So I haven’t gotten rid of my car yet, but Mut (my car’s name) hasn’t added any bad stuff to the environment in the last year.
At least not technically — cuz I bought a CO2 Neutral Certification, courtesy of Drive Neutral. I offset my carbon emissions :)
How this works: Drive Neutral’s part of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), a group of US companies that made a pact to lower CO2 emissions. If any of those companies don’t meet their CO2 reduction goals, they have to buy “credits†from other companies that exceeded their goals.
And when you buy CO2 Neutral Certification from Drive Neutral, that money’s used to buy some of these CCX credits, driving up their prices and thus making companies work harder to lower emissions.
Yesterday, I got a chance to chat with Jason, CEO of Drive Neutral — and I found out that I must’ve been one of the first people to buy a certificate!
The nonprofit launched in October 2005 — the month when I bought my offset. It all got started when Jason and Kim — then students at Presidio School of Management — presented a case to the school’s board recommending that Presidio become a member of CCX. The board said yes, if the program was made bigger — So Drive Neutral was formed.
And when Jason graduated from Presidio in May 2006, he was hired to work full time. In the works: A website revamp to include — you guessed it — a blog, and to give consumers info for further reducing their carbon footprint, whether by converting to biodiesel, riding a bike, or taking public transportation.
The idea behind Drive Neutral, Jason sez, is to give people an opportunity to be part of the solution when a lot of the information we get tends to be just about the problems of global warming, along with scientific data. “That’s not what the average American wants to get into,” sez Jason.
Which is why, especially since An Inconvenient Truth came out, people’ve been emailing and calling Drive Neutral after finding the nonprofit on the internet, buying credits and asking what else they can do. In fact, while 40-50% of Drive Neutral customers are already hybrid-driving environmentalists, a big chunk of the remainder are people who’re very new to environmental issues. Drive Neutral wants to reach out to everyone, “soccer moms and corporate executives included,” sez Jason.
What makes Drive Neutral stand out among other companies and orgs also offering carbon offsets? For starters, Drive Neutral’s a nonprofit, which a lot of people like. And because Drive Neutral’s attached to an MBA program, it’s run not just an activist body but by a “coterie of MBA students and professors” who’re committed to making Drive Neutral self-sustaining and competitive.
For those who wanna do more research into various offseting options before plunking down the moolah for an offset, I recommend the Q&A with Jason that Treehugger published — and especially the ensuing convo in the comments about the merits and downsides of both CCX credits and RECs (Renewable Energy Credits).
Regardless — If for whatever reason you’re still a car owner like me, get offset :)
Update, 10/23/06. Here’s a post comparing Drive Neutral and Carbonfund, two carbon offset nonprofits –
Hi Siel,
I just wanted to inform your readers that there is a better value out there for offsetting their carbon, not only from their cars, but also for events and energy use. Carbonfund.org buys credits from the Chicago Climate Exchange and invests in a number of other offset projects – best of all, it’s the most affordable organization that does so at only $5.50 a ton and offers an option to go completely ZeroCarbon. Here’s more information on the voluntary carbon market: http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm
Your friend,
Sean
Comment by Sean Carney — October 3, 2006 @ 10:09 am
Hey dude! How’d Costa Rica go this summer?
Thanks for letting me know about Carbonfund. I’d heard of them, but did not know their prices were so cheap! I actually just wrote them an email asking if they can tell me a lil more about why their pricing seems so cheap compared to other orgs doing the same thing…
Comment by Siel — October 3, 2006 @ 10:52 pm
LA Girl:
Why buy offsets at $7.50 from Drive Neutral or $10.00 from other offset companies, when you can get much more for your money at Carbonfund with its $5.50 price? The goal is to retire as much carbon as possible. If you want to spend more money, fine. But that extra dough could go into replacing far more CO2. Carbon offset is a new business with many different business models. But the old wisdom of stretching you money by buying from the reputable seller with the lowest price is still the best strategy for leveraging your money.
Comment by Crusher — October 30, 2006 @ 6:35 pm
Hey Crusher — I wrote a lil post on Drive Neutral and Carbonfund a lil while back. Here it is — I’ll also add it as an update to the post :)
Comment by Siel — October 30, 2006 @ 9:21 pm