Our Story - FAQs
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1. What is The Carbon Farmer Inc. all about?
2. What is a carbon offset?
3. Why offset with The Carbon Farmer Inc.?
4. Who should offset?
5. Why should businesses, projects and special events partner with the Carbon Farmer Inc.?
6. What do Partners receive from The Carbon Farmer Inc.?
7. What is the cost of a Carbon Plus Credit?
8. How does one buy Carbon Plus Credits?
9. When I purchase a Carbon Plus Credit, what will I receive to confirm the purchase?
10. How can I be assured that the same Carbon Plus Credits are not being sold multiple times?
11. What guarantees that the carbon will be stored in Our Forests?
12. What if the trees die?
13. What happens to the forest after the management period outlined in the Carbon Plus Credit Purchase Agreement ends?
14. How do I know how big my footprint is?
15. What is the average Canadian carbon footprint?
16. What are other ways to reduce my carbon footprint?
17. How environmentally sustainable are the practices of The Carbon Farmer Inc.?
18. Are the members of The Carbon Farmer Inc. environmentally conscious on a personal level?
19. How does The Carbon Farmer Inc. justify using viable farmland for generating Carbon Plus Credits?
20. Where is the Carbon Farmer Inc. located?
1. What is The Carbon Farmer Inc. all about?
We wanted to do something that would sustain the farm that has been in our family for three generations and that would also contribute positively to the environment, as deforestation, habitat loss and increasing greenhouse gas emissions are challenges facing today's world. The Carbon Farmer Inc. was created to reverse these trends by turning select parcels of the farmland back into the forests that once grew there. These forests store carbon, which helps to offset greenhouse gas emissions, provide much needed habitat in the boreal region, decrease our dependency on pesticides and fertilizers, while recharging the surrounding waterways and the land itself. The purchase of our Carbon Plus Credits also provides our society with a practical, tangible, local and affordable means to make a positive impact on the environment which we all share.
When we as individuals and businesses undertake activities such as driving, flying and heating our homes and businesses, we all emit greenhouse gases. There are ways to remove these emissions from the atmosphere and The Carbon Farmer Inc. does so through the planting of trees. As the trees grow in Our Forests, they store or sequester carbon in their branches, trunks, and roots. The amount of carbon stored in the trees is then calculated and sold as Carbon Plus Credits.
So, people, businesses or special events that create emissions can offset or balance their emissions by purchasing Carbon Plus Credits from The Carbon Farmer Inc. For example, if you take two return trip flights from Edmonton to Toronto, your emissions would be just over one tonne. If you wanted to offset this amount and make your trips carbon neutral, you could simply purchase one Carbon Plus Credit, (which is equivalent to one metric tonne of CO2), for $15.
Note that The Carbon Farmer Inc. is not selling portions of the land on which the forest grows, nor the trees themselves. The product being produced and sold is a Carbon Plus Credit.
3. Why offset with The Carbon Farmer Inc.?
For starters, choosing to purchase our Carbon Plus Credits is a practical, tangible, local and affordable means of offsetting your greenhouse gas emissions as you work towards reducing your carbon footprint.
By offsetting with The Carbon Farmer Inc., you are not just buying an ordinary carbon credit. Each of our Carbon Plus Credit are based on a third party assessment and represent a tonne of positive impacts including habitat restoration in the boreal region, improved water quality for the surrounding area and support of a grassroots business that aims to operate organically. In addition, we donate one dollar from the purchase of each Carbon Plus Credit back to the community, by supporting social and environmental initiatives.
We also strive to conduct a business that is very transparent to our customers. Through our open processes Our Offsetters can:
- be assured that our Carbon Plus Credits are not sold more than once;
- see photographs that show the health of the forests; and
- review our operations reports that provide information on our forest management methods.
This is much more than a business to us. We truly care about the environment just as our customers do and we have much more invested in this than dollars and cents. The Carbon Farmer Inc. was created to make our world and the farm sustainable for future generations. Please refer to the menu heading The Plus for detailed reasons as to why our Carbon Plus Credits stand out from the rest.
It would actually be great if everyone would offset!Our Offsetters include individuals who have chosen to balance out their personal emissions and special events, projects and businesses that have decided to become carbon neutral.
