Carbon Credit & Offset FAQ | Grow Tomorrow
If you’ve got questions about carbon credits and offsets with Grow Tomorrow, we’ve got answers.
Q: What is Grow Tomorrow?
Founded in Texas, Grow Tomorrow wants to fight climate change with you. We help you do something about climate change with trackable, sustainable, and transparent carbon credits.
Q: How do you ensure the CO2 you offset represent real carbon emission reductions?
The hallmarks of quality carbon offsets are third-party certification standards, verification and auditing. All Grow Tomorrow offset projects are verified by a third party to the highest certification standards. This sort of review, coupled with an annual third-party audit of our finances and portfolio, ensure that our clients are supporting only high-quality carbon offset projects making real carbon emission reductions.
The third-party verification of our projects also ensures that the emission reductions are additional to what would otherwise have occurred, surplus (i.e. not already mandated or required), and are permanent reductions.
Q: How do you track my carbon offsets to projects?
We have developed cutting edge technology that allows us to track each and every purchase to the exact project. The technology runs continuously to ensure that every purchase is matched correctly with the type of project they selected at checkout. The ledger allows us to monitor and audit our systems to ensure that every dollar is matched and applied to the correct project.
Q: How do I figure out how much carbon is in my lifestyle?
For individuals and families, the EPA provides an excellent carbon footprint calculator for your use. It is just an estimation, but if you prepare yourself with information about your utilities, vehicles, garbage habits, and other lifestyle choices, you can create a fairly accurate number. The EPA calculator will give you your carbon footprint in Pounds (lbs.), which you may need to convert to a larger measure like US Tons.
Q: Can I invest in Grow Tomorrow?
Yes, Grow Tomorrow is open to investors. Please head to our investment page to learn more and fill out our contact form.
Q: How do I determine the carbon footprint for my business?
If you are a corporation or business, it’s best to have a custom carbon audit. Auditing your energy use, travel, food service, and other factors can be tricky without help. Our team can help you perform an accurate carbon audit to help you make the right choices.
Q: Grow Tomorrow measures carbon in US Tons. What are US Tons?
The US Ton is sometimes referred to as a Short Ton. This is different from the British Ton, also known as the Imperial Ton or Long Ton, which is heavier. The Metric Ton, or Tonne, is also heavier than the US Ton.
Here are the exact measures:
- US Ton / Short Ton = 2000 lbs. or 907.18474 kg.
- Metric Ton / Tonne = 2204.62 lbs. or 1000 kg.
- British Ton / Long Ton = 2240 lbs. or 1016 kg.
Q: How is the price of carbon set?
As of early 2022 in the United States, the price of carbon is set by the market. While politicians in the legislative and executive branches of several states and the federal government have considered adding a carbon tax, there is no current tax on carbon.
As of 2022, the price of carbon was estimated at approximately $95.20 per Metric Ton, or $86.36 per US Ton, though the price varies.
Q: What kind of projects can I support through Grow Tomorrow?
Grow Tomorrow supports five different categories of projects:
- Carbon Sequestration / Reforestation
- Urban Reclamation / Renewable Energy
- Emission Reduction
- Methane Capture
- Carbon Capture and Storage
Q: How do you retire carbon?
Simply put, we retire carbon by not using it. When we purchase carbon offsets or support a carbon reduction project we gain the right to the emission reductions. Many groups buy these rights and then use them to pollute or sell them. We buy the carbon reductions and retire them, meaning that they are taken out of circulation forever.
Q: How is methane captured?
One pound of methane can trap 25 times more heat in the atmosphere than one pound of carbon dioxide. But methane is also the main ingredient in natural gas, so it is valuable to capture it before it escapes from landfills or farms into the atmosphere.
In landfills, when trash is decomposing in a hill, gas collection pipes or wells can be installed on top to capture and pipe the methane out, which can then be transported to a generation facility and burned to produce heat or generate electricity.
A similar process is used on farms, to capture methane from manure and other farm waste.
Q: How is carbon captured?
There are a few ways to capture carbon – before the fuel is burned, while the fuel is burned, or after the fuel is burned.
- It’s easiest to capture the carbon after the fuel is burned – post-combustion carbon capture. Once the fuel gasses are released, they can be separated and captured. This is the most common process.
- With pre-combustion capture, the carbon is separated while still in fuel form. The fuel is heated with steam and oxygen, which creates a synthesized gas. A second reaction forms that gas into water and carbon dioxide, which are then separated.
- Capturing the carbon during combustion is called oxy-fuel combustion. During the burning process, the fuels are not burned in normal atmospheric air – they’re burned in a mixture containing a lot of oxygen, which results in water and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is then captured.
Once captured, the carbon must be stored underground or deep in the ocean so it isn’t released into the atmosphere. This is a form of carbon sequestration called geologic carbon sequestration.
Q: How is carbon sequestered?
Carbon sequestration can be done in two ways:
- Geologic carbon sequestration requires taking the aforementioned carbon that has been captured, pressurizing it into liquid form, and injecting it into the ground, usually in a nearly depleted or depleted oil well.
- Biologic carbon sequestration requires the planting of long-lived organic matter, like trees, to naturally capture and store carbon from the atmosphere in the woody material.
Q: How does urban reclamation work?
Urban reclamation involves discovering blighted or abandoned properties in urban areas where others do not want to invest. These properties can be used to help offset carbon by sequestering carbon via tree plantings and beautifying the neighborhood, or serve as a renewable energy source by placing solar panels on the property.
Q: Do you provide a programmatic API?
Yes.
If you are are business interested in integrating with our Carbon Offset API, please head to the API page for more details.
Q: Can I indicate which projects I support?
Yes. During the checkout process, you will be presented with the current projects. You then select the individual project or select ‘All’ to apply your purchase to all of the available project types. We are constantly expanding our projects which makes selecting ‘All’ the best option to ensure that all types of projects are funded.
Our Carbon Offset Matching Technology ensures that whichever project you support is the exact project that your purchase is applied to. We have ledgers that are audited to ensure the matching is 100% accurate.
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