Jacqueline Mullin

Climate change can be an overwhelming concept, especially when analyzed from the perspective of each person’s individual contribution to the issue. The idea can be even more intimidating when stopping to consider the impact of daily choices. Cycling versus driving to work, turning the air conditioning off when no one is home, composting instead of throwing out organic waste. These are just a few decisions we are faced with when it comes to the amount of pollution being created.

Luckily, the ever-increasing awareness of global pollution levels is prompting some individuals to seek out methods for reducing their personal greenhouse gas emissions. This is where companies like the Carbon Farmer come in. Offering unique solutions for reducing the amount of carbon an individual, family or small business produces, this “green” company is providing ordinary people with a variety of programs designed to offset their carbon emissions; including the opportunity to purchase carbon credits through carbon offset programs.

Carbon offsetting is the intentional act of reducing a person or company’s carbon emissions in order to compensate for the amount of carbon being produced by another individual or company. An accessible avenue for every-day people to reduce their carbon footprint, local business owners are embracing the idea and making it an integral part of their business plan.

One example of this is Archer’s Blue Car Driving School in St. Albert, Alberta. In an interview published in the St. Albert Gazette, writer Kevin Ma spoke with Archer’s Blue Car Driving School owners Kelly Lund and Dominic Turgeon about their decision to offset the carbon emissions of their business. “One of the first things we did even before we had any customers was we pre-purchased 100 tonnes of carbon offsets from the Carbon Farmer,” Kelly Lund shared with Mr. Ma. Their explanation for their decision is their belief that customers are paying attention to each business’ approach to their impact on the environment.

Offsetting emissions does not have to be expensive. When embraced by individuals and companies alike, the impact of seemingly small decisions can have a profound global impact.