COGNITION Carbon Offsets Marketplace

What is a Carbon Offset?

A carbon offset is a transaction that removes CO2 or other greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. People and companies can voluntarily choose to purchase carbon offsets in order to counterbalance emissions from buildings, manufacturing, travel, energy use, and other polluting activities. 

The most common carbon offset projects today focus on emissions reductions (like landfill gas capture), forest management and conservation, biodiversity protection, renewable energy, biochar, and direct air capture.

Some offsets are not voluntary and are mandated by the government. This typically occurs when large corporations pass a certain threshold of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Unfortunately, the voluntary carbon offsets market is currently confusing, disorganized, and difficult to navigate.

That’s why Green Builder Media is stepping up to help streamline the process, making carbon offsets easy to understand and access.

Conspicuously Consumptive

The built environment is one of the most conspicuously consumptive sectors of our economy and has a tremendous impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The sourcing and manufacturing of materials, construction process, and ongoing operations of homes and buildings require an immense amount of energy and emit a substantial amount of pollution.

The Department of Energy (DoE) estimates that homes and buildings in the U.S. account for:

• 40 percent of our nation’s total energy use.
• 70 percent of electricity use.
• 40 percent of total emissions.

The UN avows that emissions from buildings must be reduced by 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050 if we have a chance at staying under a 1.5-degree temperature rise. Unfortunately, not even 1 percent of existing buildings are considered net-zero carbon today. Clearly, the industry is primed for a real solution from a trusted partner.

This is Where Green Builder Media Comes In

Green Builder Media has worked painstakingly for two decades to establish a highly respected brand and hard-fought position as a leader in sustainability.

Our carbon offsets are designed specifically to help:

• Building product manufacturers offset emissions from their products and operations.
• Building professionals offset the embodied carbon of their projects.
• Homeowners offset the impact of their homes and lifestyles.

Given the intensive carbon emissions of the building industry, voluntary carbon offsets allow builders, developers, manufacturers, energy companies, and other stakeholders to mitigate their impact today as they continue to bolster their energy efficiency, electrification, renewable energy, water conservation, habitat protection, and other sustainability strategies.

From a homeowner’s perspective, the EPA notes that the average American household emits about 14,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Given this data, the approximate cost for every household in the United States to offset their carbon emissions would only be about $130 annually using Green Builder Media’s default carbon offsets portfolio.

Why Are We Doing This?

It’s how we roll. As a mission-driven sustainability company, we believe we have a duty to do everything we can to help reach our climate goals.

Besides, the numbers don’t lie: A recent survey conducted by COGNITION Smart Data, Green Builder Media’s market intelligence division, shows that:

• 98% of building product manufacturers indicated strong interest in purchasing carbon offsets for their products and manufacturing processes.
• 72% of building professionals indicated interest in purchasing carbon offsets for their projects and business operations.
• 89% of consumers indicated interest in purchasing carbon offsets for their homes and lifestyles.

But Aren’t Carbon Offsets Simply a Way for Companies to Greenwash?

In some cases, yes. For example, if a highly polluting company purchases carbon offsets and claims that it is carbon neutral, that’s greenwashing.

However, that’s not our approach. In everything we do, we constantly endeavor to elevate awareness about sustainability solutions, and we tirelessly work with building professionals, manufacturers, and consumers alike to enhance the sustainability of the built environment, their companies, and their lives.

With that said, there aren’t enough carbon neutral products, transportation options, manufacturing innovations, or installation practices available to create homes and buildings that are net zero embodied carbon at this time, so we must purchase offsets to mitigate our impact–now, and for years into the future.

While transformation is happening, we need to be realistic about where we are and utilize all the options available to us, including carbon offsets.

Why Purchase Carbon Offsets From Green Builder Media?

We’re in a critical ‘yes-and’ moment in time. We must pursue all pathways to decarbonize the built environment, including enhancing energy efficiency, converting to all-electric, adopting renewable energy, and designing for climate resiliency. We are advocating for all of those solutions—and more–to help manufacturers, building professionals, and homeowners minimize their carbon emissions from their products, projects, and homes.

Our carbon offsets are the icing on the cake to minimize total embodied carbon that inevitably comes with the raw material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, and installation of products as well as ongoing operations and ultimate disassembly of homes and buildings.

What Makes a High-Quality Carbon Offset?

Carbon offset projects can range from a simple tree-planting project to one that captures gasses from the atmosphere and stores them deep underground. Each project varies in terms of efficacy.

For example, some projects like planting trees do remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through sequestration. However, once those trees die, the sequestered carbon is again released into the atmosphere, making these projects impermanent, and therefore not optimally effective.

On the flip side, gas capture projects are typically regarded as high quality, as they permanently dispose of emissions.

High quality carbon offsets:

• Address additionality.
• Provide robust and timely data, reporting and analytics on mitigation activities.
• Eliminate double accounting.
• Ensure permanence of carbon removal.
• Deliver on program governance to enhance transparency and accountability.
• Create an accurate and comprehensive project registry.
• Present third party validation. Include understandable quantification.
• Streamline project selection criteria to enable direct comparison.
• Offer well-defined pricing, benefits, and results.

Carbon Offsets You Can Trust!

Real climate impact: Immediately access a science-backed portfolio of highly-rated carbon offset projects designed to minimize risk and maximize climate impact.

Easy to use: Buying carbon credits from Green Builder Media is quick and easy. Let us do the hard work of selecting projects for you so you can focus on your business instead.

Simple pricing: Pay only for what you use at a flat price per ton. With consistent prices and no hidden fees, our offsets are easy to budget for.

Showcase your impact: Drive real climate action you can be proud of. Show your customers, employees, and investors how you support the climate in real-time.

COGNITION Carbon Offset Portfolio

IMPACT Balanced portfolio comprised of projects in avoided emissions, conservation, and reforestation. This is the best choice for most companies balancing climate impact and cost.

Portfolio composition:

• 55% Emissions reductions
• 35% Conservation
• 10% Afforestation/Reforestation
  $20 per ton 

IMPACT LITE Lower cost portfolio comprised of projects in avoided emissions and conservation. Meets Net Zero requirements at a lower cost. This is a good option for companies with budget constraints.

Portfolio composition:

• 60% Emissions reductions
• 40% Conservation
  $10 per ton

REMOVALS ONLY

By focusing on carbon removal projects, this portfolio maximizes climate benefits. This is the best choice for companies working toward SBTI-aligned goals.

Portfolio composition

• 100% Afforestation/Reforestation
  $45 per ton