Businesses can ensure the effectiveness and credibility of their carbon compensation strategies by following best practices. By adhering to these practices, businesses can ensure that their carbon compensation strategies are credible and effective in contributing to environmental sustainability:
- Measurement and monitoring: Accurately measure your emissions with DGB’s free Carbon Footprint Calculator to gain a better understanding of your environmental impact.
- Environmental integrity: Choose carbon units to compensate for your carbon footprint from offset projects that have a genuine positive environmental impact, such as DGB’s reforestation, afforestation, and energy-efficient cookstove projects.
- Research and due diligence: Thoroughly research offset projects to ensure they align with your business's goals and sustainability strategy.
- Transparency: Disclose how offset projects are chosen, implemented, and monitored.
- Leading standards: Select projects certified by reputable standards like the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard. All of DGB’s projects are verified by VCS or the Gold Standard.
- Stakeholder engagement: Involve stakeholders and communicate your compensation efforts transparently.
- Long-term commitment: Choose projects with long-term benefits to ensure a sustained impact.
- Monitoring and improvement: Regularly measure your carbon footprint and monitor and improve your compensation strategy to ensure it remains effective and credible.