Corporations are increasingly paying third-party organizations to offset their carbon emissions, but what can individuals do to track and offset their carbon footprint? Toohla is a new app created in Chicago that can help individuals do their part to fight climate change. You do this by using the app to help you calculate your carbon footprint, and offsetting it with carbon offsets that have been vetted for really making a difference with climate change.
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Finally, an app to help the individual offset carbon emissions
The idea for Toohla didn’t come out of a sustainability startup, but rather the political space. Toohla was founded by entrepreneur Pranav Buggana, whose idea to start the company came from working on political campaign marketing.
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“I have a background in data science and climate tech,” Buggana explained to Cronicle Press Tech News. “My little brother who was even more interested in climate than I was. He visited the family in Chicago and had to travel really far, so there was no substitute for flying. By the time he traveled by train the holiday break would be over. He said he was vegetarian and did other things for the environment but felt bad about how flying has an even bigger impact.”
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Buggana thought of purchasing carbon offset credits to reduce the imprint of his brother’s flight.
“We spent time figuring out how an individual can calculate their carbon footprint and offset it,” he said. “There wasn’t an easy calculator or an easy solution to buy carbon credits to offset that. As we dove into the world of carbon credits, we realized there are good credits that have a high chance of reducing emissions and there are bad credits that don’t do much.”
What can individuals do to stop climate change?
Individuals can find the process of calculating a carbon footprint daunting, especially when they’re in the middle of booking a flight. Where can you start?
Toohla is programmed with data to help estimate your impact based on your lifestyle and the products you use. Toohla also gamifies the process, which means you can compete against yourself and earn little achievements to show you are on track. Just like turning a diet into a group support activity, the Toohla app can be used by individuals and families that want to turn fixing the climate into a fun challenge.
How do you know your carbon offsets really make a difference? This is where Toohla stands out: They have partnered with organizations that can make the most difference. Individuals can rest assured that the carbon offsets mediated by Toohla go toward tree-planting and carbon-capture-type projects that are much more than greenwashing. Having a third party audit operations helps validate the quality of offerings, and that is what many new companies like Toohla are starting to do.
How to spot a quality carbon offset credit
Carbon offsets or credits are a unit of money exchanged for a third party doing something to offset carbon emissions. For example, if your company has reduced waste and energy use in your manufacturing process as much as possible but still have a carbon footprint, you can offset the remaining carbon footprint by paying a company that will directly offset the carbon to partner with you in running a net-zero carbon organization.
This organization might pull plastic waste from the oceans, pay for sustainably sourced energy creation, or plant trees and rehabilitate ecosystems like waterways. It used to be a very expensive process, but now carbon offset firms can extend fractional units to the individual to make offsetting personal footprints affordable.
Moreover, the carbon offset market is only about two years old. The industry is still working out standards, but for now, the best way to spot a quality carbon offset is to see what the organization promises to do, and make sure they have reported impact stats on their website, such as the amount of plastic they have pulled from the ocean. Each organization should have an explanation that clearly explains how they offset carbon, and how you can be sure they are putting most of your money toward that work and not administrative costs.
Buggana explained that sometimes companies make it look easy to offset the emissions from your flight by paying $10 extra, for example, but that doesn’t seem realistic for the amount of emissions produced. Common sense goes a long way here. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Look for badges of partner organizations you recognize, or go find out which conservation organizations partner with carbon offset companies to decide if they are reputable.
To use the Toohla app, you enter a bit of information about your lifestyle, such as whether you use a car or public transport, and the app will show you areas where there are opportunities for improvement. If you’ve been thinking about greening your commute or lifestyle or travel habit, check it out and tell us what you think.
Images via Toohla
