A Tufts Climate Initiative study evaluating companies singles out four organizations because they understand the issues well and fund initiatives with tangible impacts (tufts.edu/tie/tci). We gathered numbers from the recommended outfits for a New York-London round trip; as the table reveals, each tallies emissions its own way and charges a different amount for offsets. Our advice: Calculate your emissions at a few sites, figure out a donation you're OK with, and give it to a nonprofit that'll use the money efficiently, with at least 75 percent going directly to a worthy project.
| Atmosfair.de | CarbonCounter.org | ClimateFriendly.com | NativeEnergy.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per ton of CO2 | $22 | $13 | $20 | $12 |
| Estimated CO2 (New York-London) |
3.84 tons | 2.4 tons | 3.64 tons | 2.752 tons |
| Offset cost | $97 | $26 | $60 | $36 |
| Gold Standard? | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Profit Status | Nonprofit | Nonprofit | For profit | For profit |
| % invested in projects | 80% | Won't say | 66% | Won't say |