Carbon Offsetting: What Is Your Business Doing To Reduce Emissions & How Can Hardsoft Help?

Working with Hardsoft Computers can make carbon offsetting and environmental targets easier for businesses.

By opting into our green computing schemes, businesses can ensure that they are making strides towards carbon neutrality and netzero with far less stress and no extra work on your part.

Unfortunately, for many businesses, the act of offsetting their carbon footprint is a chore and a box ticking exercise purely due to the growing interest in green policies by their customer base.

The reason for this apathy and potential lip service, by businesses, to environmental schemes, is because it is yet another activity on a company’s already busy agenda that does not directly drive profit.

However, all organisations should start looking to take a greater, genuine interest in becoming a carbon offset business, as they come under increasing pressure from the government to be environmentally friendly.

Computing equipment is very much essential to modern working practices and few businesses could competitively trade without their portfolio of computer hardware. Yet computing is a significant source of emissions. During manufacture alone, a laptop can be responsible for 300-500kg of CO2.

Thankfully by working with computer leasing companies like Hardsoft, computing can be greener and come with methods to offset your emissions in this area.

What Is Carbon Offsetting?

By investing in environmental schemes that combat and reduce greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, businesses can effectively counterbalance the emissions that you produce.

You essentially make up for the damage caused by your business operations by investing a portion of your profits into carbon-reducing schemes. The amount you invest is based on how many emissions are produced by your business, hence the idea of offsetting.

By investing in these environmental schemes, companies not only make up for their own emissions, but the environmental technology developed and improved by their investment will help emissions on a wider scale and help the whole world move towards netzero carbon emissions.

Why Is Carbon Offsetting Important?

Emissions of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere are the biggest contributor to rapid and significant climate change. This human-made climate change is already creating more extreme weather conditions across the globe, such as rapidly rising sea levels, melting polar regions, droughts, floods, fires, and more.

The deforestation of our planet is also a major accelerator of the problem because trees take in CO2 and release oxygen. They are the earth’s natural combatant of greenhouse gasses. Plants releasing oxygen is also the reason that humans can continue to breathe on earth.

Increased CO2 could eventually make life unsustainable for humans everywhere.

These issues are not merely affecting other countries. The UK is an island and has one of the most urbanised landscapes AKA we have removed the vast majority of our native forests.

This is why carbon offsetting has become such a hot issue for the UK government and for UK businesses.

Carbon Credits Explained

Purchasing carbon credits allows companies to obtain a certificate saying that they can produce x amount of carbon dioxide in their processes because money has been invested to offset this.

1 credit is usually equal to 1 ton of carbon dioxide.

This ton that their business will produce in their operations is not harmful because they have invested a financial amount worth this much in offsetting projects which will essentially reabsorb those gasses.

Is Carbon Offsetting Effective In Reducing Emissions And Helping The Environment?

Carbon offsetting can be highly effective when the best projects receive sustained investment. Compensating for emissions is slow. Growing trees is slow. However, greenhouse gases can be released quickly and in large quantities by our modern production methods.

Offsetting does work if the most effective and efficient projects are continually supported so that they can deliver ongoing, long-term benefits.

This is why is it helpful to work with a trusted partner who can ensure you are investing in the right places.

Businesses often don’t have time for research when it comes to selecting the right investment project for offsetting their carbon footprint.

Hardsoft has been championing greener computing and has carried out thorough research into the best offsetting schemes.

Here are some of the best types of carbon offsetting investments out there:

Wind Farming – Wind is one of the best natural sources of energy. Hardsoft has selected wind farming as our carbon offsetting project of choice. When we help you to offset your carbon footprint, the funds will aid clean wind farming in Brazil. It is an incredibly important project as Brazil has a history of problems with negative climate change policies such as widespread deforestation of one of the world’s most important remaining natural habitats; the Amazon Rainforest. Yet by investing in the wind energy of eastern Brazil, we are also helping create jobs and education for local communities to work more in harmony with sustainable energy methods.

Reforestation – The return of more forests is one of the most crucial ways to offset carbon by having more trees around to convert that CO2 to oxygen.

Carbon Capturing – One of the most interesting methods for reducing greenhouse gasses is capturing emissions at their source, i.e. when they are produced in industrial processes then storing them underground, beneath geological formations.

Renewable energy, reforestation, and carbon capturing are some of the most direct ways to offset your emissions.

