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TerraPass Launches Customizable Carbon Offsets Program
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- As of late last week (but first announced by the company on Monday), customers of TerraPass are able to personalize the types of carbon-reduction strategies in their portfolio.
The options available to offsetters right now are projects funding wind energy, generating farm power from anaerobic digesters and landfill gas. When choosing the number of tons of carbon emissions to offset through each type, TerraPass clients are buying in to a portfolio of each type project, examples of which are posted on the TerraPass website.
TerraPass CEO Erik Blachford explained in an interview that the portfolio model builds more stability into the process: "Offering offsets by project type instead of by a single project itself takes the risk out -- diversification is always a good idea. Putting funds into a portfolio of projects makes it safer."
Blachford also said that increasing participation in just what kinds of offsets individuals and companies alike are buying into is a growing trend in the market. When TerraPass began opening up their proposed offset projects for public comment, Blachford was surprised at the level of response. "We got about a dozen comments on the first round of projects," Blachford said. "That's more than what usually appears on the [United Nations'] Clean Development Mechanism projects that get posted for public comment."
TerraPass offers ways for individuals and businesses to calculate their carbon footprint and then systematically reduce those by lowering their energy use and investing in clean technology projects. First-time customers can calculate their footprint and then choose how much and in what ways to offset those emissions through the new portfolio program.
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Unfortunate Waste
I supported TerraPass for a couple of years until I was unfortunately ignored by this company. Not only did I have TerraPasses for a Prius and another fuel efficient vehicle, but I had plans to buy TerraPasses for the house and an upcoming trip via airplane. To help subsidize the cost, I shipped RipMobile (partnered with TerraPass for the donations) old cellphones so they would be able to resell them and subsidize my cost for the new TerraPasses. I never received the subsidized cost as promised and the follow up from TerraPass and RipMobile was not only poor but virtually non existent. I emailed and spoke to both companies via phone and was promised a correction "within a week." I waited six months (not an exagerration) to finally tell TerraPass that they had POOR follow up. The couldn't deny the lack of attention. Personally, I would try other companies other than TerraPass. There are other companies out there with similar or better causes who probably have better attention to detail with their business practices.
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