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.