Carbon Offset Scheme
OVERVIEW
Carbon offsetting works to reduce the burning of fossil fuels by helping design and fund and utilizing alternative cleaner energy sources. When fossil fuels (such as wood and coal) are burnt carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. It is now widely recognized that this release of carbon dioxide and other ‘greenhouse gasses’ (such as methane) is having a detrimental impact on our planet in the form of global warming. This in turn is leading to extreme weather changes across the globe.
Many Australians have experienced firsthand the horrifying impact of
widespread flooding and fire. Our neighbors in New Zealand and Japan have been devastated by earthquakes of increasing magnitude in recent years. The level of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere is increasing year by year through everyday activities. These everyday activities are undertaken by everyone of our planets ever increasing population and include heating and cooling our houses, running our cars, doing our washing and regular plane flights for business or our annual holidays. Australia is currently ranked at 11th place worldwide for top producers of emissions and in response to this "On 1 July 2012, the
Australian Government introduced a $23 per tonne carbon price on greenhouse
emissions to be paid by Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitting companies"
(ABS 2012). This means that the largest contributors of greenhouse emissions will
be taxed with the aim of promoting accountability and revenue earned will be
used promote cleaner energy initiatives.
WHAT IS CARBON OFFSETTING
“A greenhouse gas (GHG) or “carbon” offset is a unit of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) that is reduced, avoided, or sequestered to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere”. (World Resources Institute 2012)
“Organisations that participate in offsetting as part of a
broader carbon management strategy allow for deeper cuts in GHG emissions
further reducing their environmental impact”. (ICROA
2012)
After all other policies have been put in place to reduce pollution and conserve energy and water consumption, there is a further step that can be taken in order to promote environmental sustainability. Carbon offsetting involves a person or business paying for or trading their carbon emissions. There are many ways this can be done, when you buy a plane flight you are often given the option to buy a carbon offset to mitigate the effects of your travel. The airline company then donates the money on your behalf to other company's involved in projects that reduce emissions such as planting trees or use of alternative energy sources such as wind farms.
WHY ENGAGE IN A CARBON OFFSET SCHEME
· To participate in reducing carbon emissions for the future good of our planet and children.
· To promote an increased positive public profile and encourage others to follow in our footsteps.
· To attract community sponsorship in light of positive contribution to environment.
· To engage and attract employees who are dedicated to environmental sustainability.
· To prepare for future regulatory measures and show support for the government's Emission's Trading Scheme.
. To give children an introduction to environmental regulation practices and complement other subjects taught.
IMPLEMENTATION
Orion Primary School will target specific activities that we believe may generate high carbon emissions. Our School will partner with offset provider Climate Friendly. Climate friendly is a regulated organisation with gold standard certification from the World Wildlife Fund and a member of ICROA - the international carbon reduction and offset alliance (Shelftalovick, 2012). Climate friendly will calculate our carbon footprint for these targeted activities using reliable and transparent methods and then advise us of the equivalent monetary offset amounts required. We will then purchase these offsets using money obtained from fundraising and parent and local community donations. Carbon Friendly uses money raised (or invested) from people such as us for a range of projects. Of note is "The Cambodian Cookstove project" where funds were used to work with the local people to develop a new type of stove that uses 20 to 30% less wood than more traditional stoves. Over time this will reduce Cambodia's greenhouse emissions significantly and also contribute to increased health and economic benefits for the Cambodian people.
Click here to read more about the type of projects we will be supporting.
Activities targeted will include:
· School excursions – particularly those where school buses are used.
· Teacher training conferences – with large usage of travel, paper and other high energy resources.
· School functions such as discos and concerts – which also use high energy resources.
Fundraising will come from a range of environmentally friendly initiatives including:
· Sales from market garden herbs, vegetables and eggs not used elsewhere in the school.
· A community busy bee initiative where students and parents can offer services such as gardening to local residents.
· Contributions from parents towards travel (and other) offsets much like the airlines do.
· A voluntary environmental levy added to school fees annually.
. Money saved from implementation of other initiatives will also be used to purchase offsets.
EVALUATION
The Committee will produce a bi- annual report which outlines the following measures:
· The targeted activities’ carbon usage.
· Totals funds raised through fundraising.
. Cost of fundraising - time and monetary.
. Total Offsets purchased.
· Details of specific projects funded by offsets.
. Level of educational benefits for students involved in the program.
A cost benefit approach will be used when evaluating measures and we will also monitor which projects we have donated to and their effectiveness. Changes will be made if it is felt necessary by general consensus of the committee.
RESOURCES
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved Oct 20 from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4628.0.55.001main+features20May+2012#anchor5
Climate Friendly. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.climatefriendly.com/Business/BusinessPackages/Event/
International carbon reduction and offset alliance. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.icroa.org/Organisation.
Sheftalovich, Z. (2012). Carbon countdown: how green are your carbon offsets. Pp16. MLA 7th ed. Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
World Resources Institute. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.wri.org/publication/bottom-line-offsets Climate Friendly
IMAGES
Blue Skies Ahead. Retrieved October http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/photos/20-amazing-wind-farm-photos/blue-skies-ahead
Skeda. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.skeda.com.au/skeda-it-carbon-offset-programme
Carbon offsetting works to reduce the burning of fossil fuels by helping design and fund and utilizing alternative cleaner energy sources. When fossil fuels (such as wood and coal) are burnt carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. It is now widely recognized that this release of carbon dioxide and other ‘greenhouse gasses’ (such as methane) is having a detrimental impact on our planet in the form of global warming. This in turn is leading to extreme weather changes across the globe.
