Conserve what you can. Offset the rest.
To put it simply…
- Reduce GHG emitting activities [e.g., carpool to work]
- Replace dirty technologies with greener technologies [e.g., get rid of incandescent lightbulbs]
- Offset what you can’t eliminate [e.g., buy Planet Shares or use your Brighter Planet Visa card]
(Introduction to Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality, prepared for Middlebury College by Brighter Planet co-founder Professor Jon Isham and others)
Check out our tips for greener living for more ideas on how to reduce your carbon footprint.
Can I buy my way out of polluting?
No, there is no free pass to pollute. Your efforts to conserve and recycle are crucial to the health of our planet. Still, there is no way for you to reduce your emissions to zero. Brighter Planet products enable you to “make up the difference” between what you conserve in your everyday life and your total impact on the climate.
In addition to offsetting your personal carbon footprint, of course, when you use Brighter Planet products you are also helping build renewable energy projects.
Brighter Planet
- What about contributing to environmental charities?
- Why did you partner with Bank of America?
- What’s your strategy for climate change?
- Conserve what you can. Offset the rest.
- Where does the money go?
- Good credit, bad credit
- What is your for-profit or non-profit status?
- How does the annual audit work?
Carbon Footprints
- What units and measures are used for carbon footprints and offsets?
- What is a carbon footprint?
- How do I use conservation recommendations?
- How is my carbon footprint calculated?
- How big is a ton of CO2?
- What are regimens?
- What is the average carbon footprint?
Carbon Offsets
- What is "additionality"?
- What is a carbon offset?
- What is "transparency"?
- What is the future-stream model for carbon offsets?
- What units and measures are used for carbon footprints and offsets?
- How will I know that I’m making a difference?
- What’s the life of a carbon offset?
- How is an offset retired, and why?
- How does Brighter Planet choose quality carbon offsets?
- What’s the difference between carbon offsets and RECs?
- What are campaigns?
- What standards do you follow?
- What is "social value added"?
- What’s the future of carbon offsets?
- What is "permanence"?
- How do you calculate offset equivalents?
- What is the estimation methodology for carbon offset amounts?
- What is "new construction"?
Climate Change
- Why stop climate change?
- What’s your strategy for climate change?
- How do renewable energy projects help the environment?
- What are publicly-available sources of climate change data?
My Brighter Planet
- How will I know that I’m making a difference?
- What are teams?
- As a cardholder, how do I view my rewards online?
Products
- Who makes credit decisions?
- How do I go paperless and get 1,000 bonus points?
- As a cardholder, how do I view my rewards online?
- Where does the money go?
- Good credit, bad credit
- What is a security code?
Renewable Energy Projects
- How does the portfolio change over time?
- How will I know that I’m making a difference?
- What is the Portfolio Promise?
- How are projects operated? What happens if one fails?
- What types of projects are there?
- What’s the importance of project diversity?
- Can I pick which projects I want to support?
- How is a project added to the portfolio?
- Where does the money go?
- How do renewable energy projects help the environment?