Events such as conferences, concerts, and sporting events all have a carbon footprint associated with them, and it is often higher than you might think. Carbon offsetting is one method that can reduce these emissions, but finding organizations that offer event carbon offsets can be difficult. So, we had to ask: What are the best carbon offsets for events?

The best organizations for event carbon offsets in terms of overall impact are myclimate, Cool Effect, Sustainable Travel International, and Native Energy. Carbonfund provides standardized offsets for small or large events, and Feast It is a booking platform that offsets event emissions.

Keep reading to learn more about the best carbon offsets for events, how these carbon offset projects work, what their respective offsetting costs are, and what your best way would be to offset your carbon emissions. At the end of the article, we’ll also share with you what the biggest carbon offsetting limitations are and why reducing your carbon footprint is more effective than offsetting it.

Here’s What All the Best Carbon Offsets for Events Have in Common

Carbon offsets are reductions in carbon emissions that are used to compensate for carbon emissions occurring elsewhere. They are measured in tons of CO₂ equivalents and are bought and sold through international brokers, online retailers, and trading platforms on what is known as the global carbon offset market. 

“Carbon Offset: a way for a company or person to reduce the level of carbon dioxide for which they are responsible by paying money to a company that works to reduce the total amount produced in the world, for example by planting trees”

Oxford Dictionary

When you purchase carbon offsets, it’s important that they actually make a difference in total carbon emissions. To achieve that, the following are key criteria:

• Carbon offset projects have to be effective (different projects have different effectiveness rates)
• Carbon offset projects have to be additional
• Carbon offset projects have to be permanent
• The claims from carbon offset projects have to be verifiable

(For a full overview, check out our guide on how to choose carbon offset projects that actually make a difference.)

These Are the Best Carbon Offsets for Events in 2023

Below are our favorite carbon offsets for events (you can click on their link to directly jump to their section in this article):

myclimate: Shaping the Future

myclimate was founded in 2002 by Renat Heuberger, Thomas Camerata, and Patrick Bürgi as an international climate organization with Swiss roots. Today, they have expanded to 45 countries and work with companies of all sizes, public administrations, non-profit organizations, and private individuals to provide high-quality carbon offset projects with quantifiable climate protection. 

“myclimate is your partner for effective climate protection – locally and globally”

myclimate

Project overview: myclimate provides an event carbon offset calculator, where they take into account any general information, mobility, accommodations, catering, energy usage, materials, transport, and waste of an event. After calculating the emissions from your event, you can purchase individual or subscription carbon offsets or make a donation. Purchases fund offset projects including energy efficiency, forestry, waste management, and renewable energy. Some examples include efficient cookstoves in the Himalayas, forest management in Switzerland, and hydropower in Vietnam. myclimate currently has 144 voluntary carbon offset projects in 41 countries. 

Carbon offset effectiveness: myclimate offset projects contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and are certified according to either the Gold Standard, VCS, or Plan Vivo.

Carbon offset costs: myclimate offers 3 carbon offset options. Individual offsets at $30 per 1,000kg of CO₂ offset; monthly subscriptions at $23 per 1,000kg of CO₂; and donations at a fixed rate of $30 per 1,000kg of CO₂ offset.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their website to offset your emissions from an event, enroll in an offset subscription, or make a donation to myclimate’s mission by either contributing a specific dollar amount or offsetting a certain kg of CO₂.

Cool Effect: Giving Like the Planet Depends On It

Cool Effect was founded in 1998 by Dee and Richard Lawrence as a small, clean-burning cookstoves project in Honduras. Today, it has grown to represent a platform with 15+ global projects and a community of 500,000+ that offers individuals and businesses the option to offset their carbon footprint. 

“Carbon done correctly”

Cool Effect

Carbon offset overview: Through their event calculator, Cool Effect provides businesses the option to offset events of various sizes, including travel for attendees. The calculator takes into account the number of attendees, days, and domestic/international travelers. Purchasing carbon offsets funds carbon offset projects involving avoided nature loss (forestry, tree planting, grasslands), methane capture, and clean cookstoves. These projects are located in the United States (Montana, Oregon, Tennessee), India, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Honduras, Kenya, and Uganda. 

Carbon offset effectiveness: Cool Effect’s projects are 100% additional, rigorously verified, and adhere to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Carbon offset costs: Their event carbon offsets cost $14.62 per 1,000 kg of CO₂. 

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their website to get your event carbon offsets.

Sustainable Travel International: Transforming Tourism’s Impact on Nature

Sustainable Travel International was founded in 2002 by Brian Mullis to transform tourism’s impact on nature and communities by protecting and conserving this planet’s most vulnerable destinations. Today, they have helped individuals and companies offset over 386,309 metric tons (over 386 million kg) of CO₂ and have supported various carbon offset projects.

