Buying carbon offsets: pros, cons, how and how much

Join us for afternoon tea at 3pm AEST Thursday 29th September as we hear from Paul Swift from Moreland City Council as he takes us through the often confusing and complex world of buying carbon offsets.

What you’ll learn:

• When you should buy offsets, and when should you not
• What are the different types of carbon offsets (VCS, Gold, ACCUs)
• How do you buy offsets, and how much do they cost
• Potential challenges around offsets
• Climate Active certification or going it alone

Speaker:

Paul Swift, Zero Carbon Moreland Technical Lead, Moreland City Council

Paul is Zero Carbon Moreland Technical Lead for City of Moreland, and was previously at City of Stonnington. He has managed Moreland’s Climate Active certification for two years, which involves calculating Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and purchasing the necessary offsets. His primary focus is managing projects that reduce carbon emissions, which includes Moreland’s portfolio of electric vehicle chargers (16, including 4 fast chargers) and solar photovoltaic systems (1.1 MW over 40 sites), as well as improving monitoring across Council’s six aquatic centres. Prior to coming to Melbourne, Paul worked at the Carbon Trust, a London-based sustainability consultancy. Paul supported corporates, including Heathrow Airport, AXA, Vodafone, Carlsberg and Samsung, with their sustainability certification, carbon accounting, and strategy.