Like most commodities, carbon offsets can only be used once, though they can change hands several times. But offsets aren’t tangible goods – they represent the rights to a greenhouse gas reduction. So unlike a bushel of corn an offset doesn’t automatically disappear when you use it. That means you need to ‘retire’ any offsets you use to balance out your footprint.
That’s why Brighter Planet retires all the offsets our customers purchase with a third party non-profit. This organization commits to hold the offsets in perpetuity so that no-one else can ever use them. And every other year we’re audited to make sure every offset we’ve sold has been retired.