As understanding of the climate crisis grows, we start to learn more about the harm that greenhouse gasses pose to ourselves, the environment, business and the economy – so does the desire to address the issues towards a green change.
“Carbon Neutral”, “Net Zero” and “Climate Positive” are part of the ever-expanding terminology of the climate-vocabulary that allows us to express initiatives and measures for combating man-made impacts to climate change.
The diversity of phrases and the lack of clarity can often mislead or confuse well-intentioned consumers and business-owners, and ultimately result in a lack of motivation or inaction with the problem. However, communicating transparently about them may encourage businesses and individuals to be more proactive.
Let’s define some terminology:
- Carbon neutral means that any CO2 released into the atmosphere from a company’s activities is balanced by an equivalent amount being removed.
- Climate positive means that activity goes beyond achieving net-zero carbon emissions to create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Carbon negative means the same thing as “climate positive.”
- Carbon positive is how organisations describe climate positive and carbon negative. It’s mainly a marketing term, and understandably confusing–we generally avoid it.
- Climate Neutral refers to reducing all GHG to the point of zero while eliminating all other negative environmental impacts that an organisation may cause.
- Net-Zero carbon emissions mean that an activity releases net-zero carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
- Net-Zero emissions balance the whole amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) released and the amount removed from the atmosphere.
What is carbon neutrality?
Carbon neutral was the New Oxford American Dictionary‘s word of the year in 2006 – and ever since, the phrase has reached widespread use in today’s mainstream world. Carbon-neutral refers to the balance of carbon-gas emitting sources and carbon-gas absorbing sinks. Or simply put, the mechanism of eliminating carbon emissions altogether. Carbon sinks are systems that absorb more carbon they emit, such as forest, oceans and soils.
According to the European Union Commission, natural sinks remove between 9.5 and 11 gigatons of CO2 per year. Despite ongoing research and investment, we are still some time away from creating artificial carbon sinks that can remove carbon from the atmosphere at significant scale. Hence, to become carbon-neutral, businesses and individuals have two primary options:
- Reducing their carbon emissions to Net-Zero
- Balancing their emissions through offsetting and the purchase of carbon credits.
How does one become carbon neutral?
Becoming carbon neutral is the latest initiative and buzzword for companies worldwide, but what does it mean to become carbon neutral? As an expert agency of transforming business to reach Net Zero, BillionAir recommends everyone use our native Carbon Calculator as the initial step to accurately map out your own carbon footprint.
Once the total carbon footprint is calculated, you will have a better quantitative sense of how much carbon your company needs to counteract. Then, you can begin reducing carbon emissions by analyzing the worst carbon indicators and take measures to reduce the output. Finally, offset what’s left.
All activity generates some amount of carbon, so it is near impossible to generate zero carbon emissions. Therefore, offsetting is a viable approach to become carbon-neutral. Offsetting your carbon emissions is not only an effective solution to eliminate your remaining carbon footprint, it also sends a strong message to your community that you are committed to taking the road to a sustainable future.
Using our community platform, we currently list a wide array of financial advisers that will help you make the correct green financial choices. Funds proportional to the emissions you seek to counteract will be directed towards carbon-negative solutions that will help you offset emissions. These solutions include ongoing projects working to provide low-carbon technologies to communities at risk of the impacts of climate change, initiatives aiming to restore carbon-sink systems and political groups fighting to introduce more climate positive policies on a global scale.
What is the difference between Carbon Neutral and Net-Zero?
‘Carbon Neutral’ and ‘Net Zero’ are phrases that often come up, and may seem like they are interchangeable. In reality, they do not necessarily mean the same thing. The definitions are often debated, and more often than not used as synonymous words. In both cases, companies are working to reduce and balance their carbon footprint.
For a company to be Carbon Neutral, typically a company first reduces their carbon (CO2) emissions as much as they can. If all carbon emissions produced by the company are equal to the amount of emissions being reduced through their carbon offsets, the company is considered to be Carbon Neutral. The difference between carbon neutral and Net Zero, is that the latter means no leftover carbon is emitted from the get-go. Net Zero companies do not need to capture or offset any additional carbon emissions.
Net zero carbon commitments always involve emission reductions. This requires an initial carbon footprint measurement. This is followed by strategic greenhouse gas emission reduction initiatives and the implementation of renewable energy solutions.For example, a company’s building running entirely on solar, and using zero fossil fuels can label its energy as “zero carbon.”
It’s not just about Carbon
When referring to “net-zero”, it is crucial to specify net-zero carbon or emissions. On the contrary, net-zero emissions refer to the overall balance of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) produced and GHG emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Even if the scientific concept is often applied to countries like the US, China, it can also be used for organisations. In other words, net-zero describes the point in time where the organisation (or individual) stops adding to the burden of climate-heating gases in the atmosphere altogether.
As the EU aims to become the first continent to become carbon neutral, companies and individuals must rapidly reduce their carbon footprint and pave the way for their own sustainability. Now that you are familiar with the terms carbon-neutral, climate positive and net-zero; it is time to achieve your next sustainable step: calculating and reducing your company’s carbon footprint.
Head over to our Lifestyle Carbon Footprint Calculator to find out the best solutions to manage your sources of emissions. Find a Financial Adviser via our online directory, where you can get help from a local adviser or based on your relevant needs.
