Independent Evaluation Ranks Carbonfund.org First Among Carbon Offset Firms

    SILVER SPRING, Md., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecobusinesslinks.com, which
 conducts monthly independent, side-by-side comparisons of carbon offset
 companies and products, ranked Carbonfund.org at the top of its latest
 list, issued on December 2nd.
     "Carbonfund.org is clearly the best value in the industry and has been
 since the survey's inception in February," said Edgard Swinnen, editor of
 Ecobusinesslinks.com. "They offer high-quality verified offsets at a price
 comparable to what large companies and institutions pay. Simply,
 Carbonfund.org charges its retail customers closer to the wholesale price
 than other organizations."
     Since it was founded in 2003, Carbonfund.org's prices have been
 consistently lower than those of other providers (three to five times lower
 than some of its competitors). The non-profit has championed high-quality
 offsets as a way to neutralize CO2 emissions while helping develop a clean
 energy infrastructure, increase the supply of renewable energy and reduce
 the price to make it more competitive with traditional sources.
     "Carbon offsets empower individuals and businesses to make a direct
 impact in the fight against global warming," said Carbonfund.org executive
 director Eric Carlson. "Our goal is to democratize environmental
 protection."
     Carbon offsetting is a mechanism that allows individuals, companies and
 institutions to achieve parity between the CO2 they create and the CO2 they
 reduce. The typical American is responsible for 23 metric tons of CO2
 emissions each year. Offsets reduce the CO2 created in one location (for
 instance, by your car or from heating your home) by funding clean energy
 somewhere else (like a wind farm). Offset consumers begin by calculating
 their annual CO2 emissions using calculators provided on most offset
 company websites. They then reduce their emissions to the extent possible
 through energy efficiency and buy offsets to make up the difference of
 those emissions they can't reduce.
     Carbonfund.org uses the contributions it receives to support
 high-quality carbon offset projects from renewable energy, reforestation
 and energy efficiency.
     Carbonfund.org purchases renewable energy certificates (RECs) certified
 by the Green-e program, the largest renewable energy certification program
 in the US. The US Air Force, US EPA, Wells Fargo and hundreds of other
 companies and institutions purchase Green-e RECs. Carbonfund.org also
 supports energy efficiency and reforestation projects. Offsets purchased
 from non-profit institutions like Carbonfund.org are tax deductible.
     "Carbonfund.org deserves credit for helping make high-quality offsets
 as affordable for individuals and small businesses as they are for
 institutional purchasers," Swinnen said.
     "Since virtually all new energy development over the last fifty years
 has been based on cost, when we are successful at driving the cost of wind
 below that of new coal, we expect to see a massive shift in energy
 investment to renewables, creating a ceiling on CO2 emissions and a gradual
 reduction," Carlson said. "That is the aim of Carbonfund.org and the hope
 of carbon offsets."
     Carbonfund.org has offset more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon
 dioxide since the firm's inception three years ago. The National Wildlife
 Federation, Working Assets, WebEx and Rutherfoord are among the nearly 100
 participating organizations offsetting their climate impact with
 Carbonfund.org. Better World Books, Evogear and 3RLiving have received
 Carbonfund.org's CarbonFree(TM) Shipping designation as well.
     The Ecobusinesslinks.com carbon survey is updated approximately monthly
 and can be viewed at http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/offsets .
 
 

SOURCE Carbonfund.org