The global level of CO2 emissions is growing ever faster. It has almost quadrupled since the middle of the 20th century! Globalization has its merits, but the negative effects it brings are fatal. An extreme increase in global world trade with air and sea traffic, more agriculture, fast fashion and short trips to New York.

All with devastating consequences for the climate.

In combating the climate crisis, every positive impact counts. Whether that affects the individual or the company. Reducing the ecological footprint should be everyone's goal. That's why the term "climate neutrality" is rightly getting more and more attention.

There are many approaches to live and act in a more sustainable and climate-friendly way. Whether as an individual or in a company. It is also about reducing and compensating your CO2 consumption.

In the following blog, we would like to introduce you to various C02 compensation options that can help offset your CO2 consumption and that of your company!

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Offset and compensate CO2 emissions? Of course, the most goal-oriented plan for a company should always be to reduce CO2 consumption as much as possible. There are several ways to do this, it starts with production and can go beyond shipping. By the way, you can find tips for more sustainable shippinghere .

In addition to this, a company also has other options for offsetting. This is because the place of origin of the CO2 emissions and offsetting them do not necessarily have to be dependent on each other. This means that emissions produced here can also be offset at the other end of the world. In most cases, this also makes more sense, since other regions of the world are much more affected by the consequences of climate change. In addition, a large part of the production is shifted abroad, e.g. the clothing industry is mostly located in Southeast Asian countries. In addition, Southeast Asia also suffers more from the garbage problem, because there is a lot of imported garbage. If you want to know more about this, please read this article.

So: It is no problem at all to compensate the emissions by projects in other countries of the world.

A compensation can be created by saving CO2 in other places. By financially supporting climate protection projects, these can implement more measures to save CO2, e.g. by planting trees. These can bind CO2 from the atmosphere and thus have a positive impact on our environment. Since more trees can be planted through your donation, you can compensate your CO2 consumption.

Exactly the same principle applies to other projects, e.g. to projects that are committed to the collection of plastic waste or to the development of renewable energies. Your financial support increases the impact of these organizations and can therefore offset your own CO2 consumption.

For private individuals, there are already some great apps that help you to be more climate neutral in your everyday life. One of these is the "Climate" app, which allows you to track your everyday life and thus your consumption. The app measures the amount of CO2 you could offset through various activities, such as your diet and mobility, in order to act in a more climate-neutral way. Then the app suggests different environmental and climate organizations to offset your CO2 consumption, e.g. in the form of donations.

Since the app shows you directly which behavior causes how much CO2, it may be easier for you to act in a more climate-neutral way in the future and thus no longer need the compensation! Donating is of course always possible.

Other apps are e.g. Naturate, EcoHero or Codyo.

But also on the websites of various organizations and projects there is the possibility to offset your own CO2 consumption either as a private person or as a company.

One project that works to reduce plastic pollution in Southeast Asia is the Honu Movement.

In their project, the organization has set four goals: Collect litter, recycle litter, prevent litter, and fight poverty. To do this, they have their sites in Southeast Asia, where they collect plastic waste from beaches and, with the help of small boats, from rivers, estuaries and the ocean. This is all done by hand, so as not to harm any (marine) life. In the meantime, they have around 100 employees on site who take care of cleaning the beaches and seas.

The trash is then collected in "trash cabins" to prevent it from being blown away by the wind or eaten by animals. The trash is then sorted in temporary storage facilities and taken to local, certified recycling companies. In this way, the project avoids long transport routes, which benefits the environment. The plastic waste is recycled and converted into river fuel. This process allows a Co2 saving of 17%.

Another goal of the Honu Movement is to create as many jobs as possible, thus contributing to the fight against poverty. They do this through various job opportunities. Either in collecting and recycling the plastic. Or else in a "school". Because the project includes a weekly class for children in the collection areas. This consists of two parts: On the one hand, a theoretical, educational part about ecosystems and the danger of plastic , on the other hand with craft lessons in which upcycling projects are implemented with the collected materials. At the end of each lesson, they cook and eat together. This not only creates awareness for a sustainable lifestyle among the children, but also some jobs. So there are many reasons to support the Honu Movement.