There are also projects such as:

Clean Water Projects – Many communities around the world do not have access to clean, safe water. They must boil the water to make it safe to drink and cook with, frequently using carbon-intensive wood-burning stoves. Clean water projects reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need to boil water. It also saves lives and enhances communities, so it has both environmental and direct social benefits.

Sustainable International Travel Technology Development – The air travel industry is one of the very worst contributors to emissions. By researching alternative methods to international travel, it works towards cutting this big contributor while not limiting travel.

Clean water projects and sustainable travel are noble projects in environmentalism. While they can help offset emissions in the long term there is less immediate environmental benefit in such a measurable way as wind farming or reforestation.

Hardsoft has undergone extensive diligence in selecting our offsetting partner with wind energy for east Brazilian communities.

When you offset your business carbon emissions with Hardsoft, you can be ensuring your investment is worthwhile and brings you closer to netzero.

What Is NetZero?

Netzero is a term you will frequently hear in regard to reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses from businesses, the government, and news outlets.

What is actually refers to is the goal to reach carbon neutrality. This would mean that, as a country, we only produce as many emissions as we can write off with offsetting. That would mean that there are no damaging levels of emissions produced.

The UK government has set a target of 2050 to reach netzero. In 2019, the UK become the first government to pass a netzero emissions law.

Is A Carbon Offset For Business Costly Or Financially Beneficial?

Naturally, carbon offsetting involves an additional investment by companies. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be an easy way to offset your emissions.

However, businesses that do invest in offsetting rarely regret it since it can save them time and money in other ways.

Offsetting is an efficient way to be greener and reduce emissions. Other methods include inventing and building your own production and trading system that would somehow be emission-light, or completely overhauling your current systems to introduce expensive new technologies that are emission-light.

For many companies, it may even be impossible to produce fewer emissions at the current level of technology for their industry. For others, it is technologically possible but financially impossible and would cost far more both financially and in productivity loss to make the changes than it would to buy carbon credits.

As well as saving time and money on being greener, it also ensures that the business is compliant with current and future regulations regarding emissions.

Finally, it looks good to your clients and can attract greater numbers of customers and more loyal customers since your business’s practices align with their green ethos.

Is Carbon Offsetting A Legal Requirement For Businesses In The UK?

Not yet. Currently, it is mandated for UK businesses to engage in carbon offsetting. However, this could soon change.

In early 2021, it was reported that the government was considering introducing a carbon tax to businesses. Therefore, the thought has been raised and it could become a reality.

With netzero by 2050 now set, the Environment Act now made law, and this consideration of carbon tax as an option to motivate businesses, it might only be a matter of time before we see regulations change and fines introduced for not using carbon offsetting.

Carbon footprint reporting is already mandatory for some larger UK companies, including listed companies on the UK stock exchange. It is also a requirement for certain industries if they are involved in production or manufacturing which results in heavy emissions or businesses that deal with or supply these companies. Some of the largest companies are also required to report their carbon footprint.

At the moment this is merely reporting but all signs point to this being a trend toward regulation of emissions by businesses.

How Can Working With Hardsoft Computers Make Carbon Offsetting Easier For Businesses?

While the idea of carbon taxes might be anxiety-inducing for businesses, it needn’t be.

Working with Hardsoft Computers opens many doors for companies to be greener.

Hardsoft has a number of programs designed to give companies greener, more sustainable computing. Some of our practices include:

• IT recycling – we care for the entire device lifecycle, including the safe recycling of IT parts with the greenest methods to reduce e-waste and keep emissions low.
  
  
• IT repurposing – we are focusing more and more on repair rather than replacement. We can help you to get the most from device lifespans and reuse hardware for various purposes without compromising cyber security.
  
  
• Leasing greener devices – we work with our partners; Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, HP, Lenovo, and all the leading brands to select the most advanced technology. We can select devices for you made with the most sustainable methods, the lowest energy requirements without shortchanging on power, and the greatest efficiency when operating.
  
  
• Greener logistics with zero touch deployment – with zero touch deployment, devices don’t have to be sent to your IT department and then re-shipped to the rest of your workers. We save time and fuel by configuring all devices remotely for the fastest logistics experience. Less fuel, fewer emissions.

In addition to all the above, Hardsoft can also support your company with our carbon offsetting program, which is also more affordable than most schemes.

For just an extra 3%, Hardsoft can ensure your computing is automatically carbon offset.

That means that all devices leased to you by us would be automatically carbon offset.

Not only can you offset devices on your lease, but you can also offset existing hardware as well by filling out our simple form.

From offsetting to recycling, Hardsoft makes going green easier and more affordable for businesses when it comes to their IT hardware.