Carbon offsetting aims to generate a net climate benefit that can be passed from one entity to another, enabling a consumer or company to counteract unavoidable carbon outputs. Negating the emissions of a product or activity can be achieved by investing in climate projects that reduce emissions elsewhere, causing the total emissions to be balanced. Revenue generated from carbon offsetting is usually invested in initiatives aimed at reversing climate change and socio-economic development projects.

South African climate fintech-focused startup CURBON has developed an e-commerce plug-in tool that allows businesses to offer customers the opportunity to offset the carbon footprint of their purchases. The application programming interface (API) does this by using industry standards to estimate the total emissions of the contents of a cart at checkout and adding this amount to the shopping invoice. In contributing between 1.8% to 5% of cart spend, an individual can offset the carbon impact of the goods they are purchasing, as well as the impact of the delivery of their order.

By offsetting purchases, consumers can negate a portion of their individual carbon-producing behaviour and contribute towards a neutral impact on the environment.

Internationally, such carbon credits benefit initiatives such as reforestation, wind farms and fair trade coffee production. CURBON says that proceeds from South African carbon offsets support various local projects with a socio-economic focus, including:

• The Stellenbosch Community Recycling Project, which benefits from the proceeds of carbon credits. The proceeds from carbon credits help improve the financial viability of the project and the establishment of additional waste collection drop-off areas, giving waste pickers the opportunity to earn an income from collecting and recycling waste, which further helps reduce carbon emissions.
• The Kuyasa Project focuses on providing low-carbon housing in Khayelitsha, where houses are equipped with carbon-conscious solar water heaters and compact fluorescent energy-efficient light bulbs.
• The Wonderbag carbon investment initiative enables consumers to contribute to the distribution of heat-retention cooking solutions, helping to reduce carbon emissions while also empowering women in vulnerable communities.

CURBON notes that the projects supported by its initiative undergo a rigorous selection process, including international verification, credibility standards and oversight regulatory requirements. It offers two carbon offset solution for e-commerce partners:

• A full onboarding that allows businesses to pay for each of their products to be offset - this is aimed at businesses that already prioritise sustainability and want to expand their eco-commitment.
• A zero-cost-to-company solution that helps businesses meet customer demands for eco-conscious shopping, without incurring any direct cost to the company.

CURBON asserts that small, incremental changes that require the least amount of effort are the most effective in contributing to a greater collective reduction of carbon emissions and community upliftment.