About

Our investment in carbon offsets:

What are offsets? Why does Colgate purchase them?

Colgate embarked on its pathway to carbon neutrality in 2008, when it signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), now known as the Second Nature Carbon Commitment. During the next decade, Colgate implemented a number of practical measures and innovative projects to reduce gross emissions by 46 percent as of our carbon neutrality in 2019.

In an effort to take responsibility for remaining carbon emissions, Colgate resolved to invest in high-quality, certified carbon offsets. Carbon Offsets are an investment in a project or program that reduces or eliminates emissions outside of the location attempting to lower its carbon footprint. Offset projects can include anything from investments in renewable energy to large-scale reforestation projects. In recent years, the practice of offsetting emissions has become commonplace for a variety of institutions of different industries and size and is seen as an environmentally responsible decision. Offset programs are most useful for a large institution like Colgate because it is almost impossible to reduce emissions to zero without greatly disrupting the functions of the university (e.g. air travel for faculty research).

By investing in carbon offsets, an organization invests in something that will benefit the environment by either reducing or eliminating emissions. Carbon offsets projects and programs also go through a verification process. Many times, offsets are validated and verified through a third party like the American Carbon Registry. There is also an emerging peer review model that can be used to verify some carbon offset projects.