Latest news with #carbonoffset
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
GFH Financial Group partners with Safa to offset the annual carbon footprint of its employees
Manama, Bahrain – In a significant step toward corporate sustainability, GFH Financial Group has announced a new initiative to offset the annual carbon emissions of all its full-time employees. This initiative, developed in collaboration with Safa, Bahrain's climate action platform and a Mumtalakat portfolio company, will see the Group take tangible action to neutralize its operational environmental impact. The initiative to offset the carbon emission covers the full-time workforce at GFH Financial Group. According to national emissions data, the average individual in Bahrain emits just over 26 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) per year through daily activities. An individual's annual carbon emissions refer to the total amount of carbon dioxide they generate each year through everyday activities such as driving, using electricity, and consuming goods and services. Carbon offsetting involves financially supporting projects—like renewable energy initiatives or reforestation efforts—that reduce or remove an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Through its partnership with Safa, GFH ensures that carbon offsets made on behalf of its employees are real, measurable, and independently verified, meeting Safa's rigorous standards for high-quality carbon credits. By offsetting the annual emissions for each employee, GFH is demonstrating proactive environmental leadership and reinforcing its support for the Kingdom of Bahrain's Net Zero 2060 ambitions. This announcement coincides with World Environment Day, reinforcing the shared urgency for climate action and the need for institutions to adopt measurable, transparent sustainability strategies. About GFH Financial Group GFH Financial Group, licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and headquartered at GFH House, P.O. Box 10006, Manama Sea Front, Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the most recognised financial groups in the Gulf region. Its businesses include Investment Management, Treasury & Proprietary Investments, Commercial Banking and Real Estate Development. The Group's operations are principally focused across the GCC, North Africa and India, along with strategic investments in the U.S., Europe and U.K. GFH is listed on four stock exchanges in the GCC, including the Bahrain Bourse, Boursa Kuwait, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) where it is one of the most liquid and actively traded stocks. For more information, please visit About Safa Safa is a Bahrain-based carbon offset and climate action platform that helps individuals, businesses, and institutions take measurable steps toward environmental responsibility. A portfolio company of Mumtalakat, Safa provides access to internationally verified carbon offset projects and practical tools to reduce and balance carbon footprints. | info@
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brazilian prosecutors seek to block $180 million carbon credit deal
SAO PAULO, June 3 - Brazilian prosecutors are seeking to annul a $180 million carbon offset scheme to support the conservation of the Amazon rainforest that the state of Para signed last year with a coalition of major corporations and wealthy governments, according to a complaint filed on Tuesday. The lawsuit is a powerful blow to the government of Para, the host of the next global climate summit, known as COP30, as well as the carbon credit industry as a whole, which had been trying to reposition itself after years of facing accusations of abuse and fraud. The state of Para holds one of the most vulnerable sections of the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest. In the filing, the prosecutors argued that the state government had failed to inform and consult the communities that would be impacted by the deal. They also said Brazilian law doesn't allow for the pre-sale of carbon credits, which in this case represent the carbon locked away in trees that the project says it will keep from being knocked down. The state, the prosecutors wrote, aimed to approve its carbon credit plan 'before COP 30, which has generated considerable pressure on Indigenous peoples and traditional communities in Para.' Inc (AMZN.O), opens new tab and at least five other companies had agreed to purchase the credits through the LEAF Coalition forest conservation initiative, which the e-commerce giant helped to found in 2021 with a group of other firms and governments, including the United States and United Kingdom. The Para government and Emergent, a non-profit that coordinates the LEAF Coalition, didn't immediately reply to requests for comment. The project was one of the world's first carbon credit schemes to be called jurisdictional, because they cover whole states or countries. The new design was meant to address concerns about private projects partly by making the accounting of credits easier. It aimed to sell up to 12 million credits at $15 each related to the carbon locked away in trees that it would protect from deforestation.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Aussie energy company apologises to 400,000 customers over now deleted website claims
