REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT

HOW TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT OR EMISSION

   India, being home to 9 out of 10 world’s Most Polluted cities, is facing a serious pollution problem. To quantify this problem, the term “carbon footprint” comes to play. It is defined as the amount of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide(CO2) , released into the atmosphere by a particular human activity. In one way or other, everyone contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions either by the way we travel, the food we eat, the amount of electricity we consume and many more. There is almost 10-fold increase in human’s carbon footprint since 1961.

   Reducing carbon Footprint should be the foremost of our responsibilities and contribution towards environment. Every person can do one’s bit to alleviate emissions. Here are some of the most effective means to reduce one’s carbon footprint:

  •  – For short distances, one should either walk or ride bicycle to avoid carbon emissions completely. Similarly, Carpooling and public transportation should be encouraged to reduce CO2 emissions

  •  – Energy efficient appliances should be used to reduce CO2 emissions. For instance, CO2 emissions from traditional incandescent bulb is 8 times more than that of LED bulb. Similarly, refrigerators and ACs with better ‘Star Ratings’ can help bring down the emissions

  •  – Forests are called the lungs of our planet for a reason. A tree absorbs kilos of CO2 from environment every year. More and more plantation drives should be carried out by local communities and deforestation should be discouraged

  •  – 3R’s principle of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle should be followed. Reducing the need to buy new products, encouraging reusing existing ones as well as recycling the used ones can considerably bring down our emissions. For instance, recycling one tonne of glass bottles prevents more than 300kg of CO2 emission

  •  – Cleaner fuels like CNG, LPG, hydrogen fuels, electric vehicles can bring down CO2 emissions from transportation tremendously

  •  – Products with loads of unnecessary plastic packaging should be discouraged as the waste generated fills the landfill sites and pollutes environments

  •  – Going solar, as outlined by government’s recent policies, will go a long way in bringing down CO2 emissions

  •  – Lastly, switching off lights and other appliances when not required is the least we can do to contribute towards environment

   It is each and everyone’s responsibility to implement these little acts in our daily lives to do our bit for the environment. It will go a long way to reduce the damage being done to our environment and protecting it for the future generations.

CARBON NEUTRAL CERTIFICATION BY NCMA

CARBON NEUTRAL CERTIFICATION BY NCMA

   Carbon neutrality is achieving net zero carbon emissions by individuals, organizations, businesses etc. It is done by measuring amount of carbon released and compensating it by preventing equivalent amount of emission from happening somewhere else, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference. For instance, a corporation may plant trees in different places to offset the electricity it consumes. Carbon neutrality aims at achieving a zero carbon footprint. All those organizations and individuals seeking carbon neutral status entails reducing and/or avoiding carbon emissions first so that only unavoidable emissions are offset.

   Carbon Neutral Certification provides organizations the credibility to illustrate their emission reduction efforts.  It helps communicate product’s resource efficiency, drives sales, builds strong brand image and most importantly helps in cost reductions. Carbon Neutral Certification by National Carbon Management Association (NCMA) recognizes an organization’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions responsibly. Through this recognition, NCMA confirms that the organization recognizes the problem of climate change and is sincerely working towards curbing emissions.

   We at NCMA help and support Indian organizations to become a “Carbon Neutral Company” under the Carbon Offset Standard. Our Carbon Offset program is recognized and valid in 187 countries including India. People are increasingly seeking to adopt carbon neutral (Eco-Friendly) lifestyle because 70% people have “personal experience” of global warming.  And doing business or buying product and services from a Carbon Neutral Company makes a concrete contribution to climate protection.

 Certification offers real advantages

  • Company can now brand themselves as… ‘Awarded Carbon Neutral Company” by National Carbon Management Association.

  • Improve corporate image and public relations.

  • Generate revenue and increase market share by differentiating products and services with a powerful statement of environmental credentials

  • Brand goodwill.

  • Tax benefit as per 80G

  • Many companies are now looking seriously at the environmental impact of their activities, and how they can minimize the carbon they produce and offset the remainder.

 

   NCMA has been applying ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility to inspect the status of CSR behavior. It can help and support Indian organisations to become a “Carbon Neutral Company”  under the Carbon Offset Standard.  More can be known in this regard by checking NCMA’s website on https://www.ncmaindia.org/contact-us/  or contacting NCMA at   info@ncmaindia.org . All in all, NCMA will help in bringing all the elements to become carbon neutral under one roof for a guilt free business and life.

COMPENSATE YOUR CARBON EMISSIONS

Carbon offsetting is an internationally recognized way to compensate  for unavoidable carbon emissions.

Our everyday actions, at home and at work, consume energy and produce carbon emissions, such as driving, flying and heating/cooling buildings. Carbon offsetting is used to balance out these emissions.

Carbon offsetting is just one element of an integrated carbon management strategy, and this should be considered as a whole.

Planting trees is a great way to help sequester carbon emissions. Through photosynthesis trees absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and wood. By ensuring that trees planted are native broad leaf species this helps to preserve the environment and biodiversity. Planting takes place in school locations and other protected biodiversity sites. All trees are high quality cell grown ‘whips’ (year old saplings) and are tagged with unique identification codes.

Choosing to offset through “National Carbon Management Association” means you’ll support best practice projects that deliver value for the environment, your goodwill as well as local communities.