Kick the Habit: A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality

Emissions from one tonne of paper waste going to disposal (no recycling, no recovery)

Emissions from one tonne of food waste going to disposal (no recovery)

1 470

1 060

Another option would be that large organizations implement their own emissions reduction project, most likely in a field they are already active in, for example a power company that develops a renewable energy project in a developing country which would then be certified according to CDM criteria or verified by another credible standard. That way the company can benefit from the technological experience and take credits for the project benefits plus save cost by keeping as much as possible of the investment in house. One corporation that thinks offsets are worthwhile is the HSBC Group, which says it is the world’s first carbon-neutral major bank. Its carbon man- agement plan includes managing and reducing its direct emissions, buying “green electricity”, and offsetting its other emissions. It bought 170 000 tonnes of carbon offset credits from a New Zealand wind farm, an Austra- lian organic waste composting scheme, an agricultural methane capture project in Germany, and an Indian biomass co-generation plant. More and more firms now accept the concept as a way of showing how green they are. Their motives may include ethical conviction, compliance with vol- untary and mandatory targets, product branding and stakeholder pressure. They may also fear the threat of legislation and want to persuade government that regulations are not needed. Whatever their reasons, they are economically still more powerful than small organizations- powerful enough to set up their own projects, and to direct the transfer of technology and capacity building.

THE CYCLE – OFFSET KICK THE HABIT

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