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Top Apps to Offset Your Carbon Footprint

Businesses and individuals increasingly search for tools to offset their carbon footprint and improve their environmental impact. If you don’t know where to start, these helpful apps will guide you through the whole process, making the transition to sustainability easy and effective.

Top Apps to Offset Your Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint is a negative impact on the climate, namely, the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere, which results from human activities. It can be caused either directly or indirectly, primarily driven by the release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄). 

Some of the carbon-heavy activities include burning fossil fuels, industrial processes, deforestation, agricultural practices, excessive energy consumption from non-renewable sources, use of energy-intensive appliances and gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles, etc.

The harmful emissions trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming and associated climate change. Understanding and reducing individual and corporate carbon footprints is essential for mitigating environmental harm and promoting a sustainable future.

Ways to Offset Carbon Footprint

Offsetting your carbon footprint means neutralising the greenhouse gas emissions you or your company produce by supporting activities or projects that reduce, remove, or prevent emissions elsewhere and adopting more sustainable practices in daily routines. 

Here are the most common ways to neutralise your carbon footprint as an individual:

  • use renewable energy as electricity source if possible;
  • switch to energy-efficient appliances, LED lighting, and smart thermostats;
  • reduce heating/cooling usage;
  • control your energy and resource utilisation, turn off lights and unplug devices when unused;
  • walk, bike, or use public transportation instead of personal vehicle when possible, share rides with friends or colleagues;
  • switch to hybrid or electric vehicles;
  • recycle and compost your household waste;
  • choose reusable bags, bottles, and containers over single-use plastic options;
  • practice mindful consumption;
  • plan meals, store food correctly, and repurpose leftovers to minimise food waste;
  • plant trees and greenery;
  • support climate-friendly initiatives financially and informationally.

Corporate ways to offset emissions from business-related activities include more investments, advocacy and systemic changes. These initiatives are:

  • engaging in and funding reforestation, biodiversity protection and conservation projects;
  • investments in renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies;
  • commitments to achieving net-zero emissions, aligning with global climate frameworks like the Paris Agreement;
  • integrating sustainability into business models and production lines;
  • adopting circular economy practices and low-emission logistic solutions;
  • attracting eco-conscious consumers and shareholders that share the vision;
  • complying with ESG-related regulations such as carbon taxes, cap-and-trade programs, or mandatory emissions reporting;
  • participation in global certification schemes like the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) or Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

How Apps Help With Carbon Offset

Apps designed to help with carbon offsetting empower both individuals and organisations to calculate, minimise, and offset their carbon footprints seamlessly and effectively. They leverage innovative technology to simplify and automate complex processes like emissions tracking and offset program selection. 

Typically, such apps use smart algorithms that analyse user data like energy usage or transportation routines to generate insights and measure individual or corporate emissions. Some of the software solutions integrate with bank accounts or smart devices to leverage spending and activity data for real-time carbon footprint estimates. Automated data might be more accurate and consistent than figures provided by users in a manual entry mode.

Upon analysis and estimation, carbon offset apps may offer detailed breakdowns of one’s emissions and suggest possible improvement areas along with actionable steps to reduce emissions. Moreover, many apps also provide details about reforestation, renewable energy projects, or methane capture initiatives, connect users to certified carbon offset programs, and enable them to purchase carbon credits directly in-app. On top of that, applications of this kind provide educational information about climate change and carbon offsetting, raising awareness and motivating users to make a change.

Top Apps to Offset Your Carbon Footprint

Most Helpful Carbon Footprint Offset Apps

A number of apps facilitating carbon offset practices for businesses and individuals is growing each year, as societies become increasingly eco-aware. We have prepared a list of some prominent examples of such climate-friendly software solutions.

Klima

Launched in 2020 by German-based Climate Labs GmbH, Klima is available worldwide on both iOS and Android platforms, enabling users across the globe to participate in personal meaningful climate action. The app’s aim is bridging the “emissions gap” left by insufficient governmental pledges. It focuses on the 72% of CO₂ emissions that can be reduced through improved consumer behaviour, seeking to mobilise the global community to act as a united force against global warming. 

Klima provides personalised recommendations and educational content to help users reduce their carbon emissions through sustainable lifestyle choices. Moreover, the app encourages users to involve their friends and family in eco-friendly activities as well, amplifying collective impact and fostering a community dedicated to combating climate change.

Here’s how it works. Users answer several lifestyle questions related to diet, transportation, and energy use. The app then estimates their annual carbon footprint based on the provided information. According to the calculated footprint, Klima suggests a monthly subscription fee for a particular user, directing 70% of their contribution to certified carbon offset projects, including tree planting, solar energy, and clean cookstove initiatives. 

