About Carbon Footprint OffsettersCarbon Footprint Offsetters offers Canadian consumers an opportunity to dispell the Carbon Dioxide Emissions (CO2e) they produce through their consumption of fossil fuel based energy. By purchasing Certificates with a CO2e tonne value, you will be contributing to the production of Green Power. There are two types of Certificates you can purchase:
Buying RECs Is Like Using Green Power
One of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions is electricity generation. By choosing to buy green power from your local utility, you can lower your greenhouse gas emissions dramatically.
However, if green power is not yet available in your area, you can still offset your electricity use by purchasing what are known as 'renewable energy certificates' (RECs). Also known as 'green tags' or 'tradable renewable certificates', RECs represent the environmental attributes associated with renewable electricity such as wind and solar. They are typically sold in kilowatt and megawatt-hours or CO2e (equivalency) in tonnes. While RECs are not electricity per se, they have the same environmental effect as buying green electricity.
Here's how it works. For every unit of electricity generated from a renewable energy project, there is a corresponding REC that can be sold. While utility customers cannot dictate which electrons they receive (since electricity from both conventional and renewable energy projects are mixed on the grid), they can choose where their money goes. By purchasing RECs, customers can choose to support clean, renewable energy. The money generated by the sale of RECs goes to the existing renewable energy facilities that generated the REC’s, thus providing a financial incentive for developers to build more renewable energy projects.
These certificates are similar in nature and purpose to RECs with one distinct difference: Up to 20% of the certificates may be sold in advance of the renewable energy facility being commissioned. This provides much needed capital to developers who continue to build green energy production facilities that will allow us to wean ourselves off of fossil-fuel burning hydro plants. Producing more energy without the use of coal or oil burning faciliites means cleaner air for all of us.
It is important to be aware of the differences between these two products. Carbon Footprint Offsetters continues to be the most transparent provider of RECs and CECs in Canada and at the fairest prices. Our demand for transparency within the industry demonstrates our effort to remain accountable to you... the consumer! We make the distinction between the two types of certificates clear so that you can ensure that these offsets and their green attributes are not counted twice.
Carbon Footprint Offseters provides the most transparent solution to Canadian Carbon Offsetting and offers consumers the fairest prices possible.