{"id":23806,"date":"2022-11-23T07:53:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T12:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/?p=23806"},"modified":"2023-09-06T09:01:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:01:42","slug":"making-sense-of-carbon-credits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Sense of Carbon Credits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since they were first developed in the late 1990s, there\u2019s been confusion surrounding <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/understanding-carbon-credits\/\">carbon credits<\/a>. Recently, the term has become a sort of buzzword in the business world, especially as companies have increased their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) efforts. What do carbon credits actually represent, and how are they related to <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/quantums-value-during-a-recession\/\">IT asset disposition<\/a>? Here, we clear up some common myths.<\/p>\n<h2>What Is a Carbon Credit?<\/h2>\n<p>First, let\u2019s clear up what carbon credits actually represent. Also sometimes referred to as carbon offsets or carbon allowances, they act as a sort of permission slip for emissions. When a company purchases one (usually from the government), they are allowed to generate one tonne of CO2 emissions.<\/p>\n<p>There is no single, standard price for carbon credits, however. As in the stock market, a carbon credit can be sold, traded, or retired. These transactions can take place in formal cap-and-trade systems, or in voluntary systems. With that in mind, companies are not supposed to simply purchase carbon credits to continue generating emissions. The purpose is to also <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/the-virtues-of-reuse-over-recycling\/\">reduce<\/a> their <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/promoting-sustainability-in-telcos-through-a-circular-economy\/\">carbon footprint<\/a>, which is why third-party validators assess their projects to ensure the proper efforts are being made. They check to make sure carbon reductions have clear boundaries and documentation, and to ensure the additionality requirement is met. This means that the emission-reducing activities must go beyond activities that would take place normally; in other words, the company is taking additional steps to reduce their <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/the-environmental-impact-of-cloud-computing-data-storage\/\">environmental impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>How the Additionality Requirement Introduces Complexity<\/h3>\n<p>In many cases, the confusion about carbon credits lies in misunderstandings about the additionality requirement. There is no test to prove additionality \u2014\u00a0a concern which many critics have raised, and one that leaves grey areas about qualifying efforts. So, when companies ask what they must do to prove that they\u2019re making efforts to reduce emissions, there\u2019s no simple answer.<\/p>\n<p>Having clear additionality requirements would help to ensure companies are truly attempting to reduce emissions before offsetting them through the purchase of carbon credits. Moreover, enforceable additionality requirement standards could also prevent the double dipping of emissions reductions, so only one company could claim reductions.<\/p>\n<h2>Does ITAD Fit into the Additionality Requirement?<\/h2>\n<p>Another myth surrounding carbon credits is the belief that ITAD can help companies reduce emissions and therefore satisfy the additionality requirement. Yet, while some companies have tried to link ITAD to carbon credits, ITAD practices simply don\u2019t align with the additionality requirement.<\/p>\n<p>Since the additionality calls for practices that wouldn\u2019t have happened anyway, or practices that go above and beyond usual activities, ITAD doesn\u2019t fit. ITAD practices would happen even without carbon credits, so from this perspective, ITAD and <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/can-the-circular-economy-help-save-our-planet\/\">e-waste<\/a> overall should not be considered for the additionality requirement. As such, ITAD companies should not be selling carbon credits.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true that reusing and <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/ghg-reduction-how-quantum-can-help-you-reach-your-sustainability-goals-while-avoiding-greenwashing\/\">recycling<\/a> electronics delivers <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/should-i-buy-a-refurbished-laptop\/\">environmental benefits<\/a>, and companies that implement these practices are reducing their overall carbon footprint. Yet, ITAD companies that offer carbon credits are loosely interpreting the additionality requirement \u2014 and, they\u2019re profiting twice by making money on the ITAD service itself and the carbon credits.<\/p>\n<p>While it may seem confusing that ITAD and <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/how-quantum-identified-the-most-carbon-efficient-transportation-route-for-moving-e-waste\/\">electronics recycling<\/a> activities don\u2019t align with a company\u2019s strategy for using carbon credits, from an ethical standpoint, Quantum remains firm in our stance against selling and profiting from carbon credits as an ITAD provider. We believe ITAD and electronics recycling activities should be pursued by companies anyhow, which is why we focus on education and verifiable, data-driven approaches to carbon reductions. For example, we offer tools such as sustainability reporting with estimates for emissions reductions, as well as a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction calculator with data businesses can use and share to stay transparent and accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Quantum offers ITAD and electronics recycling options to help companies of every size meet their ESG goals equitably and responsibly. Find out more about our available services <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/itad\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever since they were first developed in the late 1990s, there\u2019s been confusion surrounding carbon credits. Recently, the term has become a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":23807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Making Sense of Carbon Credits - Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making Sense of Carbon Credits - Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ever since they were first developed in the late 1990s, there\u2019s been confusion surrounding carbon credits. Recently, the term has become a...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-23T12:53:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-06T13:01:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"971\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"593\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Quantum\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Quantum\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Quantum\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/person\/41bf6d897f73da47d3d5abb02fe30326\"},\"headline\":\"Making Sense of Carbon Credits\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-23T12:53:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T13:01:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\"},\"wordCount\":660,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\",\"name\":\"Making Sense of Carbon Credits - Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-23T12:53:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-06T13:01:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg\",\"width\":971,\"height\":593},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Making Sense of Carbon Credits\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/\",\"name\":\"Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Quantum Lifecycle Partners LP\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/logo.svg\",\"width\":2700,\"height\":848,\"caption\":\"Quantum Lifecycle Partners LP\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/person\/41bf6d897f73da47d3d5abb02fe30326\",\"name\":\"Quantum\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2aaf31ff9f443b7b4c198258ca4f2fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2aaf31ff9f443b7b4c198258ca4f2fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Quantum\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Making Sense of Carbon Credits - Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Making Sense of Carbon Credits - Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling","og_description":"Ever since they were first developed in the late 1990s, there\u2019s been confusion surrounding carbon credits. Recently, the term has become a...","og_url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/","og_site_name":"Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling","article_published_time":"2022-11-23T12:53:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-06T13:01:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":971,"height":593,"url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Quantum","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Quantum","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/"},"author":{"name":"Quantum","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/person\/41bf6d897f73da47d3d5abb02fe30326"},"headline":"Making Sense of Carbon Credits","datePublished":"2022-11-23T12:53:58+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-06T13:01:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/"},"wordCount":660,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/","url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/","name":"Making Sense of Carbon Credits - Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg","datePublished":"2022-11-23T12:53:58+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-06T13:01:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Making-Sense-of-Carbon-Credits.jpg","width":971,"height":593},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/blog\/making-sense-of-carbon-credits\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Making Sense of Carbon Credits"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#website","url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/","name":"Quantum | ITAD &amp; E-Waste Recycling","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#organization","name":"Quantum Lifecycle Partners LP","url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/logo.svg","width":2700,"height":848,"caption":"Quantum Lifecycle Partners LP"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/person\/41bf6d897f73da47d3d5abb02fe30326","name":"Quantum","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2aaf31ff9f443b7b4c198258ca4f2fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2aaf31ff9f443b7b4c198258ca4f2fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Quantum"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23806"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23811,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23806\/revisions\/23811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantumlifecycle.com\/en_CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}