“We’re dedicated to minimizing the negative impacts of tourism and maximizing its positive benefits for people, cultures, nature, and wildlife around the globe”

Sustainable Travel International

Project overview: Sustainable Travel International offers three solutions for businesses looking to offset the carbon footprint of an event: 1) conducting a carbon footprint assessment to calculate the emissions generated by the event, 2) having a portion of event ticket sales go toward carbon offset projects, or 3) adding their carbon calculator on your event website. Purchases fund carbon offset projects involving forestry, clean and efficient energy, blue carbon (carbon sequestration), and community-based projects. Some examples include wind farms in Honduras, reforestation in Brazil, and water filtration in Cambodia. 

Carbon offset effectiveness: Sustainable Travel International projects are third-party verified and validated to meet rigorous standards including additionality, permanence, no double-counting, and alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Carbon offset costs: Costs are determined after initial contact.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their website to get in touch with a representative.

Native Energy: Changing the World Through Climate Projects

Native Energy was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bernicke as a platform for organizations to implement projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. 

Today, they offer carbon offsets and renewable energy solutions that provide clients the opportunity to invest and enable the development of new climate projects with direct business benefits.

“Envision your ideal climate solution. Let us build it.”

Native

Project overview: Native offers businesses the option to partner with them to offset the emissions of your event. Native will calculate the carbon footprint of the event, provide carbon offsets and marketing, and share your event with the Native community. With their HelpBuild^TM carbon offsets, you purchase offsets from the project in advance. This enables the project to cut greenhouse gas pollution on your behalf for years to come. An example project is the From Waste to Fuel: Improving Agriculture and Livelihoods in Uganda project which provides small farms with digesters that generate biofuel for cooking and organic fertilizer. 

Carbon offset effectiveness: Native’s offsets are permanent, additional, third-party verified, and validated to one of the following standards: Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve, Plan Vivo, and the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance to help ensure transparency and quality in the creation, quantification, and verification of offset projects.

Carbon offset costs: Costs are determined after initial contact.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can contact a Native representative for more information and to schedule a consultation.

Carbonfund: Go Carbon Neutral

Carbonfund was founded in 2003 by Eric Carlson to make it easy for any individual, business, or organization to reduce and offset their climate impact. Today, they have been incorporated into ClimeCo and provide verified energy efficiency, renewable energy, and forestry carbon offsets for individuals and businesses.

“Reduce what you can, offset what you can’t”

Carbonfund

Project overview: Carbonfund offers offsets for both small (< 250 people) and large (< 500 people) events. The small event package offsets 8 tonnes (16,500 lbs) of CO₂, and the large event package offsets 15 tonnes (33,000 lbs) of CO₂. Purchases support third-party validated and verified energy efficiency, forestry, and renewable energy carbon offset projects globally. To date, they have supported 240 projects in 28 countries.

Carbon offset effectiveness: Carbonfund projects are third-party verified and adhere to the Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry, and Climate Action Reserve to help ensure transparency and quality in the creation, quantification, and verification of offset projects.

Carbon offset costs: Both the small and large event offsets cost $12.50 per 1,000kg. 

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their event/gift website to view and purchase your small or large event carbon offsets.

Feast It: Partnering With Ecologi to Offset Your Event

Feast It was founded in 2017 by Digby Vollrath and Hugo Campbell as a booking platform to connect customers to food and drink suppliers in the United Kingdom (UK). Today, they are the UK’s leading event booking platform, and they have partnered with Ecologi to plant trees and help you offset the emissions of your event.

“Create your perfect event, simply”

Feast It

Project overview: Feast It has an event carbon emissions calculator that can offset the emissions from a wedding, corporate event, birthday, dinner party, celebration, or public-facing event. Feast It has partnered with Ecologi to provide carbon offset projects carried out by Eden Reforestation Projects. Purchases support reforestation carbon offset projects in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, and Bosawas Reserve in Nicaragua.

Carbon offset effectiveness: Ecologi’s reforestation and carbon offsetting projects are certified by either the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard. And Eden Reforestation Projects is included in our list of the Best Charities for Reforestation and Best Carbon Offsets for Reforestation (Planting Trees). 

Carbon offset costs: Offsetting your event costs approximately $14.40 per 1,000kg.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their website and use their carbon offset calculator to get your event carbon offsets.

Co₂nsensus: A Climate-Tech Company

Co₂nsensus was founded in 2019 by Bekir Cetin as a climate-tech company focused on helping individuals and businesses neutralize their carbon footprint. Today, they provide various carbon footprint calculators, carbon offsets for individuals, carbon management software, and a carbon-neutral e-delivery system for e-commerce. 

