Are Retail Carbon Offsets Working?

There’s no doubt that carbon offsets are in the news.  Just this morning, the New York Times reported that Goldman Sachs jumped on the offsets bandwagon with investments in two offset companies.  But, you still don’t hear too much about retail carbon offset efforts, beyond voluntary add-on programs for airline and rental car companies.  TerraPass, a leading originator and retailer of carbon credits and carbon offsets, however, just released its 2009 carbon offset “portfolio,” including products for purchase through the TerraPass website. They also still host voluntary offset program for various travel and retail industry partners.

But, possibly more significantly, TerraPass also just announced the formation of TerraPass Carbon Management Services that has already signed 10 long-term contracts representing over 2.5 million metric tons of carbon reductions, and has built “a robust pipeline of new projects:”

The TerraPass CMS team focuses on originating small scale, U.S.-based projects such as landfill and agricultural methane abatement efforts, and plans to expand into related methodologies. Credits from the portfolio will be used both to satisfy TerraPass’ retail carbon offset purchase obligations and to help companies in the voluntary and pre-compliance carbon markets achieve their carbon footprint management goals. The TerraPass 2009 carbon offset portfolio is the first to be drawn from a TerraPass-originated set of carbon credit projects, and as such represents a watershed moment in the company’s transformation from a consumer carbon offset retailer into a U.S.-based carbon credit originator.

Looks like TerraPass wanted to make its supply chain a bit more vertical. Is this good or bad for its retail offset program? Does it signal that its flagship retail offset program is flagging? That its unsustainable as a stand-alone program? That its resources are going to diverted to investment projects? I’d like to know if this movement is a natural progression supporting a robust retail program or whether its a reaction its limitations. I suppose it all remains to be seen.

On a brighter (or possibly simply just clearer) note, University of Wisconsin-Madison senior Ted Durkee recently launched Powered Green, a company that sells an Energy Seal sticker (or in their words “an aesthetically appealing visual representation”) that adheres to the outside of a laptop and boldly displays the words ‘Powered Green.’ The seal includes in its price enough renewable energy credits to offset the lifetime power consumption of a laptop computer: 690 kilowatt-hours of Green-e certified renewable energy credits from wind turbines. Powered Green says that this is enough renewable energy to power the average U.S. home for a month and stop more than 1000 pounds of CO2 and other pollutants from reaching the atmosphere.

So, the question is out: can retail offsets, in the words of Ted Druckee, popularize and foster the growth of renewable energy in the same way that Livestrong bracelets did for cancer research?  I’m not sure.  What do you think?

Photo: Powered Green