Frequently asked questions

Skip to PURE for You FAQ
Skip to PURE for Business FAQ 

General FAQ

Who are PURE?
PURE the Clean Planet Trust is a UK-based registered charity dedicated to helping people and organisations to reduce and offset their carbon footprint. See about PURE for more information.

What is climate change?
Climate change affects all of us - and we can all be part of the solution.

Over the last hundred years the Earth has warmed by around 0.75°C.  Scientists believe that most of this warming is due to emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide (hence the term "carbon emissions").  These emissions come from burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - and from deforestation.

As humans emit more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere the greenhouse effect becomes stronger.  This causes the earth's climate to change unnaturally.

For the UK, climate change means hotter, drier summers (more heat waves), milder wetter winters , higher sea levels and an increased flood risk to coastal areas.

Across the globe, there will be more intense heat waves, droughts and more flooding. There may be severe problems for regions where people are particularly vulnerable to changes in the weather. Food shortages and the spread of disease are commonly predicted. The social, environmental and economic costs of climate change could be huge.

How are emissions produced?
Carbon dioxide is released during the burning of fossil fuels - i.e. coal, oil and gas. Increased CO2 emissions also result from deforestation - i.e. the loss of trees that would otherwise absorb CO2 and emit oxygen.

What is carbon offsetting?
Our everyday actions consume energy and produce carbon dioxide emissions, e.g. driving a car, heating a home or flying.

Carbon offsetting is a relatively new idea aimed at combating climate change. It involves calculating your emissions and then funding emission reduction projects that have prevented or removed the emission of an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide elsewhere.

Offsetting is a way of compensating for those emissions with an equivalent carbon dioxide saving, thus lessening the impact of your actions. However, it is important to note that offsetting does not replace your need to actually reduce your own emissions as far as possible as a first step.

Why do we need to offset?
Once we have identified and reduced our emissions within reasonable technical and economical limits, our remaining 'unavoidable' emissions can then be 'offset', by paying someone else to make an equivalent greenhouse gas saving on our behalf.

If performed correctly, offsetting can reduce the impact of our actions and help raise awareness of the issue of climate change.

Will offsetting solve climate change?
The UK Government acknowledges that carbon offsetting is not, on its own, a cure for climate change. It can however reduce the impact of your actions and help raise awareness, and hence the government encourages its adoption. Government and major commercial organisations routinely offset their emissions using the same principles as PURE.

How does PURE offset emissions?
PURE offsets carbon dioxide emissions by buying high quality, regulated carbon credits. PURE then cancels the credits to put them beyond use. In buying these credits your donation helps to finance projects worldwide that reduce emissions, and by cancelling the credits they are then not available to be used by any other polluter and hence the number of carbon tonnes will never enter the atmosphere.

Which projects do PURE support?
See our projects for further details of the projects we are currently supporting. All are renewable energy projects certified by the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism Board. The projects are based in Costa Rica, India, Brazil and China.

Previously, some European Union Allowances (EUAs) projects have also been supported in the UK.

Are the projects Gold Standard?
Currently, two of the projects in our portfolio are Gold Standard.  This is because there are very few Gold Standard projects that also meet UN requirements.

Can I choose which projects are funded?
For most donations it is not possible to donate to specific projects, due to transaction costs. However, this may be possible for donations above 5,000 tonnes.

Do you invest in tree planting?
No, all our projects come from renewable energy projects certified under the UN Clean Development Mechanism because these projects promote sustainable development and have the most accurate calculations of the emissions they reduce.

How much does one tonne of carbon cost?
The price of carbon changes at the end of each month in accordance with prices in the wholesale markets for carbon credits. See our carbon prices page for the current price.

Why is PURE’s charge per tonne of carbon several times that of US companies?
PURE only offsets emissions using UN-approved credits in accordance with the UK Government’s Quality Assurance Scheme for Offsetting.  These credits are generally priced at a much higher level than the unregulated credits used by other offset companies.  The cost per tonne of offsetting through PURE is as close as possible to the price in the wholesale markets.

How do I donate a specified amount of tonnes of carbon?
You can do this on the donate now page.

 

PURE for You FAQ

Where does my donation go?
Your donation goes to PURE and is used to fund worldwide environmental projects that reduce carbon emissions, are approved by the United Nations (under the Kyoto Protocol), and are in accordance with the UK Government’s Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting.