“Building Co₂nsensus for a Sustainable Future”

Co₂nsensus

Project overview: Co₂nsensus has an event calculator that calculates, analyzes, and offsets your event’s carbon emissions by taking into account the number and location of participants, number of overnight stays, and number and type of meals. After calculating the footprint, you can then choose a carbon offset project to support. Purchases support carbon offset projects involving reforestation, wind energy, energy efficiency, landfill gas, biomass, and hydropower. Example projects include improved cookstoves in Kenya, hydroelectric power in Turkey, and reforestation in Uruguay.

Carbon offset effectiveness: Co₂nsensus’ carbon offset projects are verified by the Gold Standard and Verra and contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Carbon offset costs: Pricing varies depending on the details of your event and the offset project you select.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their website to use their event calculator and offset emissions from your event. 

Clear: Join the Climate Change Mission 

Clear was founded in 2005 to use technology and innovation to empower individuals and smaller companies to easily take environmental action. Today, they provide individuals and businesses the option to offset various activities while supporting verified carbon offset projects around the world. 

“Will this carbon offset really cover the emissions I can’t avoid creating?” Clear is dedicated to living up to that promise.”

Clear

Project overview: Clear offers a variety of event carbon offsets, including skydiving, balloon flights, hotel stays, and offices/factories. Or you can download their free QAS-Certified Business Carbon Footprint Audit Tool and take the process offline until you’re ready. They offer the option to make your purchase carbon-neutral, 50% carbon negative, 100% carbon negative, or 200% carbon-negative. Purchases support carbon offset projects involving reforestation, efficient cookstoves, renewable energy, methane capture, and landfill gas capture. 

Carbon offset effectiveness: Clear carbon offsets are the first in the world to be independently certified against the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS), a comprehensive independent audit system for companies wanting to become carbon neutral through carbon reduction. 

Carbon offset costs: The cost to offset emissions from an event is approximately $25 per 1,000kg of CO₂. They also offer the option to make your purchase carbon-negative at 50%, 100%, or 200% which increases the overall cost accordingly.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can use the Clear carbon offset calculator to calculate and offset your emissions from various events. Or you can download their audit tool if you aren’t ready to dive in just yet.

Terrapass: Carbon Offsets for Individuals and Businesses

Terrapass was founded in 2004 by Dr. Karl Ulrich to reduce as many carbon emissions as possible via the use of education, online tools, carbon offsets, and renewable energy. Today, they provide verified landfill gas capture, renewable energy, and forestry carbon offsets for individuals and businesses.

“Restore the balance.”

Terrapass

Project overview: Terrapass offers a Green Wedding Carbon Offset that takes into account the number of wedding guests. Depending on the specific plan, it offsets air travel, accommodations, ground transportation, venue, meals, and a honeymoon. Purchases help fund carbon offset projects including farm power, landfill gas capture, wind power, and abandoned coal mine methane capture. 

Carbon offset effectiveness: Terrapass uses the Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry, and the Climate Action Reserve to help ensure transparency and quality in the creation, quantification, and verification of offset projects.

Carbon offset costs: The Green Wedding Carbon Offset plan comes in 3 packages that offset either 500, 1,500, or 2,500 kg of CO₂ at a cost of $15.98, $6.66, or $5.99 per 1,000 kg of CO₂, respectively.

How to get your carbon offsets: You can visit their website to view and purchase your Green Wedding Carbon Offset.

How to Choose Carbon Offset Projects Actually Make a Difference

The following information is a summary for you based on our full guide: “How to Buy Carbon Offsets That Actually Make a Difference”

Purchase carbon offset projects with high effectiveness rates. The offset programs in order of most to least effective are:

• Direct CO₂ removal: Machines remove CO₂ directly from the air. Effective at reducing emissions in the short and long-term because they are additional and permanent.
• Renewable energy: Investing in projects that build and maintain renewable energy sites globally. There is no additionality because renewables are becoming a greater share of our energy mix, with or without the help of offsets.
• Energy efficiency improvements: The creation of products or systems that use less energy than conventional systems to perform the same task. However, if products are replaced too quickly, the amount of CO₂ required to produce the new product would exceed the amount of CO₂ saved with the new product.
• Carbon sequestration: The long-term storage of carbon via forestry practices. Not an effective way to reduce emissions in the long term because there is no guaranteed permanence.

If – and only if – they are both additional and permanent, carbon offsets can help reduce your overall GHG emissions to balance off your personal carbon footprint to fight climate change – at least in the short term. But they can be much more effective if they meet certain key criteria and project standards.

