FAQs
What is Carbon Offsetting?
Put simply, Carbon Offsetting is the act of investing in clean energy and carbon reduction schemes to completely erase the carbon footprint of a specific object, person, or activity. Pwew. Even the simple answer is exhausting
In real terms, offsetting requires the purchase of a specific number of Carbon Credits on the international carbon market. The amount of credits required to offset an object, person or activity is determined by the amount of pollution attributed to that object, person or activity. In mathematical terms, one Carbon Credit represents a reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.
Let’s try this another way:
To build, use and dispose of a phone requires an amount of energy equal to X.
Producing X amount of energy through traditional coal/oil burning processes results in Y metric tonnes of Green House Gas.
Buying Y Carbon Credits will result in either:
The Production of X amount of energy from a non polluting alternative power source OR
An Investment in an Environmental Project that results in a reduction in existing greenhouse gasses by exactly Y metric tonnes.
Why should I offset with Offset My Life?
You should offset through Offset My Life because we have taken the time to make the decision as simple as possible. We don’t want to harp, or tell you that the life you have chosen is wrong or immoral. We just want to give you a solution to a dilemma that you share with many across the world.
How do I know Offset My Life is legitimate?
This is a question we’ve tried very hard to address. In all of our FAQ’s we’ve been as transparent as possible about the processes we undertake to offset your life. All of the figures we use to determine how many Carbon Credits are required for each of our products are drawn from respected and recognized organizations. Where possible we have provided links through to these organizations so that you can clarify for yourself the origin of our statistics. You will notice our Offset Counter at the top of our website. This counter is automatically updated every time we sell one of our offset products. It will keep an accurate count of the amount of greenhouse gas that our customers have effectively removed from the atmosphere. You can also get regular updates on our activities and Carbon Credit purchases via our Facebook page.
How do I know that you’ve offset the right amount?
In truth…you don’t. It is impossible to know exactly how much your particular phone, or laptop contributes to your total carbon footprint. We could have included fancy calculators and asked you hundreds of questions, but in the end, that would still be an estimation of your product’s particular impact.
In the hope of being as transparent as possible we use average carbon impact figures that are readily available on the internet from reputable sites such as the World Bank, and specific manufacturers such as Apple. So as to be sure we are covering the average impact of each of the products we offset, we add 5% to the Carbon Figures from these sites. That way we know that on average, we are offsetting more than is actually required for each of our products. We think this is a great way to keep it quick and simple.
Where does Offset My Life buy it’s carbon credits?
There is an open market on which Carbon Credits are traded. Offset My Life will only ever purchase credits through those bodies that have been recognized by the regulatory bodies in each of the countries in which we trade.
What happens when I buy an Offset My Life product?
Once you’ve purchased your Offset My Life product, we will go to the open market and buy the required Carbon Credits to finalise your chosen offset. We will then update our online Offset Counter so that you can immediately see the results of your move toward a greener life.
Why is it cheaper to offset a year of life in the United Kingdom and New Zealand than in other countries?
Quite simply, some countries in the word pollute more heavily than others. This can be as a result of many factors, some of which include the population density of the country, access to public transport systems, the popularity of alternative energy sources, the temperature of the climate, the amount of commercial development and so on.
We use the figures gathered by the World Bank for our calculations. If you would like to see these for your self you can access the World Bank figures.
What do I do once I have purchased an Offset My Life product?
When you finalise your offset you will be given an opportunity to download the Offset My Life logo and or your Offset My Life Gift confirmation. We would love for you to download the logo and use it as a background on your phone or laptop. You could also display it proudly as your profile picture on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site. The more people that know about offsetting, the better.
Other than that, you don’t need to do anything. The joy and simplicity of Offset My Life is that we’ll do all the hard work for you. You can simply continue your life in the same way, feeling better for having done something positive about its effect on the environment. If you like the feeling, why not go ahead and offset another part of your life…. The feeling can only get bigger and better!
Do I need to offset again?
If you purchase a product specific offset through Offset My Life, you will never have to offset that same product again. When you offset a product, you are offsetting its environmental impact from (and including) manufacture to destruction.
The exception to the above are the Offset My Life products that relate to larger items such as your washing machine, fridge and car, or to specific periods of your life, such as the Offset My Year product. When you purchase one of these Offset My Life products, you will be negating the environmental impact of that particular product for one whole year from purchase. If you would like these products to account for more than one year, you can either buy multiples of the product at initial purchase, or you can return to the Offset My Life website at a later stage.
