond achieving net-zero carbon emissions to further benefit the planet by removing additional CO2 from the atmosphere. Other climate and sustainability practices are also being implemented such as tree planting initiatives.

Sources: Carbon Trust, Carbon Footprint, Carbon Neutral, Google, Plan A Academy