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We have ranked 20 carbon offset providers from 'outstanding', 'good' to 'average'. 30 providers did not respond to our survey; 4 did not provide sufficient information. To download a presentation on the Carbon Offset Watch Methodology and Results, click here.
More than 50 organisations were invited to complete the Carbon Offset Watch survey. Only the 20 listed in the table below responded and met the criteria for inclusion. Retailers are ranked in four perfomance categories reflecting the score the retailer achieved in the assessment. Within each performance category retailers are listed in descending order according to the score they achieved - retailers with the same score are listed in the same row in the table.
We are unable to recommend any of those organisations that did not participate; or provided insufficient information; or withdrew (see below for more information). Performance category definitions:- Outstanding - (scored 90% or more): Retailers in this category performed well in all or most assessment categories and during the assessment period they sold a high proportion of offsets accredited by high-scoring standards – Gold Standard, CDM, VCS and Greenhouse Friendly. They also had a high proportion of offsets from projects that change or prevent the underlying activities that create greenhouse gases, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy and diversion of waste from landfill. There is a very high likelihood that an offset purchased from these retailers will deliver real, additional greenhouse gas emission reductions.
- Good - (scored 75% to 89%): Retailers in this category performed well in most assessment categories but during the assessment period sold a proportion of offsets accredited under lower-scoring schemes and standards, such as GGAS and MRET (Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) converted to offsets). There is a high likelihood that an offset purchased from these retailers will deliver real, additional greenhouse gas emission reductions.
- Adequate - (scored 60% to 74%): Retailers in this category performed well in most assessment categories but during the assessment period sold a high proportion of offsets accredited under lower-scoring schemes and standards, such as GGAS and MRET, and/or sold a high proportion of offsets generated from projects that do not change or prevent the underlying activities that create greenhouse gases. While it is likely that an offset purchased from these retailers will deliver real, additional greenhouse gas emission reductions, they represent a higher degree of risk for the consumer.
- Not recommended - (scored less than 60%): Retailers in this category performed poorly in several key assessment categories or sold primarily unaccredited offsets. There is little certainty that their offsets would deliver real and additional reductions. No retailers who participated in Carbon Offset Watch fell into this category.
Those who provided insufficient information or withdrew:- Australian Carbon Traders, Carbonza and LMS Generation are carbon offsets retailers that responded to the Carbon Offset Watch survey but did not provide sufficient project information for the assessment.
- Carbon Neutral responded to the survey initially and then withdrew.
Those who did not participate:- 28 organisations identified as voluntary carbon market participants were invited to participate and did not respond to the Carbon Offset Watch survey. These are:
o ANZ
o Auscarbon International
o Bendigo Bank
o Canopy
o Carbon Conscious
o Carbon Neutral Cars
o Carbon Pool
o Carbon Trading International
o Climate Care
o Easy Being Green
o Elementree
o Emit Environmental Brokers
o Future Climate Australia
o Greenbank
o Greenfleet
o Greenhouse Balanced
o Greenpath
o Hatch
o Hydro Tasmania
o Insignis Forestry Services
o My Clean Sky
o Offset Emissions
o Perenia
o Planet Neutral
o Project Andromeda
o Todae
o TreeSmart
o Veolia Environmental Services. We do not know the reasons why these organisations chose not to participate. It is possible that some may not fit into the category of offset ‘retailer’ and therefore did not participate because the survey would not have been relevant for their business model. Apart from these, we think it is reasonable to expect that responsible organisations selling carbon offsets in the voluntary market should be willing to participate in this kind of independent assessment process. This is particularly the case given the current absence of specific legislated standards for the market. We are unable to recommend any of these organisations as carbon offset retailers due to lack of information. Organisations we excluded from the survey:- Due to an administrative error, Greening Australia did not receive notification about Carbon Offset Watch survey and therefore did not participate.
- Several offset providers that responded to the Carbon Offset Watch survey have a business model that appears to be primarily brokerage/consultancy rather than retail. These were therefore excluded. The organisations are: Australasian Carbon Credits, Australian Energy Consultants and Carbon Balance. At the time of the assessment survey Balance Carbon did not fit the retail business model and therefore did not respond to the survey.
- Retailers of other products who offer either ‘carbon neutral’ products or through whom a consumer can offset the carbon associated with the specific product - for example, an airline company, like Virgin Blue, that sells offsets along with flight tickets to neutralise the carbon associated with the flight. These organisations were excluded simply because it was necessary to limit the scope of the first Carbon Offset Watch. Ideally, they would be included in future assessments.
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The Rankings
