We need to drastically reduce our emissions – now. All climate science says it’s urgent. But the science doesn’t say where emissions must be reduced. If it’s more efficient to do it elsewhere than in one’s own value chain, it doesn’t matter much for the atmosphere. 

To account for one’s Scope 3 emissions is an important step towards comprehensive sustainability goals such as a a Net Zero goal. These emissions usually constitute the largest share of an organization’s carbon footprint. They are also hard to control because they encompass all indirect emissions that happens in a company’s value chain, (an overview about scope 1,2 and 3 can be found here: GHG Protocol FAQ)

In April 2024, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) revised its stance on the use of offsetting for Scope 3 emissions abatement. This marks a shift from SBTi’s earlier focus on direct emissions reductions within company operations and immediate supply chains. The update is part of a broader effort to provide companies with more tools to address their value chain emissions effectively.

Hopefully this will enhance some flexibility for companies dealing with complex supply chains and to accelerate the decarbonization of global value chains. It can be done through a combination of direct abatement actions and compensatory mechanisms like carbon credits.

STOP GLOBAL BOILING

While Solvatten does not bind carbon from the atmosphere, our projects contributes to the UN Sustainable Development goals and climate change mitigation. It does so by reducing the need for boiling water using fossil fuels or unsustainably harvested biomass. This, in turn, lead to reduced carbon emissions because there is less need to burn biomass and fuels for water purification. The reduction of carbon emissions is a crucial part of broader climate action efforts.

It’s a typically pragmatic and sane approach now when we must reduce our own direct fossil emissions as well as funding mitigation activities that are truly good for the people and the planet. Want to know more about how your company can use carbon offsetting as a claim of doing real good climate action? Read on here.

Read more about Gold Standard Projects here.