Business Carbon Offsets & Carbon Neutral Program
- Offset carbon simply by donating CFL bulbs
- CFL bulbs can be given to employees, members, vendors, family, friends & charities
- Energy efficient CFL bulbs reduce energy by 75%, last 10 times longer, runs cooler & saves money
- Reduces pollution & helps fight global warming
- Enables your organization to become carbon neutral
- Helps you become a green & sustainable organization
- Enhances your organizations reputation & visibility
- Improves employee, member & vendor relations
- Transparent & trustworthy carbon offset program
- Low cost verifiable carbon offsets
- Donations may qualify for a tax deduction
- Use Carbon Neutral status & logo’s for promotion
- Carbon Offsets
A Simple Verifiable Carbon Offset Program You Can Trust!
You can help reduce pollution and fight global warming by working towards making your organizations services, travel and events carbon neutral. We literally make it as easy as changing light bulbs for any organization to reduce and offset their carbon emissions cost effectively. The CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ allows your organization to donate CFL bulbs to employees, members, vendors, individuals or charities of your choice and use the resulting 75% energy savings to offset your organizations carbon emissions.
Unlike other carbon offset programs, ours is totally transparent and verifiable so there is no guessing how your organizations carbon emissions were offset and where your money went since the program empowers you to make that decision and to audit the program in minutes. As an added advantage, the CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ is also one of the most practical and cost effective programs in the world to reduce carbon since there are no ‘middle men’ in our process and we pass this savings on to you!
Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges facing us today. All of us contribute to global warming. So all of us must be part of the solution. Each individual in Canada and the US personally emit around 5 tons of carbon dioxide per year. If all carbon emissions from agriculture and industrial activities are included, the total emissions per capita are closer to 23 tons per year. You can help reduce pollution and fight global warming by working towards making your organizations services, travel and events carbon neutral.
A Simple Verifiable Carbon Offset Program You Can Trust!
IMTEK literally makes it as easy as changing light bulbs for any organization to reduce and offset their carbon emissions cost effectively. The CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ allows your organization to donate CFL bulbs to employees, members, vendors, individuals or charities of your choice and use the resulting 75% energy savings to offset your organizations carbon emissions. Unlike other carbon offset programs, ours is totally transparent and verifiable so there is no guessing how your organizations carbon emissions were offset and where your money went since the program empowers you to make that decision and to audit the program in minutes. As an added advantage, the CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ is also one of the most practical and cost effective programs in the world to reduce carbon since there are no ‘middle men’ in our process and we pass this savings on to you!
Offsetting Your Organizations Carbon Emissions Is As Easy as 1, 2, 3
We have pioneered the following simple and unique carbon offset process to become carbon neutral:
Calculate Your Carbon Emissions
Firstly, reduce your carbon emissions as much as possible by limiting your energy usage and emissions. Then use our Business Carbon Calculator to calculate your carbon footprint. Alternatively, if you are an average organization you can choose to offset 70 tons/year to become carbon neutral for under $500! Most organizations with 10 or fewer employees have a carbon footprint that is less than 70 tons/year. If you are a large organization, we can help you calculate your carbon footprint if you need assistance.
Choose Your Carbon Offset Source
Choose who you want to donate your CFL bulbs to for offsetting your carbon emissions. You can donate them to anyone of your choosing such as your employees, members, vendors, family, friends, neighbors and charitable organizations. If you would prefer us to donate CFL bulbs on your behalf to worthy reputable non-profit organizations we have qualified, we can also arrange that. You may also qualify for a tax deduction when donating CFL bulbs to non-profit organizations so be sure to discuss this with your accountant.
No matter who the recipients are, your donation of CFL bulbs to offset your carbon emissions will be totally transparent and verifiable. This benefit of our CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ makes it unique and differentiates us from our competitors. When you buy carbon offsets from other companies, you may not be sure if your investment was spent on legitimate and personally verifiable projects that make an immediate practical difference in addition to the carbon offset cost being higher.
You can request your handsome Total Annual Carbon Offset Certificate suitable for framing by emailing us. Every metric ton (2,205 lbs) of carbon emissions reduced through the CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ results in the creation of one carbon offset just like other offset programs. Please save all your order receipts as we may request them for verification to generate your total carbon offsets. Your company may even be able to sell these carbon offsets if you don’t use them to offset your own carbon emissions or after you become carbon neutral and have excess carbon offsets.
You can become ‘Carbon Neutral’ certified when you have offset the entire carbon footprint of your company, organization, product or event. You will be allowed to use one or more of the following official logos depending on what you have neutralized: ‘Carbon Neutral Company’, ‘Carbon Neutral Organization’ ‘Carbon Neutral Product’ and Carbon Neutral Event’. These logo’s can be used to market your products and promote your company or organization as a green and sustainable entity that has taken positive action to neutralize its carbon emissions to fight climate change.
A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases (GHG) produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. It is important for individuals and organizations to calculate their personal or organizational carbon footprint to determine their impact on global warming.
Carbon offsets, or the mitigation of carbon emissions through the development of energy conservation projects can be a simple and effective tool to offset carbon emissions and fight global warming. An example of such a project is the CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ which replaces energy guzzling incandescent lights with energy efficient CFL bulbs.
