Carbon offsets are often viewed by voluntary buyers as untrustworthy and providing little to no overall value to their core business. Six billion metric tons of carbon offsets trade annually, yet only 0.6% are traded voluntarily. The remaining 99.4% are traded in regulated ‘Cap and Trade’ markets. Worse yet, almost 36 million metric tons of carbon offsets made for the voluntary market remain unsold today. The voluntary carbon market has stagnated and failed to generate significant investment. Urban Offsets believes treating offsets like financial investments can partially address these market failures. In this webinar, Urban Offsets introduces a new method of measuring the significant hidden risks found in all carbon offset products. We will present a case study, walk through the risk valuation process, and provide comparison examples for prospective buyers. The goal of this webinar is to provide prospective offset buyers with actionable data in order to make better sustainability investments.

For members: Access webinar recording and presentation materials

Presenters

Shawn Gagne,  Founder & CEO, Urban Offsets, Inc. Shawn is the CEO of Urban Offsets, a Greensboro NC startup that brings transparency and local impact to voluntary carbon markets. Shawn founded the ‘Community Carbon’ movement in 2015. He teaches entrepreneurship at a local accelerator, is a guest lecturer at McMaster University and Arizona State University, and has presented on Community Carbon at the Partners in Community Forestry and AASHE University Sustainability conferences. Shawn holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Science from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo Canada.