A major Australian energy company has made an apology to over 400,000 retail gas and electricity customers over key claims advertised on its website. In a statement, EnergyAustralia confirmed it was terminating Go Neutral, which it had spruiked as an environmentally friendly option. The statement was published on Monday, after EnergyAustralia reached a settlement with conservation group Parents for Climate, which had accused it of "greenwashing" the harm done by fossil fuels. Federal Court action launched in 2023 accused the company of misleading or deceptive conduct contrary to the Australian Consumer Law in relation to its carbon offset claims. 'Today, EnergyAustralia acknowledges that carbon offsetting is not the most effective way to assist customers to reduce their emissions and apologises to any customer who felt that the way it marketed its Go Neutral products was unclear,' the energy retailer said. 'EnergyAustralia has now shifted its focus to direct emissions reductions.' The Go Neutral project began in 2016, with EnergyAustralia advertising that customers could offset their emissions at no cost to them. After households opted in, the company claimed it would calculate emissions used and make the home's energy "carbon neutral" by buying carbon offset units to support projects in countries including India, Brazil and Australia. EnergyAustralia was ranked as the nation's third-highest emitter for the 2023-24 year, producing 16.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions. In NSW, Victoria and South Australia it operates two coal-fired and four gas-fired power plants. In Monday's statement, the company explained that customers who opted into Go Neutral were still using energy 'sourced predominantly from fossil fuels' and that "greenhouse gases are harmful to the environment and contribute to climate change". 'Burning fossil fuels creates greenhouse gas emissions that are not prevented or undone by carbon offsets. This could have been made clearer to customers,' it admitted. ✈️ Jetstar passenger request raises questions about recycling claims 👟 Adidas ditches Australian kangaroo leather 😳 Rush to see rare Aussie phenomenon sparks warning Equity Generation Lawyers, which represented Parents for Climate said the settlement highlights a need for companies to ensure their environmental claims 'stack up'. 'As part of the settlement, EnergyAustralia has acknowledged our client's key factual argument: that carbon offsets do not undo the climate harms of burning fossil fuels. That means that, even with carbon offsetting, Go Neutral customer's energy usage still contributed to climate change,' principal lawyer David Hertzberg said. Parents for Climate described the outcome as a 'groundbreaking resolution'. 'Parents have spent too long trying to make careful, considered decisions about where their money goes, especially in a cost-of-living crisis, but corporate greenwashing has pushed them off track,' its CEO Nic Seton said. 'We launched this case as it's deeply frustrating and emotionally exhausting to navigate a maze of vague claims and false promises. Greenwashing undermines trust and gives the dangerous illusion that coal and gas pollution is being addressed when they're not.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
EnergyAustralia apologises over claims of 'greenwashing' with Go Neutral products
EnergyAustralia has apologised to its customers and says it has shifted to "direct emissions reductions" after settling a legal battle over accusations it was "greenwashing". Environmental advocacy group Parents for Climate took action in the Federal Court in 2023 alleging misleading or deceptive conduct over the energy giant's marketing of its Go Neutral carbon offset product and the matter was set down for hearings this month. The allegations related to the company buying carbon credits to offset the pollution from their electricity or gas customers' energy use that was "still sourced predominantly from fossil fuels". Greenwashing is when something is made to appear more environmentally friendly than it is. In a statement published on Monday as part of the settlement, Energy Australia said it "acknowledges that carbon offsetting is not the most effective way to assist customers to reduce their emissions". "While offsets can help people to invest in worthwhile projects that may reduce greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere, offsets do not prevent or undo the harms caused by burning fossil fuels for a customer's energy use," it said. The company said it "apologises to any customer who felt that the way it marketed its Go Neutral products was unclear" and that it has "has now shifted its focus to direct emissions reductions". "Burning fossil fuels creates greenhouse gas emissions that are not prevented or undone by carbon offsets," the statement said. "This could have been made clearer to customers. "Storing carbon in plants is not equivalent to keeping it stored in fossil fuels (by not burning those fossil fuels in the first place)." EnergyAustralia's chief customer officer Kate Gibson said the benefits of offsets had been questioned in recent years and the company accepts that there is legitimate public concern about the efficacy of these programs. "Carbon offsets should not be used to delay or diminish the important work that needs to be done to actively decarbonise," she said. "EnergyAustralia is now focused on more effective ways of helping its customers to directly reduce the emissions associated with their energy use." Parents for Climate were seeking the company issue a corrective notice and for the court to make a declaration the EnergyAustralia engaged in greenwashing. Key to their case was the claim that customers believed their fossil fuel consumption would be neutralised by renewable projects as part of EnergyAustralia's Go Neutral program. Parents for Climate CEO Nic Seton said it was a "historic acknowledgement" and showed "climate action must be backed by real action … not marketing spin". "It will set a new standard for the way carbon offset products are used by corporations and sold to consumers," he said. "This isn't just about EnergyAustralia — it's about holding companies to a higher standard across the board. "Greenwashing isn't harmless. It's costing families money, delaying climate action, and eroding trust." The company began the Go Neutral scheme in 2016 but stopped offering it mid last year, claiming it is continuing to phase it out for residential customers this year. The Parents For Climate said it was the first case in an Australian court for "carbon neutral" marketing.
