As concerns about climate change grow and 'carbon neutrality' captures the imagination of corporates worldwide, Forum for the Future and Clean Air-Cool Planet have teamed up in a report exploring the claims and making recommendations about the neutrality concept. Transparency has fast become the critical factor in any neutrality claim.

Carbon Neutrality
Defining carbon neutrality demands a degree of boundary setting; establishing where a company's responsibility begins and ends within the industry and supply chains. Unfortunately there is no clear answer to this and expectations are likely to change over time as our understanding advances. One thing remains clear however;
"Offsetting will play an important role in any neutrality strategy...  for the simple fact that it's currently impossible to become carbon neutral without it."

The Report
Forum for the Future, the sustainable development charity, and Clean Air-Cool Planet, a leading science-based, non-profit organisation in the field of global warming, have together considered the idea of carbon neutrality claims as an assertion of leadership. Recommendations on a variety of approaches highlight the way to a best practice approach:

• How to avoid the inevitable engendered skepticism associated with claims from energy intensive companies
• How to approach creating inventories and boundary setting and ensure your company's claim covers the appropriate set of emissions
• Complete transparency helps to engender trust for any company claiming neutrality
• Exhibiting a broad leadership on climate change issues can enhance your position
• Ensure you approach a carbon neutrality statement with caution; some claims are riskier than others
• Neutrality must be treated as a long-term commitment.

Distressed and Impressed - Company Neutrality Claims Explored
The report explores some corporate claims that have been made to date, illustrating the variety of approaches that can and have been taken. The discussion extends to those displaying exemplary strategies as well as highlighting some practices to be avoided.

Promoting Offsets
Further to carbon neutrality claims, in a BusinessGreen article yesterday Edward Hanrahan, spokesman for carbon offset trade association ICROA, supported firms seeking to promote the benefits of the Voluntary Carbon Market. "If your offsetting policy is as robust and well managed as your internal carbon reduction strategy, there is no reason why you should not be shouting about it," he said. Forum for the Future also commends the use of voluntary carbon reduction projects, as they deliver both environmental and development benefits.

Read the full report on Defining Corporate Carbon Neutrality.