How Do Carbon Offset Programs Work?

Founded in 2011, RPA Energy is an environment-conscious energy supplier that serves seven states. In addition to supplying sustainably sourced electricity, RPA Energy offers carbon offset credits with its natural gas services.

Carbon offset programs allow companies, cities, and consumers to reduce their overall carbon footprint by reducing an equal or higher rate of the emissions they produce. For example, companies that produce carbon emissions in their manufacturing process can contribute the amount of money needed to plant enough trees to absorb the company’s annual carbon emission. This effectively gives the company a neutral carbon output.

Other ways to offset carbon emissions are by investing in renewable energy projects or energy-efficient buildings and vehicles. Installing residential solar panels or purchasing an electric car can also offset carbon at the individual level. Studies have shown that carbon offset programs can slow climate change and provide financial incentives for companies to invest in environmentally friendly practices.

 

Planting Trees as a Carbon Offset Strategy

RPA Energy provides green energy solutions for residential and commercial consumers. Since 2011, RPA Energy has enabled customers to reduce their carbon footprint through renewable energy sources. The company also facilitates a carbon offset program that plants a tree for every new account.

Both companies and individuals can compensate for the greenhouse gases they produce by participating in carbon offset programs that focus on reforestation and tree planting. Trees absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and use the atoms to build their roots and trunks in a process called sequestering. On average, it takes 744 trees to absorb the amount of carbon an American produces within a year.

Further, while a single tree can sequester nearly 50 pounds of carbon from the air, it can take up to two decades for a tree to reach its full absorption capacity after planting. For this reason, planting trees is most effective as part of a comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction strategy, which includes forest conservation and minimizing overall carbon emissions.

How Green Energy Can Boost the American Economy

RPA Energy, a licensed supplier of renewable energy, offers customers access to energy products that will reduce their greenhouse gas consumption. RPA Energy is a proponent of clean energy sources due to their beneficial effects on the environment and the economy of the United States.

The green energy industry has the potential to add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars to the country's economy. As of 2018, under 20 percent of the energy consumed in the United States is derived from renewable energy. Even at this level, the green energy industry contributed $1.3 trillion in yearly revenue and employed more than 9 million people.

Increasing the percentage of energy derived from green sources by only three percent would add 500,000 jobs in the wind power sector alone. Adopting renewable energy increases opportunities in several sectors. Businesses that build, install, and maintain green infrastructures, such as wind turbines and solar grids, hire more than 770,000 individuals. Indirectly, green energy increases demand in industries such as automated vehicle manufacturing and power grid infrastructure.