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Carbon offsetting: a complementary tool for achieving zero emissions

In 2022, over 40 million tonnes of CO₂ were traded in the voluntary carbon offset market. This impressive figure illustrates the growth of a mechanism that has become essential in a context of accelerated environmental and energy transition.

Faced with the urgent need to protect the environment and growing regulatory pressure, companies are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint, particularly with regard to so-called indirect emissions (Scope 3), which are often the most difficult to control. In this context, carbon offsetting appears to be a complementary tool, enabling the financing of sequestration projects in France and abroad.

These projects - if well chosen and certified - generate carbon credits that organizations can use to offset their emissions. And this in sectors where decarbonization is still complex or costly (transport, energy production, supply chain, etc.).

At a time when the Pluriannual Energy Program (PPE) is setting ambitious targets for the coming decades, it is more essential than ever to clarify the role that offsetting can - or cannot - play in a truly committed climate strategy.

How can it be effectively integrated into an emissions reduction strategy?

1. Carbon offsetting: principles and challenges

1.1 Understanding carbon offsetting and its challenges

1.2 The benefits of a carbon offset strategy

2. GCI, your partner for a tailor-made carbon strategy

2.1 The carbon neutrality process

2.2 Invest in your low-carbon strategy with GCI

Carbon offsetting: principles and challenges

Carbon offsetting consists of financing a project whose activities help to offset some or all of a structure's emissions.

If this financing involves the acquisition of carbon credits, it is crucial to understand that these credits do not only represent avoided emissions. They can also finance initiatives aimed at strengthening GHG sinks, and their value is linked more to an amount invested than to a strict correspondence of a tonne of CO2 avoided.

In addition, it enables players (companies, individuals, etc.) not subject to a legal regulatory obligation to reduce their carbon footprint by voluntarily purchasing carbon credits.

🤔Understanding carbon offsetting and its challenges

The underlying principle of carbon offsetting is that the impacts of a tonne of carbon emitted somewhere can be neutralized by the sequestration Long-term storage of CO2 outside the atmosphere (forest, ocean, etc.) or the reduction of another tonne of carbon elsewhere.

Each tonne of GHG avoided by an offset project, expressed in Tonnes of CO2 equivalent (TeqCO2), a unit of measurement common to all greenhouse gases, is certified by the issue of a carbon credit.

Individuals, organizations, local authorities or events can voluntarily offset all or part of the emissions they have not been able to reduce, by purchasing these Unit carbon credits corresponding to one TeqCO2 avoided on an offset project.

The rules of carbon offsetting :

▶️La measurability: avoided emissions must be accounted for on the basis of a methodology approved by an independent third party

▶️La verifiability: an independent auditor verifies the project's GHG savings on an annual basis.

▶️La permanent: GHG emissions must be avoided for at least 7 years.

▶️L additionality: the project must enable GHG emissions to be avoided compared with a baseline situation. The project leader must also prove that without the income from the sale of carbon credits, the project could not have been implemented.

If these criteria are not met, the use of the term carbon offset may be called into question.

💡The benefits of a carbon offsetting strategy

1️⃣ What's at stake for companies faced with the challenges of environmental transition?

Beyond the technical aspect, offsetting also responds to strong societal pressure. Against a backdrop of climate urgency, consumers, employees, partners and investors expect organizations to take concrete action to limit their impact.

🟩88% of European citizens believe that climate change is a serious problem (Eurobarometer, 2023)

🟩70% expect companies to commit to visible environmental actions, particularly in terms of energy efficiency and renewable electricity consumption.

🟩For investors, environmental indicators (such as CSRD extra-financial reporting or ESG scores) are becoming key financing and valuation criteria.

🟩 Obtaining recognized environmental labels can also positively influence their decisions, as can demonstrating efficient energy management.

🟩On the commercial front, demonstrating a credible low-carbon approach can boost customer confidence and open up new business opportunities or partnerships.

🟩 Financial assistance and tax incentives are also available to support these initiatives, notably BPI France's Décarbon'Action program.

Offsetting emissions - provided you do so rigorously - also enhances your image as a committed, transparent and responsible player. It becomes a tool of communication, reputation management and attractiveness, in a world where public opinion and the carbon market are increasingly scrutinizing environmental commitments.

2️⃣ The application of carbon offsetting in the field (reforestation, renewable energies, etc.).

Carbon offsetting is not just a theoretical or financial concept; it takes the form of concrete initiatives in the field to reduce or capture greenhouse gas emissions.

🌲 Reforestation and sustainable forest management projects

Reforestation and the preservation of existing forests are among the most common offset projects. These initiatives involve planting trees or sustainably managing forests to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

▶️Bénéfice environment: A mature forest can capture between 6 and 10 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare each year(The European Parliament).

It then releases 12 to 20 tonnes of oxygen, essential to our ecosystem.

▶️Bénéfice Social: These projects also generate local employment in rural areas and help preserve biodiversity.

☀️ Renewable energies

Renewable energy projects, such as solar farms, wind farms or hydroelectric power plants, aim to replace fossil fuel sources with clean solutions.

▶️Impact: According to ADEME, in France, each megawatt-hour (MWh) produced by a coal-fired power plant emits 1.06kg eq.

Renewable energy plants such as photovoltaic power plants emit up to 42 times less CO2 eq...

