Footprint-based approaches:
These include pure accounting methods for current emissions and do not
necessarily regard emissions reduction strategies. Approaches include Life Cycle
Assessment methods and GHG/Carbon Accounting. Carbon accounting is the
process of quantifying the amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and
indirectly from a business or organization's activities within a set of boundaries.
Sustainability reports:
Provide emissions information developed and released by a company.
Carbon offsets:
Allow businesses, who cannot reasonably reduce or halt their own emissions to
balance out the total emitted greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to zero by
purchasing the active emissions reductions of another party elsewhere. Offsets are
calculated relative to a baseline that represents a hypothetical scenario for what
emissions would have been in the absence of the project.
Carbon sink:
A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some
carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby
removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Corporations may acquire land
rights for designated areas of carbon sinks such as forests or seagrass meadows,
or contribute to restoring these natural areas in order to qualify the area as an
offset.
Sustainability & Energy Management Simplified
