83Purchasing one tonne of carbon offset
means there will be one tonne less of
carbon dioxide (or an equivalent GHG) in
the atmosphere than there would
otherwise have been.
above Photovoltaic solar
panels on rooftop
left Nepal: A teahouse in the
Himalayan foothills, where
patrons have solar heating to
thank for their hot showersinherent value unique to the project
type (for example, reforestation) or
country location. Such projects deliver
certain environmental, economic and
community or social advantages.
Non-carbon benefits include new
infrastructure or biodiversity
enhancement benefits.
An organisation can claim
“carbon neutrality” as long as it can
demonstrate that it has firstly properly
calculated and accounted for its GHG
emissions and offset them so that net
emissions from its business activities
equal zero. City Developments
Limited (CDL), one of Singapore’s
PHOTO STEVE CICERO/CORBIS, ASHLEY COOPER/CORBIS