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The best way to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is not to put them there in the first place.
Edmonton (June 5, 2009) - When tackling emissions reductions for any organization the planner should first assess the "low hang fruit"; the easy-to-implement first steps. HSAA/NUPGE began with reducing: implementing power cycling to the winter parking lot plug-ins, encouraging bus transportation to events, turning off computer equipment and lights when not in use, and implementing two sided copying.
At this year's AGM, HSAA/NUPGE went further. Using the services of a BC-based environmental company called Offsetters, they calculated the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions for the entire convention.
The Offsetters charge their clients $20/tonne of CO2e that their event is calculated to produce. These emissions would include everything from plane flights, including guests flying in from other provinces, estimates for car and bus travel, computer use in the hotels plus all CO2e emissions associated with the hotel operation itself. The calculations for HSAA's spring AGM were estimated at around 40 tonnes of CO2e emissions over the 2 days.
HSAA/NUPGE then selects a project from the company's list of qualified projects that aim to reduce CO2e emissions. The price per tonne multiplied by the number of tonnes created by their event would then be paid to the project chosen.
The important feature of this process is that this company has stringent criteria for the projects that they support. Projects must meet what is known as an "additionality" criteria.
For example, no funds would be given to a power company which improves its electrical transmission efficiency, for this would be required and indeed cost saving for that power company. Funds would be given instead, to boost a project which would not otherwise be feasible. Offsetters give an example of a greenhouse warmed and powered by composted waste, a project that is not sustainable without an "offset" contribution.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More Information:
The Carbon Market: Carbon Offsets - download PDF
This brief outlines the concept of carbon offsets and the criteria required to make a good offset. It cautions against offsets as a solution for blanket greenhouse gas reductions.