As you may know, for Toitū carbonzero certifications we use carbon credits to essentially offset your unavoidable emissions and balance out your emissions to net zero emissions. As a programme, our primary role is to source credits that are of appropriate credibility. Every carbon credit is equal to one tonne of reduced/avoided/sequestered emissions to atmosphere, and those prevented emissions must be over and above business-as-usual. This is the primary purpose of offsetting – balancing the emissions scale to net zero (see diagram below).

However, offset projects also provide additional value in terms of social and other non-carbon environmental benefits. A recent report by the Gold Standard has highlighted the monetary value of different projects under their standard, in order to reflect these additional benefits. The Gold Standard is one of several types of carbon credit standards. Gold Standard credit projects are those that achieve both credible greenhouse gas reductions and maximise wider sustainable development.

Some interesting points we found in the report indicate that the monetarised value of projects range from $21/tonne for wind projects, $41/tonne for Biogas projects, and $177/tonne for Reforestation projects (see figure below). These values were derived by economists using a valuation model of the socio-economic benefits delivered by Gold Standard projects.

^{Image source: Figure 4 from the Gold Standard report}

Of course, these values need to be considered in the context of where the projects are located and other specific site characteristics, but it does tell us that carbon credits not only deliver mitigation for climate change, but also deliver a lot more value added services, essentially helping to make the world a better place.

To bring the concept of value back to the New Zealand setting, we make use of various credit projects including native forest sites at Hinewai Reserve, Canterbury; Pigeon Bush, South Wairarapa; and Rangitoto Station, King Country. These sites also have unique value added benefits.