Carbon Plus Program: Offsets for the Voluntary Market

Partners

Pico Bonito National Park Foundation
Regional Council of Guerrero

Many organizations are deeply concerned about their contribution to global warming. Voluntarily offsetting their carbon impact through EcoLogic's Carbon Plus Program is one way to declare to their communities, constituencies, and clients that they are committed to becoming a part of the solution to global warming.

Reforestation and forest conservation are important ways to offset carbon emissions, since trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. According to the Stern Review, approximately 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions result from land use change - namely, conversion of land from forest to agriculture.

Our Carbon Plus Program allows organizations - businesses, municipalities, educational institutions, churches, and nonprofits - to express their commitment to environmental responsibility by voluntarily offsetting carbon emissions not eliminated by reductions in energy consumption through engineered solutions and behavioral changes. This program has the additional benefit of supporting environmental conservation, watershed restoration, and sustainable economic development in Latin America. As well as helping to mitigate global warming worldwide, EcoLogic's Carbon Plus Program results in:

Sustainable forests based on local, diverse species
Restoration and management of important watersheds
Community-led stewardship that creates opportunities for improved economic and social well-being

EcoLogic brings unique strengths to its carbon offsetting approach:

A successful track record in protecting natural resources and supporting economic development: since 1993, we have collaborated with over a dozen organizations in eight Latin American countries
A results-based approach that has created 5,000 jobs, benefited 1 million poor and indigenous people, planted half a million trees, and protected over 6 million acres
A market leader position in carbon sequestration through forest conservation and tree planting, Pico Bonito Forests project in Honduras is the fourth forestry project worldwide whose methodology for carbon sequestration received approval under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The benefit of our experience with CDM requirements, which will enable EcoLogic to implement a carbon sequestration methodology that is transparent and verifiable
Our emphasis on environmental stewardship based on sustainable, self-sufficient communities
A commitment to linking local environmental knowledge with scientific expertise, preserving local traditions and autonomy, and assisting historically marginalized groups to become effective stakeholders in the sustainable development of their regions

Status

To date, EcoLogic has engaged in small-scale transactions of carbon offsets with organizations such as the Social Venture Network, The Nation magazine, and the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions. EcoLogic has tracked and verified these credits internally. We will be formalizing our capacity to offer credits in the voluntary market.

In 2008 EcoLogic will scale up its Carbon Plus Program through two of our current projects in:

the Papagayo watershed in the Sierra de Guerrero, Mexico
the buffer zone of Pico Bonito National Park in Honduras

Assurance

By providing verified emission reductions (VERs) generated from the conservation of standing forests and the planting of native trees of mixed species, EcoLogic will certify carbon credits under the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity (CCB) Standards. CCB standards are geared to forestry and land use projects and have been field-tested on four continents. CCB certification will ensure that our Carbon Plus projects meet 15 criteria for benefit to the global climate as well as local biodiversity and socioeconomic sustainability.

Join Us!

If you are an organization looking to the voluntary carbon market to offset a portion of your greenhouse gas emissions, contact Barbara Vallarino at EcoLogic to learn more about our program: carbon@ecologic.org, (617) 441.6300 Ext. 109.
Learn more about voluntary carbon offsets at The Ecosystem Marketplace.