Brighter Planet

A year for the climate

According to the EPA, the average American is responsible for approximately 23 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. These emissions come from lifestyle choices, like traveling and eating meat, and public services, like keeping the streetlights on and building our roads and schools. When you give the gift of carbon neutrality for a year, you’re helping people think about the components of a carbon footprint and the responsibility we all have to take care of emissions attributed to personal lifestyle choices. With this gift certificate, you’ll help build renewable energy projects in communities across the United States, like our dozen small wind turbines in Minnesota and South Dakota, and methane capture on family farms in Pennsylvania.

How do we calculate your annual footprint?

The EPA calculates that the entire U.S. carbon footprint, divided by the U.S. population, comes out to 23 tons per person each year. We then add in a few things the EPA leaves out, like radiative forcing effects from airplanes and fuel used for international travel that originates in the US. All told, it comes to 24.78 tons per year per person.

When you choose to buy offsets from Brighter Planet, you join a community of green Americans doing their part for the planet. Your purchase includes:

• Top-quality offsets from the exclusive Brighter Planet blend
• Access to meaningful conservation tips that match your lifestyle
• An online climate profile that allows you to record your conservation efforts, manage the offsets you’ve purchased and earned, and track your progress as you go beyond carbon neutrality
• A beautiful certificate for you to print and display