Carbon Offsetting Your Fuels
Concerned about your environmental impact? We are too! Which is why we now offer carbon offsetting with our fuel orders: DERV (white diesel), red diesel, kerosene and industrial heating oil!
You can now offset the carbon emissions released from your fuels
Together with measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, carbon offsetting is a recognised way to compensate for your remaining carbon footprint.
Crown Oil has been acutely aware of the impact that our operations have on our environment for several years. We not only offset our entire emissions but we also supply carbon offset fuels.
How can I buy carbon credits?
Whichever fuel you wish to offset, you can purchase verified carbon credits from Crown Oil which are sourced from CHOOOSE and the United Nations Carbon Offset Platform. The fuel itself is unchanged, so doesn’t require any modifications to use. Instead, the little extra that you pay goes towards carbon-reducing initiatives across the globe, effectively counteracting the carbon released from your fuel use.
What is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting gives companies or individuals a tool to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions they produce from their energy use (their carbon footprint).
This is done through purchasing carbon credits and investing in projects that give an equivalent reduction of emissions elsewhere in the world, ensuring there’s no net increase in global GHG emissions.
Carbon offset fuel doesn’t require any modifications to your engines or special measures to use the fuel. There is no difference to the fuel itself; instead, the little extra you pay goes towards funding carbon-reducing initiatives across the world, effectively counteracting the carbon released from using the fuel.
Carbon offsetting benefits
How does offsetting work?
With every fuel order, whether that be red diesel, DERV, industrial heating oil or kerosene, you can offset the associated carbon dioxide emissions that you can’t avoid or reduce.
1. Simply ask your account manager about offsetting your fuel, each time you place an order
2. Based on the delivery size, we’ll calculate your carbon offset contribution and add it to your final bill
3. Your contribution goes toward global projects such as wind farms and tree planting
4. You’ll receive a certificate to prove that you’re doing your bit to reduce your environmental footprint!
‘Verified’ carbon credits
All credits are selected from global projects which are independently certified to Gold Standard, Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), CDM (United Nations Climate Change Carbon Mechanism) or CCBS (The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance) standards which are the globally recognised benchmarks for carbon offsets.
Crown Oil has achieved carbon neutrality in accordance with PAS 2060:2014.
Each carbon credit = 1 tonne of emission reductions that has been delivered by a project
Verified carbon offsets must consider four principles to ensure they have an impact:
Additionality – Ensuring that buying this offset leads to a reduction in GHG that would not have happened otherwise. Requires rigorous accountability and transparency.
Permanence – Offset projects should almost permanently keep CO₂ emissions out of the air. This can be an issue with deforestation or forest fires impacting offset projects.
Double counting – Ensure that the purchased offset has an exclusive claim to the emissions reduction project, which can be difficult between consumer, corporate and national levels
Leakage – Issues such as protected forest areas resulting in increased deforestation in unprotected areas or projects making other issues worse, e.g. social or environmental impacts.
Carbon offsetting projects
You will be supporting environmental initiatives within the UK and across the world, including restoration, building wind farms, reducing landfill and providing clean water projects. The type of compensation projects CHOOOSE is supporting represent the best standards of emission reduction projects available today and are verified by internationally recognised standards, such as:
Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, REDD+, Fairtrade, United Nations, Plan Vivo
Nature-based projects
Nature is capable of absorbing and storing carbon within the natural carbon cycle. These projects include reforestation and afforestation.
Project example: Southern Cardaman REDD+
Tropical deforestation is one of the main causes of carbon emissions and global climate change. Preventing this can contribute to over one third of the total emission reductions needed by 2030. The Southeast Asian rainforest and its wildlife are among the fastest disappearing in the world, so the protection of this region is crucial.
Renewable energy
The need to transition from fossil-based energy production to renewable energy has never been so important. The United Nations supports projects that verifiably reduce and offset emissions via clean energy alternatives.
Project example: Poechos II hydroelectric plant project
The Poechos II hydroelectric power plant generates electricity, utilising renewable energy sources to be supplied to the Peruvian National Inter-connected Electric Grid (SEIN). Its capacity is 10 MW with an estimated average generation of 49,530 MWh every year. It’s predicted to displace 19,582 tCO2e per year. Methane and CO2 that may be emitted as a result of the construction and operation of the project are negligible.
The projects you’ll be supporting provide the following sustainable development goals:
- Protect, restore and promote sustainable land use
- Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
- Promote peaceful societies and sustainable development
- Reduce ecological footprint through sustainable consumption of goods and resources
- Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
- Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
- Safe and affordable drinking water for all
- End all forms of hunger and malnutrition
- A commitment to end poverty in all formats
Did you know that Crown Oil is certified carbon neutral?
As well as offering carbon offset fuels including carbon offset red diesel, as of April 2022, the Crown Oil Group is offsetting its entire emissions by purchasing carbon credits to compensate for residual emissions by identifying and delivering carbon reduction projects.
We began offsetting our delivery miles back in 2007 and are now running our entire delivery fleet on HVO fuel with any remaining emissions continuing to be offset.
Interested in taking your ambitions one step further?
Switch to HVO, our drop-in, advanced renewable diesel and reduce up to 90% of net CO2 emissions. Click on our carbon calculator below to see how much CO2 you’d save in your business!
Going beyond carbon offsetting
At Crown Oil, we acknowledge that carbon offsetting is worthwhile, when combined with an action plan to reduce emissions at the source. We understand that they cannot considered as a justifiable long-term solution to emissions reduction, as at a global scale, it’s not possible to continue ‘business as usual’ by relying solely on offset strategies.
We will continue to investigate offsetting solutions and update our approach every year with a view to having an increasing impact and with respect to the four principles outlined above.
Carbon Offsetting FAQs
What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is the total amount of indirect and direct carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions released by the activities of an individual or organisation.
What are examples of carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting projects are usually based in developing countries and are designed to reduce future emissions as well as to care for local communities to provide employment, health improvement, reforestation and biodiversity. Examples include:
- Renewable energy projects, e.g. building wind farms that replace coal-fired power plants
- Purchasing and ripping up carbon credits from an emissions trading scheme
- Tree planting activities to soak up CO₂ directly from their air (carbon sequestration in soils or forests)
- Energy-efficiency improvements, e.g. additional insulation in buildings to reduce heat loss or switching to more-efficient vehicles for transport
Is offsetting a solution to climate change?
Carbon offsetting provides a mechanism to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the most cost-effective and economically-efficient manner. While it plays a key role in tackling climate change, it’s not the sole solution. Crown Oil is committed to moving beyond achieving PAS 2060:2014 carbon neutral status and is actively setting targets for the business to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Are your carbon offsets in line with PAS 2060?
Yes, our credits are Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and meet the offsetting part of the PAS 2060 guidance on carbon neutrality to provide full transparency and assurance on our carbon neutral claims.
How are Crown Oil’s offsets verified?
Crown Oil’s projects are verified against the international standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard and Certified Emission Reductions.