An individual or organization becomes carbon neutral when the amount of carbon released is balanced with the amount eliminated and offset so the carbon footprint becomes zero. The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned carbon offsets as a way for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits which can be traded in the marketplace.
Carbon offsetting as part of a carbon neutral culture has gained appeal and momentum among forward looking individuals and organizations that have become aware and concerned about the negative environmental effects of energy-intensive lifestyles, companies and economies.
What Contributes to a Carbon Footprint?
To be considered carbon neutral, an individual or organization must reduce its carbon footprint to zero. Generally, direct emission sources must be reduced and offset completely, while indirect emissions from purchased electricity can be reduced with renewable energy purchases.
Direct company emissions include all pollution from manufacturing, company owned vehicles, reimbursed travel and any other source that is directly controlled by the owner. Indirect emissions include all emissions that result from the use or purchase of a product.
For instance, the direct emissions of an airline are all the jet fuel that is burned, while the indirect emissions include all the electricity used to operate the airline's office, and the daily emissions from employee travel to and from work. In this case, the power company has a direct emission of greenhouse gas, while the office that purchases it considers it an indirect emission.
The World Resource Institute, in addition to publishing many tables and help aids for calculating carbon footprints, only requires direct emissions to be reduced and balanced for carbon neutral status. However, there is encouragement to include all emissions sources. With this accounting, there are essentially two levels of carbon neutrality: Either all direct and indirect emissions, or only direct emissions.
When an individual or an organization sets out to become carbon neutral it is usually achieved by combining the following three steps:
- Limiting energy usage and emissions from transportation (walking, using bicycles or public transport, avoiding flying, using low-energy vehicles), as well as from buildings, equipment and processes
- Obtaining electricity from a renewable energy source either directly by generating it (e.g. installing solar panels on the roof) or by selecting an approved green energy provider, and by using low-carbon alternative fuels such as biofuels
- Offsetting the remaining carbon emissions that can not be avoided or generated from renewables in a responsible carbon project such as the CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™, or by buying carbon credits.
Carbon Offsetting Options
Several carbon offset methods are in use. While tree planting was initially a mainstay of carbon offsetting, renewable energy, energy conservation and methane capture offsets have become increasingly popular.
Many tree planting carbon offset projects have been conceived or conducted in ways that are vulnerable to criticism, drawing their net benefits into question. Significant concern also arises over the permanence of carbon storage in trees and forests, as potential future clearing or burning of the forest would return the stored carbon to the atmosphere.
According to Ken Caldeira, a study co-author from the Carnegie Institution:
"To plant forests outside of the tropics to mitigate climate change is a waste of time. To prevent climate change, we need to transform our energy system. It is only by transforming our energy system and preserving natural habitat, such as forests, that we can maintain a healthy environment. To prevent climate change, we must focus on effective strategies and not just ‘feel-good’ strategies."
Various organizations have undertaken a variety of creative measures to encourage the adoption of CFLs. In addition, governments across the globe have taken or are considering strong measures to encourage adoption of CFLs or to entirely displace incandescent light bulbs. Ireland will be the first country to implement a ban in 2009 and Australia will phase out incandescent lights by 2010. USA and Canada has also committed to phasing out incandescent lights starting in 2012.
Examples of Carbon Neutral Companies, Organizations, Artists, & Countries
Being carbon neutral is increasingly seen as good corporate or state social responsibility and a growing list of companies and states are announcing dates for when they intend to become fully neutral. Some corporate examples include: Dell, PepsiCo, Google, Yahoo!, Mozilla, Expedia, Orbitz, Nike, HSBC, ING Group, Tesco, Salesforce.com, Discover Communications, Amtrak, Credo Mobile, Eagle Eye Tours, Bic, Yakima MTC and Butterfield & Robinson.
Events such as the G8 Summit and organizations like the World Bank are also using offset programs to become carbon neutral. Artists like The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd have made albums or tours carbon neutral.
In July 2007, Vatican City became the first carbon neutral state in the world, following the politics of the Pope to eliminate global warming. The Central American nation of Costa Rica aims to be fully carbon neutral before 2030.
The CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ Advantage
While carbon offsets which fund renewable energy projects help lower the carbon intensity of energy supply, our CFL Bulb energy conservation project seeks to reduce the overall demand for energy. When you participate in the CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program TM, you offset your carbon emissions by donating CFL bulbs that will use 75% less energy, last 10 times longer and save money.
This unique program empowers you to donate CFL bulbs to anyone you choose to offset your carbon. As an individual, you can donate CFL bulbs to your family, friends, neighbors and charitable organizations. As an organization, you can donate CFL bulbs to employees, customers, businesses and vendors to create goodwill and promote your business while reducing your carbon emissions and showing environmental leadership. Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving both to the giver and receiver!
No matter who you choose to give CFL bulbs, your donation of CFL bulbs to offset your carbon emissions will be totally transparent. You will know exactly where your money went since you will be making that decision. Also, since our program is very simple and there are no ‘middle men’ involved, it offers one of the lowest cost carbon offsets in the world. These key benefits make our CFL Bulb Carbon Offset Program™ unique and differentiate us from our competitors. If you buy carbon offsets from other companies, it will cost you more and you may not be sure where your money went or how it was spent.