Carbon offsetting

Carbon offsetting is ‘…the process of compensating for the remaining carbon emissions balance by contributing, usually financially, towards solutions to reduce emissions elsewhere. Typically, this is put in practice by establishing carbon offset funds which then invest in renewable energy and other carbon reduction measures.’ Ref Climate Emergency Design Guide: How new buildings can meet UK climate change targets, published by the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) in January 2020.

Zero carbon building, Performance standard, Version 2, Published by the Canada Green Building Council in March 2021, defines carbon offset as: ‘A credit for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that occur somewhere else and that can be purchased to compensate for the emissions of a company or project. High quality carbon offsets include third party verification of emissions reductions as well as additionality, longevity, and leakage criteria.’

Keeping 1.5°C Alive: Closing the Gap in the 2020s, version 1.0, published by the Energy Transitions Commission in September 2021, defines Carbon offsets as: ‘Reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) or greenhouse gases made by a company, sector, or economy to compensate for emissions made elsewhere in the economy.’

PAS 2080:2023 Carbon management in buildings and infrastructure, second edition, published by The British Standards Institution in March 2023, defines carbon offset as: ‘discrete reduction in greenhouse gas emissions not arising from the defined subject, made available in the form of a carbon credit meeting a defined set of requirements (as per PAS 2060:2014) and used to counteract emissions from the defined subject. NOTE Offsets can be generated via a variety of activities, including those that avoid or reduce emissions and those that remove carbon from the atmosphere. Additional information on offset categories is available in the Oxford principles for net zero aligned carbon offsetting (2020).’

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Allowable solutions.
• Biodiversity offsetting.
• Carbon.
• Carbon emissions.
• Carbon offset credit.
• Climate Emergency Design Guide.
• London Energy Transformation Initiative.
• Offsetting.
• UKGBC publishes renewable energy procurement and carbon offsetting guidance.