A second organization we would like to introduce you to is Grow my Tree. At Grow my Tree, there are different packages that are used to plant trees. But not only that, you also get a certification and a partnership about each tree.

With the help of Grow my Tree, customers are recommended in every email or at check-out to buy trees and have them planted. In this way, your company draws attention to the fact that you care about sustainability with every step you take. With a partner logo and your own e-mail signature, it is made clear that this is also a serious site.

There is also the possibility of entering into partnerships directly as a company and thus planting your own trees. Further information is communicated by demand .

Grow My Tree acts according to certain values. For example, they want to create long-term jobs, which also includes training opportunities. To this end, the organization relies on cooperation with local small farmers and villagers. In order to secure the local people's sources of income, the trees do not belong to Grow my Tree, but to the respective village community. Strong attention is paid to cultural sensitivity by paying special attention to cultural traditions and needs. And attention is also paid to the local flora and fauna. Only native tree species are planted to ensure the long-term survival of the trees.

Thus Grow My Tree is not only an organization that tries to do something good for nature, but also for the local population, which often suffers greatly from global climate change.

Although Germany has a high value in the worldwide consumption of CO2, we only suffer from the effects to a limited extent. Other countries feel the effects much more clearly.

Another option is Circulate. Circulate is suitable for companies that want to make their production plastic neutral. This means offsetting plastic consumption. In this project, plastic waste is collected and recycled to offset plastic waste from other companies. For companies, they have a special offer here. The project ensures that for every product that comes into circulation as a result of your company's activities, an equivalent amount of plastic waste is collected and recycled. This way you can offset your company's CO2 consumption and become plastic neutral.

Circulate also offers a plug-in that allows the company to engage with customers and promote plastic-neutral purchases. This is a software extension of your website that promotes plastic neutral purchases.

The whole thing works by Circulate partnering with sustainable and ethical waste management companies. The project guarantees the socio-economic and environmental impact by certifying the partner organizations. In addition, the organizations must undergo regular inspections and all collection and recycling activities are constantly monitored.

If the previous projects were too specific for you and you don't want to commit to one project, maybe Klimaktiv is the right one for you!

Here you are offered various options to achieve your climate neutrality. From the consultation to the solution, Klimaktiv is there to support you individually. Your company can have its CO2 balance determined directly and offset the emissions by investing in various climate projects. There are different offers, e.g. the project for improved cooking stoves and clean drinking water in Rwanda, a communal reforestation project in Nicaragua and the project to build up humus in local soils.

In addition to positive CO2 savings, the focus is also on a positive impact on regional economies, education and social standards. These aspects are in fact largely interrelated. Through training in sustainable management, forest protection projects can ensure sustainable forestry, and humus building promotes regenerative agriculture, making the soil more fertile and thus providing stability in the food supply.

A slightly different way to reduce CO2 is shown by thecompensators*. This project draws attention to the fact that the EU sells nearly two billion "pollution allowances," or CO2 certificates, to companies every year. This means that companies are entitled to one ton of CO2 with the help of this certificate. According to thecompensators*, however, there are far too many of these and the price paid for them is too low for the ecological consequences. So what to do? Thecompensators* are therefore trying to buy as many of these certificates as possible and thus, in turn, force the industries to reduce their emissions.

One certificate in the hands of thecompensators* also means one ton less CO2 for the environment. The scarcer the certificates then become on the market, the more expensive they also become, creating even more incentives for companies to act in a more climate-neutral way.

The work is carried out only by honorary offices and becomes a political statement by the way of acting. There is the option of simple donation to membership. The difference here is that through your support no Co2 is compensated, but the creation of even more CO2 is to be prevented. Since Europe is one of the largest emitters of Co2, it makes sense to ensure lower emissions in Europe as well.

With your donation you can strengthen the incentive for a more climate-friendly production and thus get to the root of the problem of high Co2 emissions in Europe.

Another plus point is that the money for these certificates goes into the Energy and Climate Fund, which supports, for example, renewable energies, energy-efficient building renovation and electromobility. Thus, buying the Co2 certificates has two benefits.

As you can see, there are many different great projects that are committed to the climate neutrality of your company. You have a colorful selection of projects that are committed to a greener future in different ways!