5. Why should businesses, projects and special events partner with the Carbon Farmer Inc.?
By choosing to become a on of Our Partners, you are:
- adding potential to your operation by attracting those who favour environmentally conscious businesses;
- contributing to the restoration of our environment and the sustainability of your own operations; and
- supporting a fellow business with a goal to green our planet; without our planet, there is no business!
6. What do Partners receive from The Carbon Farmer Inc.?
First, we will provide you with a a free estimate of your carbon footprint. Once you decide to become one of Our Partners we will create a personalized Partner Page for you on our website and have you listed as a Featured Partner on our homepage if you so choose. We can also provide you with signage promoting your green initiative with us, which helps to project an earth-friendly image to your clients.
7. What is the cost of a Carbon Plus Credit?
Only $15 per Carbon Plus Credit! The total cost to become carbon neutral depends of course on how much greenhouse gases you emit. At The Carbon Farmer Inc. we believe in letting you find the balance that works best for you. To give some perspective however, you may have heard about the “One Tonne Challenge,” which estimated that the average Canadian emits five tonnes of greenhouse gases each year. So, if you decided to buy enough Carbon Plus Credits to offset the entire five tonnes, it would cost only $75.
8. How does one buy Carbon Plus Credits?
It’s actually really easy. Simply click on the “Offset Now” button, which appear on our main menu bar. You will then be given the option of entering your own amount of Carbon Plus Credits for purchase, calculating your footprint with our Carbon Calculator, or choosing to offset the Direct or Indirect Average amounts of CO2 that Canadians emit according to Canada’s “One Tonne Challenge” estimates and Environment Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
If you choose to use our Carbon Calculator, you will be able to calculate how many tonnes of CO2 you emit based on your automobile usage, use of public transportation, air travel and home and/or business energy consumption. You will then be able to see how many Carbon Plus Credits you would need to purchase to completely offset these amounts. We really want to stress however, that we don’t expect everyone to be able to offset all of their emissions. If you can offset half or even offset one tonne, that’s a great start.
9. When I purchase a Carbon Plus Credit, what will I receive to confirm the purchase?
After you have accepted the terms and conditions of the Carbon Plus Credit Purchase Agreement and your payment has been made, The Carbon Farmer Inc. will send you an email with an attached receipt of your payment, your Certificate of Purchase that describes the details of the sale, along with a copy of the Carbon Plus Credit Purchase Agreement. You will also be able to go to our web site, find the forest that corresponds with your credits and search your screen name, which will appear next to the credits you purchased within that forest.
We tried to keep the purchasing procedure as basic as possible, avoiding the use of materials such as mail out packages, in order to be consistent with our vision of running a low impact, environmentally friendly business. We hope you are alright with this decision too.
10. How can I be assured that the same Carbon Plus Credits are not being sold multiple times?
When you decide to offset your carbon emissions by purchasing a Carbon Plus Credit, you are asked to provide a screen name, which will then appear as your identifying feature on our web site. This serves as a means for tracking each individual credit sold.
If you click on the Our Offsetters menu item, you will find a submenu which allows you to select the specific forest that you purchased your Carbon Plus Credits from. The table that appears provides a list of the number of credits that are available for purchase. Any credits that have been sold will have a screen name beside them to show customers that the credit has been sold and therefore is not available for purchase. This adds transparency to our business by showing our customers that we are not selling the same credit over and over. So, after you have purchased your Carbon Plus Credits, feel free to visit our site and show your friends and family that you have found your carbon balance!
11. What guarantees that the carbon will be stored in Our Forests?
We have third-party firms conduct a CO2 Storage Assessment to help us determine how much carbon will be stored in Our Forests. That combined with the fact that our whole goal is to keep Our Forests vibrant and healthy helps ensure our customers that the offsets they purchase will be realized.
The Carbon Farmer Inc. is also looking to have all of our business practices and the progress of Our Forests reviewed and compared to a standard for you our valued customers to see. It is by taking such steps towards transparency and accountability that enables us to deliver a high quality product.
In short, we will replant the devastated trees. We’ve created a Replanting Fund, which acts as a type of insurance for our customers and the agreement you accept when purchasing a Carbon Plus Credit assures you as an environmentally concerned customer that in the event that any trees in the forest are destroyed or significantly damaged by fire, disease, insect infestation, flood, drought, ice, wind, or damage by animals, The Carbon Farmer Inc. will plant a number of trees approximately equal to the number of trees destroyed or significantly damaged. Please refer to the Carbon Plus Credit Purchase Agreement that is available at the time of purchase for specific details.