Or onshore wind turbines, which emit 0.0141kg eq, 75 times less than a coal-fired power plant.

▶️BénéficesEconomic: These projects promote energy independence and reduce the cost of importing fossil fuels.

♻️ Waste recovery and methanization

Converting organic waste into energy via methanization is another approach to carbon offsetting. This technique reduces emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO₂, while producing renewable energy.

▶️Exemple concrete: 1kWh of biomethane injected into the gas network is equivalent to 200 g CO2 equivalent avoided(ADEME).

💨 Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Carbon capture and storage technologies make it possible to capture the CO₂ emitted by heavy industry or power plants and store it in geological formations.

▶️Efficacité: "The CCUS could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by around 10% by 2050"(IAE)

▶️Avantages: These technologies are essential for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, such as cement and chemicals.

👥 Social and educational projects

In addition, offset projects also aim to improve local practices:

🟢Restoring mangroves and coastal ecosystems (Southeast Asia) helps reduce deforestation and global warming.

"Just three years ago, the mangroves of Sungsang, in the south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, were on the verge of dying out. But that was without the mobilization of the "shoots of hope", the protectors of biodiversity who, with the help of local communities, managed to save this ecosystem".

"Three years later, the landscape is quite different: "40,000 seedlings have been replanted".

Courrier Internatinal

🟢Educational programs to raise awareness of sustainable natural resource management.

🟢Programme: "REDD+ program in Brazil".

The REDD initiative was set up by the UN in 2008 to support developing countries in the design and implementation of REDD strategies.

The REDD program aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation by offering financial incentives to countries and communities that protect, restore and sustainably manage their forests.

FAO

🟢The Clean Cooking in Africa program is a key initiative aimed at transforming traditional cooking practices, largely dependent on biomass (wood, charcoal, organic waste) that are still used by millions of African households.

🟢Reducing CO₂ emissions and preserving forests: solar, gas and electric stoves replace traditional cooking practices, decreasing dependence on biomass and reducing deforestation as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

🟢Improving public health and living conditions: These solutions reduce exposure to toxic fumes, preventing respiratory illnesses, while freeing women from intensive wood gathering, enabling them to devote themselves to other productive activities.

These carbon offset projects create both co-environmental benefits (preserving ecosystems, improving air quality) and socio-economic benefits (creating jobs, improving living conditions).

To maximize their impact, it's essential to choose projects that are certified and validated by recognized standards such as Gold Standard, VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) or CDM (Clean Development Mechanism). At GCI, we work with you to identify and integrate the projects best suited to your needs and environmental ambitions.

How to sustain and strengthen your business through a successful low-carbon trajectory.

Download the Guide

GCI, your partner for a tailor-made carbon strategy

The carbon neutrality process

To achieve the Net Zero Initiative targets set by France for 2050, we need to act on 2 levers: reducing our carbon footprint, and storing CO2 in biological or technological sinks.

However,ADEME reminds us that the main objective for private and public companies is to drastically reduce their direct and indirect emissions. To achieve this, they need to implement a low-carbon strategy:

1️⃣ Calculate and reduce

In order to reduce the carbon footprint generated by a company at every stage of its value chain, it is essential to draw up an exhaustive list of emission factors. To this end, GCI assists companies in measuring their carbon footprint and identifying the actions needed to reduce it, by carrying out a GHG assessment.

2️⃣Décarboner purchasing

Once the assessment has been carried out and the emission sources identified, you need to re-evaluate the design of your offers, taking into account your environmental commitments.

Our Decarbo'Solutions®, the winning combination for an effective and sustainable environmental transition:

Decarbo'Supply®: Decarbonize your purchasing throughout your supply chain. Reduce the carbon footprint of your products through your suppliers.

Decarbo'Target®: Project your GHG footprint over time.

In addition, financial aid and tax incentives are available to support these initiatives, notably BPI France's Décarbon'Action program.

3️⃣Compenser while contributing

Residual emissions that the company cannot reduce require sequestration actions or the financing of projects to offset them. This lever should be used as a last resort, once all reduction possibilities have been exhausted.

💥Invest in your low-carbon strategy with GCI

Have you already carried out your GHG assessment? Make a lasting commitment to a low-carbon strategy with GCI.

GCI's carbon offset service enables you to neutralize some or all of your greenhouse gas emissions by supporting certified projects.

Thanks to a transparent and measurable approach, we can help you invest in concrete, high-impact initiatives:

➡️ Neutralize your CO2 emissions and invest in projects with a positive impact on the environment.

➡️ Improve your CSR image by supporting certified carbon offset projects.

➡️ Support sustainable innovation and contribute to the goal of net CO2 emissions by 2050.

➡️ Reduce your carbon footprint while helping to create natural carbon sinks.

Carbon offsetting can play a useful role in environmental transition, provided it is used in a rigorous, transparent and controlled way. It should not be used as a substitute for action to reduce emissions, but as a last resort to deal with unavoidable residual emissions. By integrating it into a global low-carbon strategy, companies can not only limit their impact, but also meet the growing expectations of their stakeholders.

This is the rationale behind Global Climate Initiatives' approach, which supports organizations at every stage of their low-carbon transition: from awareness-raising to concrete emissions reduction, via credible, certified offsetting. The challenge is not to offset for the sake of offsetting, but to offset better - in the service of genuine sustainable change.