our approach to carbon offsetting

Many everyday actions use energy and produce carbon dioxide; for example driving a car, heating a home or flying. Offsetting involves funding projects that either absorb (eg through reforestation projects) or avoid (eg through being more efficient with energy) equivalent amounts of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

The Co-operative Group has teamed up with Climate Care (link opens in new window), an organisation dedicated to combating climate change through carbon offsetting, to provide our customers with an easy way to offset their carbon emissions through funding projects in the developing world.

Across The Co-operative Group, we also use carbon offsetting, alongside a range of other carbon reduction and energy efficiency initiatives, to reduce the impact we as a business have on the climate. We fund exactly the same projects as our customers do, and ensure that all of these projects are rigorously audited, so that we can be confident that the carbon savings promised are delivered.

Since 2000, we have offset more than 780,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.


Find out about some of the schemes we help to fund in the developing world.