Carbonfund.org Blog

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia are less than a year away, and like many complex events some of the finer details have yet to be ironed out. While the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) has committed to offsetting to make the event carbon neutral, they have yet to choose an offset provider.

“We’re going to put 300,000 tonnes out there into the atmosphere and we’re going to invest in projects that reduce carbon by an equivalent amount,” Linda Coady, the vice-president of sustainability for the organizing committee said.

In total, the Olympic organizers are looking to offset the emissions of the entirety of the 27 day Olympic and Paralympic games.

In order to help ensure that the Vancouver games get the highest quality carbon offsets, Carbonfund.org would like to make four suggestions about what the Olympic Committee should look for in a carbon offset provider.

1. 3rd Party Validated Projects – the offset provider should only offer high quality third-party validated projects that meet renowned standards like the Voluntary Carbon Standard, Environmental Resources Trust, or the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards.
2. Project Choice – supporting projects around the world such as in reforestation, renewable energy, etc. can help demonstrate global leadership on climate change.
3. Nonprofit Sponsor – partnering with a nonprofit helps ensure transparency of projects and the partnership itself.
4. Industry Leader – partner with a proven leader that knows how to create offset programs that work and understands how to manage a high profile partnership.

The good news is that there is an organization out there that has demonstrated the leadership, mission based values, and has the high quality verified projects needed to effectively offset the emissions of the Vancouver Games. Also, their retail price for carbon offsets is more affordable than the $15 a ton that the VANOC is expecting to pay…

Click here to contact this unnamed organization.

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