SUSTAINABILITY
“ Unfortunately , progress to measure and manage these financed emissions has been slow . Just recently , the World Benchmarking Alliance ( WBA ) released a benchmark where they have assessed 400 major global financial institutions on their transparency and sustainability commitments . Of these , 37 % have disclosed long-term net-zero targets , but only 2 % of these commitments have been translated into interim targets applied across the institution ’ s financing activities .”
What does carbon offsetting actually involve ? As banks and financial institutions clamour to keep pace with consumer demand for decarbonisation , carbon offsetting has become an increasingly common practice . David Turner , Head of Environmental Data and Analytics at carbon management specialists Emitwise , explains what ’ s involved : “ A carbon offset programme could involve paying for a separate company to execute carbon removals , in which carbon credits would be attributed to you per tonne of CO2 removed .
“ However , because offsets focus on reduction and not necessarily removals , you ' re rarely going to be paying for the removal of CO2 . It is more likely that you ' re paying someone else not to produce a certain amount of CO2 . Carbon offsets intend to make it easier and more understandable for organisations to pursue greenhouse gas ( GHG ) reductions without necessarily having to do anything themselves , aside from a monetary fee . But it ' s important to note that you often don ' t know where or when these reductions will occur .”
“UNFORTUNATELY , IT HAS BECOME ALL TOO COMMON TO DEFAULT TO OFFSETS AS A WAY TO CLAIM NET ZERO TARGETS ”
ANNA KROTOVA DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY , MAMBU
With more companies relying on carbon offset , strategies will need to become more diverse . Turner explains that carbon offsetting could include reforestation , organic farming , ocean restoration and geoengineering solutions , alongside carbon capture technology . Indeed , it is much more than just planting trees ; research has shown it could take more than 100 years to add enough mature forest to get sufficient levels of carbon reduction , Turney says .