Carbon offsets… and carbon offsets
Not all carbon offset units are created equal. There’s a wide range of carbon offsets that differ in source, methodology, and price. We undertake a rigorous selection process when it comes to the carbon offsets we purchase. The eligible carbon offsets we buy meet the Carbon Neutral Standard integrity requirements set by Climate Active.
There are many different offset methodologies. Some include reforestation, renewable energy, or energy efficiency projects that generate eligible carbon offsets; projects that involve the destruction of certain industrial gases; and projects that involve the capture and destruction of methane from landfills and certain agricultural activities.
Many of these projects also provide additional positive environmental and social benefits.
“We know that balancing quality and affordability is important to our customers, so we only purchase eligible carbon offsets that meet the integrity requirements under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard, which is backed by the Australian Government.”
Carbon offsets we've pre-purchased
We believe that the projects we’ve chosen will make a real difference. Initially, our pre-purchase obligations have been secured with certificates for the following projects:
- Westmere Regeneration Project in NSW: this native forest regeneration program generates Australian Carbon Credit Units and supports our local graziers.
- BURN Stove project in Kenya: each cook stove produced for Kenyan families cuts 1.4 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year – the equivalent to a flight from London to New York.
- Carbon Conscious project in WA: helps provide a protective habitat for native flora and fauna and reduces wind and water erosion.
- Ceramic Water Purifiers Project, Cambodia: expected to provide access to adequate levels of clean drinking water to an estimated 1.7 million people across 312,000 households over seven years.
| DIFFERENT TYPES OF CARBON OFFSETS |
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ACCUs: Australian Carbon Credit Units are carbon credits that are generated under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) and meet stringent measurement methodologies to ensure they are eligible. The majority are issued in agriculture and include forestry, vegetation, savanna burning, and landfill gas. Projects must be Australian, and the offsets are issued by the Clean Energy Regulator in Australia.
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CERs: Certified Emission Reductions are a type of offset issued under the Clean Development Mechanism. There is a broad range of credits and methodologies available under the Clean Development Mechanism that apply to projects across the world.
In line with the Climate Active standard, AGL does not invest in pre-2012 CERs, long-term CERs, temporary CERs, CERs involving the destruction of certain gases, CERs from nuclear projects, and CERs from large-scale hydro projects inconsistent with the EU criteria. We also don’t invest in palm oil projects or projects that are the drivers of deforestation, where the destruction of habitats could occur.
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VCUs: Verified Carbon Units are issued under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) program administered by Verra. VCS is the world’s largest voluntary greenhouse gas program. VCUs are characterised by a number of quality assurance principles which ensure all VCUs represent greenhouse gas emission reductions or removals that are real, measurable additional, permanent, independently verified, conservatively estimated, uniquely numbered, and transparently listed.
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While there is a wide range of carbon offsets available to purchase to be carbon neutral, ranging in quality and price, we recognise that our customers want a quality product at an affordable price. For lower emission products, like mobile and internet, we have automatically included carbon neutral at no extra cost.
To ensure quality, we only purchase eligible carbon offsets in Australia and overseas that meet the integrity requirements under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard, which is backed by the Australian Government.
For more information, please visit the AGL website.
