Hess Corp. recently launched a program that offsets the carbon emissions associated with the natural gas, electricity and fuel oil purchases of its commercial customers.

Hess C-Neutral is billed as carbon neutral because it calculates the emissions generated by its clients’ energy consumption and matches them with Green-e certified carbon offsets. The program is a response to the growing interest over the last two years from its customers looking to improve their green credentials, according to the company.

"Demand has never been stronger," John Deese, manager of new product and service development, told ClimateBiz last week.

If all of its customers subscribed to C-Neutral, Deese estimates the program would offset 50 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The offsets, from a variety of projects, including a methane capture project from a Wyoming coal mine, add a premium of between 3 percent and 5 percent.

It’s the third step in a suite of products aimed at helping its commercial, industrial and institutional customers reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprints. Hess unveiled its Demand Response program earlier this year, which generates revenue and boosts the reliability of the power grid, and also began selling renewable energy certificates.