If you are an individual or business looking for a reputable carbon offsetting company to invest in, two highly recommended organizations are Native Energy and Climate Care.

Native Energy assists Native American communities and farmers in the development of renewable and clean energy projects. The result is a more sustainable community prospering from social, economic, and environmental benefits. A few of their impressive clientele includes; NRDC, Aveda, Warner Brothers, Clif Bar, An Inconvenient Truth and more.

Climate Care develops and manages programs around the world to reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Projects range from wind farm development in China to rainforest restoration in Uganda. Clients include prominent businesses such as Barclays, Lonely Planet, Yahoo.com, CARE International and more.

Both companies have a longstanding reputation and commitment to creating sustainable economies and combatting climate change. Take a step to support indigenous and rural communities in the USA and around the world. Incorporate carbon offsetting in your business operations and daily life now! Although it is not a solution to climate change, it does help by reducing emissions and providing sustainable solutions.

As an avid world traveler, I always feel guilty about the emissions I contribute to the global warming epidemic. Should I forego all travel to visit family and explore new locations just for the sake of the planet? A logical option yet is not feasible for the majority of the planet’s inhabitants today. Despite being able to contribute to various carbon offset schemes like Climate Care and Carbonfund, I still feel I haven’t done enough to lessen my carbon footprint. The truth remains that there comes a point when consumers can only do so much. A vast portion of the responsibility lies with the companies providing the travel services. Over the past few years, many corporations have acknowledged their impact on the environment and are implementing strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.

This past Sunday, a landmark achievement in aviation occurred from a successful demonstration flight of the world’s first biofuel-powered commercial aircraft. The non-passenger Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 flew from London Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam, signifying epic accomplishments in ‘carbon-free’ flying. According to Virgin Atlantic, the fuel used in one of the plane’s main tanks constituted 20% biofuel mix of coconut and babassu oil resulting in a 30% decrease in fuel consumption. Additionally, the production of the biofuel is reported not to compete with food and freshwater resources. However, the full extent of the environmental impact of the biofuel production (carbon emissions, food shortage) is not known at this time but is an area of concern from various campaigners.

Virgin founder, Richard Branson, has set the goal of becoming the ‘greenest airline in the market’ and has expanded on this vision to include green ground transportation. In the United States, Virgin has partnered with General Motors Corporation to provide green limo service (from zero-emission fuel cell cars) for VIP passengers. Sustainable transportation has been the company’s focus since 2007 including accomplishments such as; a six-month trial commenced in June 2007 of Britain’s first biodiesel train, Virgin Voyager, developing a company Green Policy that further reduces the trains’ carbon footprint through renewable electricity, recycling and serving Fair Trade products onboard.

In an ideal world, all leisure and business travel would entail zero-emission transportation - by air, land and sea. The recent technological advances instill a bit of hope that we are progressing towards the quintessence of sustainable travel.