Many Australians have experienced firsthand the horrifying impact of
widespread flooding and fire. Our neighbors in New Zealand and Japan have been devastated by earthquakes of increasing magnitude in recent years. The level of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere is increasing year by year through everyday activities. These everyday activities are undertaken by everyone of our planets ever increasing population and include heating and cooling our houses, running our cars, doing our washing and regular plane flights for business or our annual holidays. Australia is currently ranked at 11th place worldwide for top producers of emissions and in response to this "On 1 July 2012, the
Australian Government introduced a $23 per tonne carbon price on greenhouse
emissions to be paid by Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitting companies"
(ABS 2012). This means that the largest contributors of greenhouse emissions will
be taxed with the aim of promoting accountability and revenue earned will be
used promote cleaner energy initiatives.
WHAT IS CARBON OFFSETTING
“A greenhouse gas (GHG) or “carbon” offset is a unit of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) that is reduced, avoided, or sequestered to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere”. (World Resources Institute 2012)
“Organisations that participate in offsetting as part of a
broader carbon management strategy allow for deeper cuts in GHG emissions
further reducing their environmental impact”. (ICROA
2012)
After all other policies have been put in place to reduce pollution and conserve energy and water consumption, there is a further step that can be taken in order to promote environmental sustainability. Carbon offsetting involves a person or business paying for or trading their carbon emissions. There are many ways this can be done, when you buy a plane flight you are often given the option to buy a carbon offset to mitigate the effects of your travel. The airline company then donates the money on your behalf to other company's involved in projects that reduce emissions such as planting trees or use of alternative energy sources such as wind farms.
WHY ENGAGE IN A CARBON OFFSET SCHEME
· To participate in reducing carbon emissions for the future good of our planet and children.
· To promote an increased positive public profile and encourage others to follow in our footsteps.
· To attract community sponsorship in light of positive contribution to environment.
· To engage and attract employees who are dedicated to environmental sustainability.
· To prepare for future regulatory measures and show support for the government's Emission's Trading Scheme.
. To give children an introduction to environmental regulation practices and complement other subjects taught.
IMPLEMENTATION
Orion Primary School will target specific activities that we believe may generate high carbon emissions. Our School will partner with offset provider Climate Friendly. Climate friendly is a regulated organisation with gold standard certification from the World Wildlife Fund and a member of ICROA - the international carbon reduction and offset alliance (Shelftalovick, 2012). Climate friendly will calculate our carbon footprint for these targeted activities using reliable and transparent methods and then advise us of the equivalent monetary offset amounts required. We will then purchase these offsets using money obtained from fundraising and parent and local community donations. Carbon Friendly uses money raised (or invested) from people such as us for a range of projects. Of note is "The Cambodian Cookstove project" where funds were used to work with the local people to develop a new type of stove that uses 20 to 30% less wood than more traditional stoves. Over time this will reduce Cambodia's greenhouse emissions significantly and also contribute to increased health and economic benefits for the Cambodian people.
Click here to read more about the type of projects we will be supporting.
Activities targeted will include:
· School excursions – particularly those where school buses are used.
· Teacher training conferences – with large usage of travel, paper and other high energy resources.
· School functions such as discos and concerts – which also use high energy resources.
Fundraising will come from a range of environmentally friendly initiatives including:
· Sales from market garden herbs, vegetables and eggs not used elsewhere in the school.
· A community busy bee initiative where students and parents can offer services such as gardening to local residents.
· Contributions from parents towards travel (and other) offsets much like the airlines do.
· A voluntary environmental levy added to school fees annually.
. Money saved from implementation of other initiatives will also be used to purchase offsets.
EVALUATION
The Committee will produce a bi- annual report which outlines the following measures:
· The targeted activities’ carbon usage.
· Totals funds raised through fundraising.
. Cost of fundraising - time and monetary.
. Total Offsets purchased.
· Details of specific projects funded by offsets.
. Level of educational benefits for students involved in the program.
A cost benefit approach will be used when evaluating measures and we will also monitor which projects we have donated to and their effectiveness. Changes will be made if it is felt necessary by general consensus of the committee.
RESOURCES
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved Oct 20 from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4628.0.55.001main+features20May+2012#anchor5
Climate Friendly. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.climatefriendly.com/Business/BusinessPackages/Event/
International carbon reduction and offset alliance. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.icroa.org/Organisation.
Sheftalovich, Z. (2012). Carbon countdown: how green are your carbon offsets. Pp16. MLA 7th ed. Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
World Resources Institute. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.wri.org/publication/bottom-line-offsets Climate Friendly
IMAGES
Blue Skies Ahead. Retrieved October http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/photos/20-amazing-wind-farm-photos/blue-skies-ahead
Skeda. Retrieved October 17th 2012 from http://www.skeda.com.au/skeda-it-carbon-offset-programme