Offsetting our remaining CO₂ emissions

The second commitment of our Greenhouse Neutral Programme is to compensate all CO₂ emissions that remain after our reduction efforts. For the first phase of the Greenhouse Neutral Programme between 2003 and 2013, we bought and retired high-quality Voluntary Emissions Reductions (VERs) for a total of 553 000 tonnes of CO₂e.

In 2014, we calculated our CO₂ emissions according to our new, extended setup for the first time (see table in section “The Greenhouse Neutral Programme”). To offset these emissions, we bought and retired VERs for 69 800 tonnes of CO₂e. This amount includes an additional voluntary commitment to offset the CO₂ emissions caused by events held at our Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon near Zurich.

We are keen to ensure that the VERs we buy are of a high environmental standard. Therefore, we have developed a set of criteria to select projects that generate certificates. In particular, we give priority to those which create strong social side-effects and benefit the poorest regions.