How You Can Offset Your Carbon Footprint - And Why We All Need to
Climate change and global warming are caused by rising emission levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrious oxide, and other environmental pollutants. And, tragically, fossil fuel-driven industry has caused global pollution levels to spike dramatically over the last 100 years. Our planet is now warming to unsustainable levels, and temperatures will keep rising unless we do something about it.
Global Atmospheric Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide Since the Industrial Revolution (1760-2022)
Last Updated: 2022
Source: EPA Climate Change Indicators, last certified in 2022.
We all emit carbon and share the Earth, which makes climate change a grave, existential problem we have to solve together. That said, to get to a sustainable, long-term solution to climate change we must:
1. Get corporate fossil fuel money and interests out of political decision-making
2. Elect climate champions who will make decisive, pro-humanity changes to our laws to invest in decarbonization, a just transition, and stop deadly pollution
3. Aggressively decarbonize society, industry, and global supply chains, while transitioning to a clean energy-powered grid by 2030
4. Aggressively curb industrial animal farming and fossil fuel transportation, while investing in electric vehicles, micro-mobility, and high-speed public rail
5. Plant and conserve trees - the most effective "tool" we have to fight climate change
Past those priorities, it's on us to reduce, re-use, and conserve in our everyday lives and at the companies we work at. Every choice matters, and what you can't reduce, you can take steps to offset.
Choose Your Offset Method
There are four basic ways to go carbon-neutral or Net Zero if you still have some operating emissions you can't eliminate. The first is planting verified trees and supporting forestry. The second is investing directly into restoration, renewable, and energy efficiency projects that generate verified carbon credits. The third is buying market-based renewable energy credits (RECs). The fourth is investing in carbon capture technology and projects. At Brightest, we can help you do all four, calculate your carbon footprint, and provide reporting back so you know the impact you made.
Carbon Offset Anything
Whether you're an organization or an individual, you can offset commuter costs, air travel, events, electricity consumption, food waste, servers, and any other aspect of your carbon footprint. We can provide certified one-off offsets for a specific environmental or CO2 footprint, or create a custom sustainability subscription that meets your needs. For simple, self-serve CO2 offsets, use our carbon calculator offset tool.
Transparent Measurement
We calculate environmental impact and emissions using Greenhouse Gas Protocol and EPA eGRID research benchmarks, alongside data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) within the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We also offer comprehensive sustainability software to organizations in need of carbon accounting and GHG reporting help.
