Why Buy Voluntary Credits Now

Why NOW is the time to make an acquisition in the growing carbon credit market

For major companies inKyotosignatory countries, meeting emissions targets – and this often involves purchasing Carbon Credits – is actually a legal requirement. Cap and Trade schemes are becoming more common. These involve pollution levels for individual companies being capped whilst countries or companies which reduce their emissions beyond that required can then sell their ‘excess’ to those who are producing more than their limit.

Therefore, as long as governments worldwide seek to protect the environment, there will continue to be an ever-increasing number of countries and companies complying with environment codes and buying carbon credits, impacting positively on the voluntary Verified Emissions Reductions market.
In addition, a significant and increasing number of substantial companies and smaller enterprises in major economies are buying Voluntary Emission Reductions, not because they are yet legally required to meet gas emission targets but because they want both to make a difference to the environment as well as the PR benefits of being seen to be doing so.

According to the World Bank, the carbon credit market is now worth US$144 billion – a 6% rise on 2008 figures, despite the global economic downturn. The voluntary market may at present be smaller than the compliance market. However its growth is led not by public policy but by the private sector which is evolving its own infrastructure of organisations such as the Carbon Trust to advise companies on achieving carbon neutrality. With major companies such as Tesco, The Co-op, IKEA, SAS and Marks and Spencer aiming for carbon neutrality, it is the opinion of many active in these markets is that the wider scope and more competitive pricing of the voluntary market mean that it has a strong potential to outstrip the mature market size of the compliance regime.
This is where our clients can come in. They can choose to buy carbon credits emanating from projects which reduce CO2 emissions. In time they may wish to sell them on to a company aiming for carbon neutrality

Though The Brinkmann Group is active in both types of market for these reasons it specialises in the voluntary market.