A carbon offset is a financial instrument representing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. These greenhouse gas reductions are typically generated by the funding of new emissions-reducing projects including wind power, solar energy, and reforestation projects. Carbon offsets allow businesses and individuals to invest in these type of projects thus "offsetting" the greenhouse gases generated by their day-to-day activities at a reasonable cost. Learn more about Carbon Offsets.
What is the Cost to Offset?
Below you'll see a table of some typical air and ground shipments. The cost to purchase an offset is dependent upon the package weight, service type, and distance traveled.
| Origin |
Destination |
Service Type |
Package Weight (lbs) |
Distance Traveled (mi) |
CO2 (lbs) |
Cost to Offset |
| Portland, OR |
Buffalo, NY |
Ground |
2 |
2,698 |
0.6 |
$0.01 |
| Portland, OR |
Chicago, IL |
Ground |
6 |
2,187 |
2.9 |
$0.04 |
| Portland, OR |
Los Angeles, CA |
Ground |
18 |
1,120 |
4.4 |
$0.06 |
| Portland, OR |
New York, NY |
Ground |
48 |
3,006 |
31.8 |
$0.42 |
| Portland, OR |
Tampa, FL |
Air |
2 |
2,973 |
7.0 |
$0.10 |
Our Carbon Offsets
When you offset a shipment at greenshipping.com, the funds are used to purchase carbon offsets from Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the supply and use of renewable energy, and one of the nation's leading carbon offset providers.
The BEF carbon offsets we purchase are focused on wind energy projects and are all based in the US. Keeping the projects at home means that we improve our air, create jobs, and can see the benefits of our efforts.
BEF’s Carbon Offsets meet rigorous environmental criteria endorsed by three leading environmental organizations including The Natural Resources Defense Council. To our knowledge, BEF is the only Carbon Offsets provider that performs such project analyses. In addition, our BEF offsets are Green-e Certified.
Our Pricing
We are committed to fair pricing of our carbon offsets. Our offsets are priced at the same rate offered to consumers by BEF. By combining our customers purchases, we purchase carbon offsets in large volume and obtain volume discounts for the purchases. The difference between our volume pricing and their standard pricing is used to fund our operations and grow Green Shipping. Our BEF carbon offsets are currently priced at $26.67 per ton of carbon that is reduced. In practice, that amounts to only a few pennies per shipment for most shipments.
3rd Party Verification
We are committed to full transparency with our carbon offset transactions. We send a detailed transaction list to BEF each month that includes unique, privacy-protected, member identifiers and the amount that each member purchased that month. To check that the carbon offset purchases match your monthly statement, you can contact BEF with your member identifier and they will confirm the amount we purchased on your behalf.
Accuracy
All BEF offsets are verified and receive
Green-e Certification.
