We really stirred up retail pricing for Carbon Offsets this past week.  We always thought that we had the lowest pricing of any provider in the United States—it turns out that, according to the Carbon Catalog, we have the lowest pricing of any provider in the world! 

After we announced the first Carbon Neutral Zone in the country our web exposure has exploded and a fellow blogger at Carbon Neutral Digest noticed that we were selling CCX offsets for only $2.00 a metric ton. Today Carbon Neutral Digest announced that one of our competitors, 4Offsets, has cut their prices by 30-50%.  “We now beat nearly all of our competitors on price,” Fred Weiss, CEO was quoted in the article. The operative word is “NEARLY.”  After their price cut you may now buy their offsets for $7 for one ton (we hope it’s a metric ton), $6 if you retire five tons, or $5 a ton if 25 tons are retired. They are still over twice as much as our price even at $5.00. That’s much better than the $14 an offset they were charging last week. 

We hope that other offset providers will follow the trend. The gap between the market price of offsets and the retail price must narrow before we see an organic (and healthy) rise in market price.  Remember, the higher the CCX market price, the more offset projects get funded.

Seems like years ago that gas was priced at over $4.00 a gallon. What happened to the predictions of oil at $200 a barrel?

At the time we all seemed powerless to stop prices from going up. But a wonderful thing happened. We all changed our behavior. SUV sales plummeted. Van-pools filled up. Public transportation flourished. Gas prices came down.

On November 14th, we announced the first Carbon Neutral Zone in the country. 18 small businesses got together to make a difference and raise awareness.  Now a beautiful sign stands on the corner of Virginia and N. Highland Avenues in Atlanta to remind all that we must do something to stop Climate Change. Besides buying Carbon Offsets, the businesses are doing a bunch of little things to reduce their carbon footprint. Some have disconnected un-used water heaters. Others are changing out their light bulbs. All are encouraging their employees to walk or carpool. And all are asking their neighbors to shop locally.

Everyone’s heard of the boiling frog story. $4.00 a gallon gas makes you jump. Climate Change is a gradual process. Walking down a street and seeing Carbon Neutral signs in store-front windows serve as a constant reminder to take action. But here’s the best part, reducing your carbon footprint saves you money in the long run. All we have to do is become more aware of the small stuff. 

At this point, solar and wind power don’t generate enough power to replace coal plants. That doesn’t mean we should give up on them. They are part of a mix that also includes methane capture and large corporate energy efficiencies, and yes, small businesses and communities getting together to raise awareness for the environment. That’s why we sell offsets. We raise awareness to change behavior and we support the projects that will eventually replace dirty energy.

I spoke on a panel at the Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Symposium 2008 sponsored by Alston + Bird LLP. The conference was very interesting with an incredible amount of new technologies represented. The panel was moderated Todd McClelland, Partner, Alston + Bird LLP and included James Marlow, CEO and Founder from Radiance Energies, Lee Vanatta from Pure Spectrum and Roger Reisert from C2 Biofuels, LLC. My esteemed panel mates represented the general content of the Symposium – companies that are creating offsets.

The amazing part of this business is that so many well informed and intelligent people have no idea that they have an untapped revenue stream.

Any solar panel is not only reducing energy costs – it is also creating a recurring offset equal to the comparable CO2 creation from the electric grid not being used. This makes the solar panel a better investment that will pay for itself more rapidly. The offset comes regardless of other benefits like tax breaks.

Energy efficiency and fuel switching  changes made by a company go straight to the bottom line in terms of lower energy and/or fuel costs.

They also go to the bottom line in offsets. If the reduction in CO2 is greater than their legally binding commitment to the CCX, an offset is created which can be sold. In Phase II reduction is 6% lower than baseline year by 2010.

TVCNP is a member of the exchange. We can help you measure and aggregate your offsets. We can help companies monetize their actions. Contact us e.taub@tvcnp.com