Where can I go to get all of my carbon offsetting questions answered?
For official government information on carbon offsetting, visit DECC website at: http://offsetting.decc.gov.uk/cms/offsetting-explained-4/

How do I offset my emissions with PURE?
After calculating your emissions with one of our online calculators, you can proceed to the payment page to offset this amount of carbon. Your donation is used to buy carbon credits which are then cancelled. This means that the carbon credits are not available to be used by any other polluter and the number of carbon tonnes will never enter the atmosphere.

What do I get for my donation? 
Each website donation generates a personalised certificate, stating your carbon footprint and providing a guarantee that the specified number of carbon credits has been cancelled. 

How much of my money goes to support projects?
If you are a UK taxpayer and agree to PURE reclaiming Gift Aid on your donation, PURE can guarantee that more than 100% of your net contribution goes directly to support projects. This is because the charity maintains its expenses below the rate of basic rate income tax - currently 22% - which is the rate used to calculate Gift Aid. In its first two years of operation, PURE's expense ratio was 14%.

 

PURE for Business FAQ

Where does my organisation’s donation go?
Your organisation’s donation goes to PURE and is used to fund worldwide environmental projects that reduce carbon emissions, are approved by the United Nations (under the Kyoto Protocol), and are in accordance with the UK Government’s Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting.

Where can we go to get all of our carbon offsetting questions answered?
For official government information on carbon offsetting, visit DEFRA’s website at: http://offsetting.decc.gov.uk/cms/offsetting-explained-4/

Why should we calculate our business footprint?
Understanding your organisation’s carbon emissions is the vital first step to reducing them and their impact on the environment, and then offsetting those emissions that cannot readily be reduced. Reducing and offsetting carbon emissions is a clear demonstration of your commitment to the environment.

What sort of businesses can use your calculator?
Our business calculator is designed for SMEs in a wide range of sectors from office-based, service orientated companies, to distributors and other organisations in the transportation sector.

Why another carbon calculator?
There are actually very few carbon calculators that focus on the commercial sector, and specifically on small businesses. The tool has been designed by BRE, whose robust scientific base and technical calculation methods, combined with their strong reputation for independence and quality, sets it apart from most other calculation methods.

What information will we be asked to enter?
The calculator requests information in five core areas that are generic to every small business regardless of the sector they operate in, and cover the majority of sources of carbon emissions. To ensure that the calculator is accurate and that you can have confidence in the outcome, you are asked to supply actual energy consumption figures in the form of meter readings and/or utility bills, as well as numerical data covering business transport. If you find that you don't have any of the information requested, you can save the calculation and go back to it later.

How do we offset our emissions with PURE?
After calculating your organisation’s emissions with either our business calculator or flight calculator, you can proceed to the payment page and make your donation. The number of carbon credits specified will be bought and permanently retired against your donation.

What do we get for our donation? 
Each website donation generates a personalised certificate which states your organisation’s carbon footprint and provides a guarantee that the specified number of carbon credits has been retired. 

Can we use the PURE Trust logo?
At present it is not possible to use our logo due to an H.M. Revenue & Customs ruling that states that use of PURE’s logo is a commercial activity and thus not consistent with PURE’s charitable status. We are currently exploring ways to enable donors to use the logo.  Please let us know if you would like to pursue this further.

Can we place a link on your website?
I’m afraid that we do not currently host website links.

Will you come and speak at our meeting/event?
Our small staff numbers keep overall administration costs to a minimum, though this means we are not able to visit individual businesses without charging. Please email us with further information and we will see whether an exception is possible. Subject to our availability, paid trips can be arranged if staff time and travel expenses are agreed.

Do our emissions have to be verified?
No, not in order to obtain a certificate that states the number of carbon credits you have purchased, and which we guarantee to retire.  However, we do not declare your organisation to be fully carbon-offset.  We can if you wish arrange verification for an additional fee. Please email us with your details, and one of our consultants will contact you.

We would like to donate a fixed amount from every product we sell – how do we do that?
Please email us with your details, and one of our consultants will contact you.

How can we become a carbon neutral company?
This depends on the size of your company and how many people it employs. A general rule of thumb is that a service sector company will generate approximately 5 tonnes of carbon emissions per employee annually.  If your company has fewer than 100 employees and might therefore emit less than 500 tC per year, you can calculate your company's emissions using our business calculator, which includes everything necessary to offset business emissions.

If your company is larger, please email us with your details, and one of our consultants will contact you.

We would like to become a carbon offsetting project how do we do this?
Currently, UK projects have to be registered with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Projects in the developing world have to be accredited under the UN Clean Development Mechanism. We are however interested in finding out about other projects. Please email us with your details, and one of our consultants will contact you.

I want to set up a salary related scheme for my organisation– how do I go about this?
Please refer to the salary related section on this website.