es, government departments, NGOs and churches can calculate how much CO2 they produce, then start to reduce and offset it.
2) Products and services. Some companies are striving to make their products in ways that are carbon neutral. Use them if you have a choice.
3) Events. A movement has begun for people and organisations to make their public and private events carbon neutral. The recent soccer world cup is a prominent example. The sponsoring organisations promoted public transportation and invested in renewable energy projects to offset the impact of the event. Rather than gifts, some people are asking guests to private events such as weddings to pay for the travel to the event to be offset.
4) Trips and tourism. Tourists to NZ can now pay to have the impact of their travel offset, and some courier companies promote themselves as carbon neutral.
5) Individuals and households. People can take action to reduce and offset the emissions from their activities. They can set their own challenge to reduce their personal impact.
“Many households will not be able to reduce their CO2 emissions by five tonnes. The point is to do what you can. Start by making a commitment to reduce by some amount. People should not feel overwhelmed by the problem. We all have different needs and can take action in different ways. City dwellers can do a lot to reduce emissions through their transport whereas rural communities rely on vehicles but may be more self-sufficient in other ways”.
“It’s hard to look at the global problem of climate change as an individual. Collectively, it becomes possible to make a difference. If on average, every household reduced their emissions by just over two tonnes, collectively it would be a massive 10 million tonnes.
For more information contact Ann Smith on 03 321 9804 or email firstname.lastname@example.org.