Here are key criteria to look for in a carbon offset program:

• A clearly defined protocol that determines which types of projects are eligible and how emission reductions will be measured

• Independent third-party verification of compliance with the protocol

• Registration of offsets in an offset registry, which tracks each credit with a unique serial number to ensure it is only used once 

• Transparency in project implementation and reporting 

If used correctly, carbon offsets can provide environmental, economic, and social benefits that go beyond reducing carbon emissions. They have the potential to instigate meaningful environmental change and begin to reverse some of the effects of climate change. 

Carbon offset project standards assure transparency and quality in the creation, quantification, and verification of offset projects. This way you can ensure that the project is actually reducing CO₂ emissions. The following are recognized carbon offset standards:

• Verified Carbon Standard (VCS): Considered the world’s leading voluntary GHG program, with 1700+ projects having removed 630+ million tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere. Examples of projects include hydropower in Turkey, forest conservation in Peru, and landfill gas capture in China.

• Gold Standard: A certification that seeks to maximize every dollar of climate and development funding. It has issued 134 million carbon credits from 1700+ projects based in more than 80 different countries. Examples of projects include solar power in India, efficient cooking and heating in China, and wind power in Indonesia.

• Climate Action Reserve (CAR): The premier carbon offset registry for the North American carbon market having issued over 150 million offset credits since its inception in 2001. Examples of projects include landfill gas capture in South Carolina and forest management in California.

• American Carbon Registry (ACR): The first private voluntary GHG registry in the world. Examples of projects include ozone-depleting substances in Arkansas and methane capture from mines in Kentucky.

Choosing carbon offset projects from any of the above project standard registries helps ensure that your project is verified and that it actually reduces CO₂ emissions.

What Are the Biggest Carbon Offsetting Limitations

In fact, there are 9 main carbon offsetting limitations that can make the current voluntary carbon market controversial and lead to confusion, inconsistencies, and a general distrust of the system. Have a look at the quick summary table below.

Why Reducing Your Carbon Footprint Is More Effective Than Offsetting It

The main argument against carbon offsets is that they don’t really reduce overall emissions. Instead of substituting offsetting carbon emissions, we should instead cut the emissions directly at the source. Basically, if we stop emissions from getting into the atmosphere in the first place, we won’t have to worry about offsetting. But have we done this? Have we cut emissions directly at the source? The data says no.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the largest decrease in energy-related carbon emissions since World War II, a decrease of 2 billion tons. However, emissions rebounded quickly at the end of 2020, with levels in December ending 60 million tons higher than those in December 2019. This indicates that the earth is still warming at an accelerated rate, and not enough is being done to implement clean energy practices. 

When you buy a carbon offset, you are paying someone else to cut their emissions so you don’t have to cut your own emissions. This is why offsetting alone will not be enough to reduce global carbon emissions.

Carbon offsets are a good place to start if you want to get into the carbon-emission reduction game, but in order to be effective in the long term, we must not rely on them solely. Cutting emissions from the source and then offsetting the remainder is the best way to reduce our carbon footprint and provide the highest environmental benefits. If we fail to cut emissions first, we will fill up our carbon sinks and render them unusable. Preventing carbon emissions rather than reacting once they are already emitted is the best way to reduce overall emissions.

Carbon offsets reduce GHG emissions from fossil fuels (e.g.; coal, oil, and natural gas). Reducing your consumption of these, in turn, reduces your carbon footprint, which has huge impacts on environmental, economic, and public health. A reduced carbon footprint due to lower GHG emissions can mitigate the effects of climate change, improve public health, boost the economy, and maintain plant and animal diversity.

• Climate change: Reducing your carbon footprint plays a role in mitigating the side effects of global climate change. The more we reduce the amount of GHG emissions, the more we slow the rate of temperature rise, sea-level rise, ice melting, and ocean acidification.

• Public health: Reducing GHG emissions lessens the likelihood and severity of extreme weather events, improves air and water quality, maintains biodiversity, and supports a healthy food supply.

• Economics: Reducing GHG boosts the economy, especially when it becomes economically rewarding to innovate solutions that help protect our planet, fight climate change, and are based on clean energy.

• Plant and animal diversity: Protecting biodiversity protects human health because many plants and animals are used in modern medicines

Carbon offsets have the potential to instigate meaningful environmental change, but to make the greatest impact we must understand both their benefits AND drawbacks.

Final Thoughts

myclimate, Cool Effect, Sustainable Travel International, Native Energy, Carbonfund, Feast It, Co₂nsensus, Clear, and Terrapass have the best carbon offset options to offset emissions from events. They are third-party verified, permanent, additional, use the leading carbon offset standards, and adhere to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

In short, carbon offsets can help reduce your overall carbon emissions to balance off your personal carbon footprint to fight climate change – at least in the short term. But in the long term, direct methods of carbon footprint reduction are much more effective. Reducing your household carbon footprint first before relying on carbon offsets can make more of a difference in the fight against climate change.

Stay impactful,

Sources

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