What happens with the carbon compensation money
Most of the CO2 compensation funds go towards African and Asian climate protection projects. Rest assured that these forest conservation and energy efficiency projects are structured, sustainable in the long run and certified according to international standards.
If you place an order on Galaxus, you now have the chance to make a voluntary contribution to climate protection and make up for the carbon footprint left by their online purchase. Buying a laptop or coffee machine? Whatever you’re shopping for, we use a proven model to calculate the carbon emissions caused by the extraction of raw materials, production and delivery of your online purchases. To compensate for these carbon emissions, you have the chance to purchase so-called CO2 certificates (also referred to as carbon credits) and thereby invest in climate protection projects.
The crucial question is, of course, what happens with the compensation funds and how effectively is your money used? Before talking about the climate protection projects we’re supporting, we’d like to address the following concern: does it make sense for customers in Germany to purchase their carbon credits from projects in Africa and Asia rather than from domestic projects? No doubt, in view of sustainable development and maximum «return» – in this case, how many kilogrammes of carbon are compensated for each Euro.
Making the most of every compensation funds
Without question, supporting domestic subsidy programmes, for example developing intelligent apps that control solar systems on urban buildings, makes perfect sense. Renaturing moors to bind carbon and promote biodiversity is also a great way to invest money.
But if you want to drive climate protection where the potential is the greatest, Africa or Asia are your places to go. This has several positive effects: investing in forest protection ensures that rainforests aren’t slashed and burned – in other words, that the lungs of our planet are preserved. Other projects support sustainable land use or help push the breakthrough of renewable energies where fossil fuels are still the main source of energy. This helps the environment as well as the local population, as each of the offered projects is aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promotes education, health or the creation of jobs.
The carbon compensation funds from online purchases on Galaxus go towards the following climate protection projects:
Forest conservation and community
Renewable energy / Energy efficiency
All projects are certified according to internationally recognised standards and meet the criterion of additionality. Translated from the technical jargon: They are demonstrably dependent on financing through CO2 certificates for their implementation. We’ve partnered with South Pole to ensure that the calculated emission reduction is met and that the funds go exactly where we want them to. Every project is also reviewed by independent auditors. For more information, please consult South Pole’s project development standards.
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