Furthermore, The Carbon Farmer Inc. will make every effort, from the selection of seedlings to the planting and care of the trees afterwards, to ensure that the forest is as strong and healthy as possible. Remember that the initiative for this project comes from a strong desire to maintain the family farm for generations to come, while creating a happy and lively landscape.
13. What happens to the forest after the management period outlined in the Carbon Plus Credit Purchase Agreement ends?
Our hope is that Our Forests will be sustained long after we’re gone. After all, the forests we create represent an opportunity for us and our children to live with and honour the land, which has been part of our family for generations.
14. How do I know how big my footprint is?
That’s where our web site can be very helpful. Click on our Carbon Calculator as found in the main menu bar. You can calculate how many tonnes of CO2 you emit based on your automobile usage, use of public transportation, plane trips you take and the energy consumed by your home and/or business.
15. What is the average Canadian carbon footprint?
According to Canada’s “One-Tonne Challenge,” every Canadian produces at least five tonnes of greenhouse gases directly each year, though this number has been steadily increasing. According to Environment Canada’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, Canada produces a total of 747 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) annually. This includes those industrial emissions not incorporated into the “One Tonne Challenge” estimate above. If we were to average this number across Canada’s total population, that would mean that each Canadian produces approximately 24 tonnes of CO2eq, both directly and indirectly, per annum.
Source: The One Tonne Challenge
Source: Canada's Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Source: Population and Dwelling Counts
16. What are other ways to reduce my carbon footprint?
As we mention in other areas of our website, we are not suggesting that the only or ultimate way of impacting one’s carbon footprint should be with the purchase of Carbon Plus Credits. We do believe however, that until we can move towards a less carbon dependent society, offsetting your emissions with Carbon Plus Credits in addition to taking further steps to reduce your overall footprint is an excellent way to bridge the gap. Please refer to the links below, which will give you many great ideas of how to reduce your carbon footprint.
Climate Change Central
Nature Canada - Lower Your Carbon Footprint
17. How environmentally sustainable are the practices of The Carbon Farmer Inc.?
The Carbon Farmer Inc. is a home grown operation and in every step of our business, we are cognizant of our fossil fuel, pesticide, chemical fertilizer and water usage. In fact, our goal is to run an organic operation. We have also made it our objective to use recycled and reusable materials whenever possible in our business and to support local companies in the process.
18. Are the members of The Carbon Farmer Inc. environmentally conscious on a personal level?
The whole idea of The Carbon Farmer Inc. was founded from our own personal desire to leave as little footprint as possible while we exist on this planet. Some of the ways we minimize our day-to-day impact are by:
- using energy efficient light bulbs;
- ensuring that lights are only kept on in the room we are using;
- having those appliances which use energy even while turned off (aka ‘phantom load’) connected to a power strip, which cuts all power to the appliance when it is not in use;
- washing our clothes in cold water;
- participating in our local recycling program;
- purchasing local, fair-trade and organic food and growing our own when the seasons permit it;
- driving an energy efficient vehicle; and
- consuming less overall so far as clothing and other material objects.
We try to incorporate recycled goods like our table and computer desks as much as possible into our home and shop at clothing stores and earth-friendly places, which provide gently worn, reusable and environmentally friendly items.
19. How does The Carbon Farmer Inc. justify using viable farmland for generating Carbon Plus Credits?
We are very particular in selecting the land we use to plant our trees on, and choose only those portions of land that are unable to produce crops efficiently and which have high potential for habitat restoration.
As such, aspects like soil type and farming efficiency are considered when determining where Our Forests are located. For example, the land on which Dad’s Forest grows has high soil quality but was only a five acre parcel surrounded by forested borders. The relatively small size of this field meant that the large equipment used in conventional farming was constantly turning and overlapping the surface. Overall, this led to inefficient use of synthetic fertilizer, fuel and pesticides, while at the same time contributing to excess soil compaction. This meant that per unit of food produced, the inputs necessary were high, leading to a high environmental impact compared to larger fields.
20. Where is the Carbon Farmer Inc. located?
The farm is located in Manning, Alberta; approximately 600 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Check out Our Location, under Our Story on the main menu bar, as it has a dynamic map that you can use to find exactly where the farm is in relation to you.
