September 2014: Imperial College London in partnership with the International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance (ICROA) have published a study, titled ‘Unlocking the Hidden Value of Carbon Offsetting,’ which demonstrates how purchasing carbon credits creates opportunities for economic development, promotes environmental conservation, and improves people’s lives by delivering numerous social benefits, including household savings, health benefits and improved water resources.

On the basis of 59 surveyed projects, the research concludes that carbon-reduction projects generate additional economic, social and environmental benefits beyond climate protection of about US$664 per metric ton of emissions. The study calculates: US$3 per ton in economic benefits; 56 cents per ton in social benefits, including education, healthcare, transport systems and microfinancing local projects; US$52 per ton in fuel savings; and US$609 per ton in environmental benefits, including ecosystems services, such as soil protection, water regulation and biodiversity conservation.

The objective of the study is twofold: to identify the motivations of businesses participating in voluntary carbon offsetting and to categorize benefits they receive; and to quantify the social, economic and environmental co-benefits delivered by voluntary carbon offset projects.

Commenting on the results of the research, Sophy Greenhalgh, ICROA Programme Director, observes that offset programmes deliver, inter alia, employee engagement and resource efficiency savings, and “make a positive contribution to local communities in addition to reducing emissions.”

Yiannis Kountouris, an environmental economist at Imperial College London, states that the project used the latest natural capital accounting methodologies and, as such, was able to demonstrate that impact offset projects are “delivering on the ground.” [Publication: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Carbon Offsetting]