What is carbon offsetting
Carbon offsetting is a way of balancing your environmental impact, by investing in projects around the world that help reduce carbon emissions.
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Carbon offsetting is no substitute for reducing our own emissions, but it still helps towards the overall cause.
The idea is to first calculate in tonnes, how much carbon (Co2) your business releases into the atmosphere each year. This figure is what is commonly referred to as your carbon footprint.
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You then offset some or all of this, by investing in a carbon reducing project such as the planting of trees or a windfarm. These projects are independently regulated, audited and broken down so you can see how much Co2 your contribution will save.
Your free carbon offset
When we produce your gas or electricity quotation, we use your annual consumption to work out how much Co2 is released to supply the energy you use.
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Our pricing tool then automatically calculates how much of our revenue can be allocated to invest into a global portfolio of VCS certified carbon reduction programmes shown below and you will receive a personalised certificate to verify your investment.
Your quotation will also tell you the number of tonnes saved with an option to pay a little more to go carbon neutral; by offsetting the exact number of tonnes that your supply creates.
How are Tula Energy Limited Carbon Offset Projects Verified
All of our projects are verified against international standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard and Certified Emission Reductions.
Carbon Footprint Ltd provide the ongoing management of our carbon offset project portfolio, which is fully traceable and part of their ISO 9001 certification. They keep detailed records of all purchases made, along with a database of all offline sales, most of which are made to businesses.
Carbon Footprint also have a monitoring system in place, which records when tree planting has occurred or offsets have been retired, allowing offsets to be cross referenced to individual customer purchases.
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Following a QAS approved carbon footprint calculation, all the carbon offsetting projects we support meet the requirements under the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS) for Carbon Offsetting.
Our projects
India Wind Power
Maharashtra, India - Panama Wind Energy Godawari Private Limited
This project generates power using 40 Wind Turbine Generators and sells it to the state grid. The total capacity of the project is 80 MW and the power displaces an equivalent amount which is fed mainly by fossil fuel fired power plants Hence, it results is an emissions reduction of 136,936 tonnes of CO2 per year.
The project also generates employment within the region and actively encourages other wind power projects by demonstrating the technology to power producers.
Negros Island Solar Power
Philippines Solar - Cebu-Negros-Panay sub-grid of the Visayas electricity grid
This project involves the installation of 32MW La Carlota Solar Power PV Plant and 48MW Manapla Solar Power Plant. The Philippines produces most of its energy using fossil fuels, and this project is the first of several and is expected to offset 66,039 tCO2e per annum.
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The project benefits local communities through community engagement activities with the local government which include tree planting, water well, communal toilet facilities and medical facilities.
China Small Hydropower
Yunnan Province - Dachunhe Sanji 6MW Hydropower
Most of China’s electricity comes from coal power. The Dachunhe Sanji hydro project utilizes water resources from the Dachunhe River. This small run-of-river hydropower project has a total installed capacity of 6 MW. There is no reservoir or submerged area nearby since it consists of a diversion dam and diversion tunnel. The project is expected to supply over 26,000 MWh of power to the grid each year.
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The project owner also invests in local tree planting, a local school, and the red cross.
India Solar Panel
Solar Project By ACME Group
The project exports electricity generated using solar energy to the regional grid system in India. It seeks to enable investment in further large and small grid connected plants. The implementation of these technologies currently faces various technological, institutional, and financial barriers.
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In addition to providing sustainable employment (reducing poverty) the project developer also provides improved healthcare, sanitation, and educational support to the communities where the projects are based.
The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) is one of the leading standards for voluntary carbon offsetting.
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The VCS ensures that all project-based emission reductions are independently verified to meet its criteria.
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Each Voluntary Carbon Unit (VCU) represents real, quantifiable, additional and permanent emission reductions.
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VCS ensures that:
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Projects deliver contracted emissions reductions
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All projects demonstrate additionality. In other words, the emission reduction must be below what would have occurred in the absence of the project and its investments.
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Each Voluntary Carbon Unit (VCU) are entered onto registries which are used to register, transfer, and retire them from the market and therefore prevent double counting.
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Steps are taken to ensure there are no leakage effects. This is where the efforts to reduce emissions in one area unintentionally arise in circumstances that may cause emissions to arise elsewhere.
The Quality Assurance Standard (QAS) is a Not For Profit organisation created to bring the highest levels of confidence to investing businesses. It ensures that the carbon emission calculation methodology being used has been independently verified and that the carbon offset projects meet the highest standards available.
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All QAS approved organisations undergo a rigorous third-party audit to verify that they are following the required standard and fulfilling the full offsetting obligations for their customers, covering an extensive 40 point plan.
In addition, QAS stipulates the international standards that offsets must adhere to, which ensures that only the highest quality of programmes are available. It also requires on-line pricing to be transparent whilst following a timely process for carbon retirement on international exchanges.
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The global portfolio of projects that we support are managed by Carbon Footprint Ltd, who we consider to be an essential strategic partner to Tula Energy Limited.
Carbon Footprint Ltd was one of just four carbon offsetting organisations that met the original government scheme requirements and is one of the founding members of the new QAS programme, launched as an independent not-for-profit organisation in July 2012.
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The Quality Assurance Standard ensures that the calculation methodology being used has been independently verified to the highest standards within the offsetting industry. In addition the scheme includes an audit process to verify that providers follow the standard whilst meeting the full offsetting obligations for their customers.