Steller Sea Blog

Steller Sea Kayaking Purchases Carbon Credits

Since the days of my first Commodore 64 I’ve witnessed, and participated in, the exponential growth of a new breed of information and communications technology. What began as a revolution in the office as a stand alone computer, has become the most influential medium of cultural expression - the Internet. As Gutenberg’s movable type printing press was of central importance to the information sharing that ignited the Renaissance, computer networking and the Internet have ignited a Digital Renaissance.

Yet, I was amazed recently when I found out that the electricity required to power the exponential growth of digital information sharing over the Internet is responsible for 2% of global CO₂ emissions, and that this exceeds the emissions of the entire aviation industry. I always thought that the aviation industry had one of the largest carbon footprints of any technology. So, it was with great interest that I read about CO₂Stats and how this company was empowering individuals to offset the carbon footprint of information and communications technology. CO₂Stats is a service that allows users to place a badge on their web page stating that it is a “Green Certified Site.” The badge shows that the host site runs on green power credits.

The badge goes beyond simple eco-branding, however, because it represents that the website is actually purchasing renewable power to offset the amount of energy being consumed by both their servers as well as their customer’s computers. To accomplish this, CO₂Stats, has compiled a world-wide database of geographic energy sources. When someone surfs to a website with a CO₂Stats badge, scripts record the location of the user and matches them to their corresponding geographic energy source in the database. For example, if a visitor is from Washington State, the database would register that a hydro- and nuclear-based energy user had visited the site. The scripts then detail how long that person spent on the site, their total power dedicated to loading and browsing it, and even the approximate window size to estimate the monitor’s power consumption. This data is then run through an energy consumption algorithm that calculates a corresponding number of green power credits that are necessary to offset the energy used by that individual. Visitors to a “Green Certified Site” can click the CO₂Stats badge and see a display showing how many pounds of CO₂ are offset through the program.

In order to make a profit off the renewable energy market, CO₂Stats purchases green power credits in bulk from Sustainable Travel International and NativeEnergy. Bulk purchases allow for a profit margin over the fixed monthly rates that CO₂Stats charges based on total page views. A site can purchase the badge at a fixed monthly rate based on page views brackets (under 5 million, 1 million or 500k), while CO₂Stats manages purchasing green credits required to offset the site.

A carbon offset is a financial instrument representing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Although there are six primary categories of greenhouse gases, carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO₂e). One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.

That global information and communications infrastructure can offset its entire carbon footprint through the purchase of carbon credits or offsets is a radical notion. So radical, in fact, that such a change is not likely to happen from the top down. That’s why Steller Sea Kayaking Limited has decided to join in this pioneering grassroots effort to make the Internet a carbon-free medium of cultural expression and exchange. So the next time you visit Steller Sea Kayaking Ltd. to plan your vacation, or post your latest kayaking experience on the Steller Sea Blog, check out our contribution to this grassroots campaign by clicking on our “Green Certified Site” badge at the bottom of the page.

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008, by Kris and is filed under "News ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.