The quality of carbon offsets is determined by the quality of the greenhouse gas abatement project they came from. Therefore, for Coolplanet to offer the highest standard of carbon offsets, the quality of the carbon reduction projects we deal with becomes paramount. To ensure the highest standard, we only purchase carbon credits that have been accredited by recognized National and International standards.

The credits we currently stock are approved by Greenhouse Friendly, Green Power, The NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme or Agcert. This independent verification of projects is essential in making sure that an abatement project is making permanent greenhouse gas reductions that help fight global warming. In turn we register our credits with the applicable registries so there is no double counting. If you have any questions about our abatement projects or operational guidelines please contact us and we will answer whatever questions you may have.

Our renewable energy source is currently from wind turbines situated in Denham, Western Australia. Denham is an isolated town with approximately 900 residents and has an excellent wind resource. The Denham power system comprises of 3 Enercon E-30 wind turbines (690kW total capacity) that supplies about 40% of Denham's annual electricity consumption. The facility is a Green Power approved generator.

Coolplanet is not currently Green Power approved due to the financial requirements of accreditation; Coolplanet accreditation will follow when it is financially viable for us to do so. The renewable energy we supply is from Green Power approved generators as will be all renewable energy projects we sponsor in the future. The renewable energy we sell is of the same quality as other providers as our sources are of the same recognised standard.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agriculture contributes to approximately 20% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Abatement projects reduce these GHG emissions on livestock farms by implementing practice changes in Animal Waste Management Systems. Emission reductions are created by improved manure handling practices such as covering a lagoon or earthen basin with a biocover or non-permeable cover, or the use of deep pit confinement buildings, or anaerobic digesters.

These practices reduce the amount of methane and nitrous oxide that would normally be produced. Agricultural producers gain a new revenue stream that results from the sale of the emission reduction. Additional benefits include reduced odour, improved fertilizer, preventing contamination of groundwater or surface water, and reduced flies. The credits from these projects are VERs that are certified by Agcert.

Municipal solid waste landfills are one of the largest sources of human-related methane emissions in the industrialized world with the gas being created from the decomposition of rotting food, vegetation and other household waste. Using traditional landfill management practices, full decomposition can take over fifty years. The gas from landfill sites composes of about 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide with methane having the global warming potential of more than 21 times that of carbon dioxide.

Instead of letting landfill gas escape into the atmosphere, it can be captured and burnt, creating an energy source and reducing smell and smog. Importantly it is an effective way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the near term. To do this the gas is extracted from the landfill using a series of wells and a blower/flare system that collects the gas in a central point. From there it can be simply flared or used to generate electricity that can replace fossil fuels in industrial operations or alternatively be upgraded to pipeline quality gas. Coolplanet only uses carbon credits from Australian landfill flaring projects that have been certified with Australian government's Greenhouse Friendly standard.

Compact fluorescent light (CFL) abatement projects that replace incandescent light bulbs are currently in full swing in Australia due to their ability to generate carbon credits under the government's Greenhouse friendly initiative. These projects generate reductions through the greater energy efficiency of CFLs over traditional incandescents. There's a variety of lighting energy efficiency projects across commercial, government and local government facilities via lower cost incentives, free installation and give-aways.

Lighting represents around 12 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from households, and around 25 per cent of emissions from the commercial sector. The Australian government has said they are phasing out all incandescent light bulbs by 2012 and that will reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions by 4 million tonnes. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use around 20% of the power of standard light bulbs and generally last between 4 and 10 times. The credits from these projects are NGACs that are certified by NSW GGAS.