Offsetting your ‘carbon footprint’ can cost R$1,400 per year; here’s how to do it

Calculations indicate that each person generates the equivalent of 7 tons of CO2 in one year; some institutions offer tools to calculate and purchase carbon credits.

Companies like Bradesco, C6, and Ambipar offer customers alternatives to participate in ESG practices and contribute to reducing global warming.

Calculations indicate that each Brazilian generates an average of about 7 tons of CO2 equivalent annually. In this calculation, the cost for a person to offset their carbon emissions would be R$ 1,400 per year.

At Ambipar, an environmental management company, the website and an app called Ambify allow anyone to estimate their carbon footprint and offset it by paying a value converted into credits.

For every 1 kilogram of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere through everyday activities such as food, transportation, and housing costs, the company charges R$ 0.20 for the compensation of pollutants, which occurs through carbon credits. The funds are donated to partner entities such as Doctors Without Borders, Jô Clemente Institute, and Luz Alliance Fund.

In a similar initiative, banks Bradesco and C6 also offer customers ways to offset part of their own emissions. In the digital bank’s program, directly from the app, individual and corporate account holders can calculate their personal expenditure and generate a carbon statement to be offset.

The tool analyzes the information on bank transactions such as PIX, TED, credit and debit card payments, and the impact each of them has on the environment. As announced by C6, since the launch of the product, customers have already offset 965 tons of carbon. “C6 Bank does not profit from the carbon statement or the offset. The bank provides the tool for purchasing carbon credits to the customer through the app, without any spread or generation of other revenue,” explains the institution.

In the case of Bradesco, account holders also perform the calculation directly through the app and can pay for their personal emissions. The resources are allocated to projects for the conservation of Brazilian biomes and the preservation of native forests in the country. Just like the competitor, the management of the credits is carried out by Ambipar.

According to the company, the startup Deep ESG is responsible for providing the technology for calculating the carbon footprint. Ambipar Group, through Ambify, and the manager Biofílica provide the solution for direct carbon credit sales on mobile phones.

What is taken into account when calculating the carbon footprint:

• Place of residence;
• Number of people living in the house;
• Means of transportation;
• Fuel consumption;
• Use of gas (liquefied petroleum gas or piped gas);
• Electricity consumption;
• Clothing purchases;
• Food consumption;
• Air travel.

Less harm to the world According to Fábio Alperowitch, founder of the investment management company FAMA Investimentos, the initiative is “positive because it brings this agenda closer to people’s daily lives and leads them to make more conscious choices.” However, he believes that offsetting, both for individuals and large corporations, should not be seen as permission to harm the environment but rather as a first step towards a less harmful practice for the world. “We cannot think that a ‘check’ solves the situation,” he says.

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