Greenly

Greenly is an enterprise-grade carbon accounting platform designed to help businesses measure, reduce, report, and offset their carbon emissions on a way toward fulfilling their sustainability commitments. The app evaluates a company’s annual emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3, utilising both activity-based and spend-based approaches to ensure most precise carbon assessments. Besides, about a year ago, Greenly also introduced a Climate App Store, offering additional sector-specific applications designed to help companies measure, understand, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions even better.

Besides evaluation of a carbon footprint, the solution offers quantifiable action plans and reduction trajectories, including alignment with Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) frameworks, to assist companies in developing effective decarbonisation strategies. Greenly provides businesses with access to a diversified catalog of pre-selected offsetting projects, allowing companies to seamlessly manage their offsetting strategies and receive proper certifications for their sustainability actions. Furthermore, the platform generates climate reports, certifications, and communication materials, such as video promotions and press releases, to help companies effectively share their environmental efforts with the public and shareholders.

Commons

Commons calculates your real-time carbon footprint and your daily climate impact based on your lifestyle and spending habits. Anyone with a credit or debit card can securely link their transaction history to view the carbon footprint associated with all their purchases, whether it’s a utility payment, takeout meal, or holiday flight. The service is free to use. 

Besides carbon tracking, Commons recommends top-tier sustainable brands and products and encourages users toward climate-conscious living through collective challenges, rewards and educational content with practical tips and insights. Consumers who illustrate eco-friendly purchasing habits ranging from choosing sustainable fashion to riding public transport can receive bonuses further redeemed for gift cards or redirected to climate solutions funding. 

For the carbon footprint one cannot avoid, Commons offers some ways to offset via donations to and investing in vetted climate solutions. It happens automatically through a personalised carbon offset subscription model. 

Carbon Games

The Carbon Games app promotes sustainable transportation by encouraging carpooling and facilitating shared rides. This way, the solution aims to reduce individual carbon footprints, alleviate urban congestion, and contribute to a greener environment. The Carbon Games offers tailored carpooling solutions for various inter-connected user groups, such as co-workers or students and faculty members, who may share rides to and from the office/campus regularly or on a day-to-day basis, as well as event participants who may get to their venue in a sustainable manner via shared transportation. 

Additionally, the app has a CarbonX Marketplace where shared carpooling efforts transform into tangible ‘inset’ credits priced in line with carbon markets, allowing companies to offset emissions as well as receive financial rewards for their ESG efforts through blockchain contracts. Another interesting feature of this app is SCIPLANT – an innovative XR platform for urban planners, architects, city officials, and citizens to collaborate on smart and sustainable urban development projects, leveraging real-time data, immersive technology, and advanced analytics. 

Custos

Singapore-based Custos startup offers an application designed to assist businesses in fostering a sustainable culture. It promotes the transition by encouraging employees to adopt eco-friendly practices. With the help of data intelligence, Custos enables companies to collect and analyse data on employee-related activities, thereby enhancing corporate sustainability initiatives with relevant insights. Once empowered with awareness, businesses can use Custos’ system of rewards and gamified experiences to encourage employees to practice green and sustainable actions in daily life and at the job place. The platform also collaborates with green merchants to assist its corporate partners in achieving zero-carbon goals in a financially viable green ecosystem. 

Custos collects and verifies corporate data on actions taken, calculates positive impact (aka carbon handprint) and generates reports to illustrate how many associated carbon emissions were avoided and enhance engagement. Such an approach further encourages positive environmental actions rather than just focusing on minimising harm. Besides, the service helps businesses to cultivate a sustainable culture in the organisation which can bring numerous positive effects to their reputation, brand images, internal use of resources and general financial standing.

Summary

There are several apps designed to help individuals and businesses offset their carbon footprints by supporting sustainable practices. They cleverly use data and algorithms to track carbon emissions from activities like energy use and transportation, providing personalised recommendations for reducing one’s climate impact. Many apps also offer users convenient options to purchase carbon credits or donate to verified environmental projects, such as reforestation and renewable energy initiatives. Examples of such apps include Klima, Greenly, Commons, Carbon Games, and Custos, each focusing on different aspects of sustainability, from personal lifestyle changes to corporate carbon offsetting. With these and other similar apps, users can actively contribute to reducing their environmental impact and effectively support climate-conscious initiatives.

Nina Bobro

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https://payspaceworld.com/

Nina is passionate about financial technologies and environmental issues, reporting on the industry news and the most exciting projects that build their offerings around the intersection of fintech and sustainability.