By choosing to invest in carbon offsets, you’ve already demonstrated your commitment to acting responsibly and neutralizing the harmful effects of your greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change isn’t the only negative impact your business activities might have, however; so how can progressive carbon offset projects also minimize environmental pollution and help improve the health and well-being of local communities?
How Does Environmental Pollution Affect Health and Wellbeing?
No matter where your business operations and supply chain are located, it’s likely that your activities contribute in some way to environmental pollution.
Even if your only premises are seemingly non-polluting offices, workers travel there by car and deliveries arrive in diesel-fueled trucks, adding to local air pollution.
If you’re a retailer, production of the goods you sell may have environmental impacts all over the globe and your distribution network may include highly polluting transport such as container ships and cargo planes.
But if you have manufacturing, processing or assembly plants, or your supply chain includes farms, fisheries or mining operations, your environmental impact on local communities may be even greater, because polluted air and water severely affect people’s health.
Environmental pollutants including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, ozone, heavy metals, and particulate matter have been linked to a wide range of health conditions. They include birth defects, respiratory disorders, heart disease and mental disorders, as well as increasing the likelihood of disease overall and reducing life expectancy.
How Can Progressive Offset Projects Minimize Environmental Pollution?
Research has shown that offsetting projects can do more than simply reduce carbon emissions. For every tonne of CO2 offset, a progressive offset project can deliver more than $100 of health benefits and $3 of employment impacts.
The Kenya Clean Water Project, for example, provides upfront funding to install water purification filters in the rural villages of Siaya and Bondo. The filters remove viruses, bacteria and parasites, making the water safe to drink and greatly reducing the incidence of waterborne illness, which can lead to death in young children.
The filters cut CO2 emissions because they replace wood stoves, which the villagers previously used to boil water to make it drinkable. Replacing the polluting wood stoves also improves indoor air quality, reducing the risk of respiratory illness and cancer caused by airborne particulates and contributing to better health and well-being for families.
Not all carbon offset projects can deliver these impacts, but working with an experienced progressive offset provider can help you identify opportunities to improve the health of people and communities while also meeting your emissions targets and delivering quantifiable sustainability benefits for your organization.
Health and Wellbeing Improvements Closer to Home
It’s not just less developed countries that can benefit: Progressive offset projects in the US can also have positive health impacts for local communities.
Methane offset projects that separate and compost farm manure can help reduce environmental pollution from runoff, which can contaminate water sources. Many of these projects also create a supply of organic fertilizer, reducing the need for synthetic, petroleum-based alternatives which are known to contain toxic chemicals that can cause long-term health problems.
Can Carbon Offsets Boost the Social Impact of Your Business?
No matter what sector your business operates in, or where in the world your suppliers are, you can choose an offset project that creates positive social impacts and boosts your CSR credentials.
Progressive carbon offset projects can be complex, but NativeEnergy has demonstrated that its projects can successfully save thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, and deliver significant social impacts.
NativeEnergy’s offset program provides funding to carbon reduction projects that otherwise would not happen. To invest in progressive offsets that reduce environmental pollution and improve the health and well-being of local communities, contact us today.