According to the World Health Organization, around 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water at home – that’s 30% of the global population.

More than two billion people must boil contaminated water to make it safe for consumption, often using inefficient, carbon-intensive wood stoves. Projects that help communities to access clean water can secure funding by selling carbon offsets as a result of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

So how can your organization benefit by investing in clean water carbon offset projects?

Social, Environmental and Economic Benefits

In many developing countries, waterborne illnesses are a leading cause of death for young children, and people of all ages risk serious harm by drinking untreated water.

Families and communities typically use wood stoves to purify their water by boiling it, which not only causes indoor air pollution but also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change.

The wood burned in stoves is often unsustainably harvested, so it contributes still further to climate change by unlocking the carbon stored in the wood. The consequent deforestation and destruction of valuable wildlife habitats add to the damage caused.

By providing reliable and affordable means of water purification, all of these problems can be addressed.

Access to clean water improves the health of entire communities, meaning they spend less money on medicines and healthcare and can work or attend school more regularly.

The cost of fuel is reduced, and families can spend less time collecting firewood for the stove, so children can study more and adults can work and earn more to feed their families. Local wildlife and ecosystems benefit as forest areas are preserved.

In addition, clean water offset projects can deliver positive impacts to women’s empowerment by reducing the time spent collecting firewood and boiling water. This allows women to participate fully in education and employment.

Who Invests in Water Offset Projects?

Businesses that have water stewardship targets, including water-intensive industries, can benefit from investing in water offset projects such as providing affordable, low-maintenance water filtration technology, or drilling boreholes that can be used to extract clean water from the ground.

Water offset projects can help your organization meet its sustainability and environmental targets. It can also help improve the resilience of your supply chain, and enhance your reputation with customers and investors by delivering positive impacts to communities.

Since individuals, families and communities in developing areas often cannot finance the improvement of water infrastructure themselves, carbon offset projects that provide upfront funding are an ideal way to ensure such projects happen. Investing in NativeEnergy Help Build™ offsets can accelerate the provision of clean water to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the world.

How Are Water Offset Projects Certified?

Water improvement offset projects must pass the same tests as other carbon offset schemes to ensure that carbon savings are genuine, quantifiable, permanent and additional.

The methodology for measuring carbon savings will vary depending on the different elements of each project – reducing deforestation or avoiding fossil fuel use – but a rigorous process of third-party validation and verification guarantees they meet internationally recognized carbon standards and demonstrate financial additionality.

Choosing an Experienced Water Offset Provider

Clean water carbon offset projects are implemented in countries around the globe and, by their nature, are often in rural and underdeveloped regions.

This can make successful implementation and management challenging, but projects such as the Kenya Clean Water Project demonstrate that greenhouse gas-reducing water purification schemes can successfully save thousands of tons of carbon emissions each year.

NativeEnergy’s offset program provides funding to clean water projects that otherwise would not happen. To invest in progressive offsets that bring clean air and water to families and deliver positive impacts to health and well-being, contact us now.