Greenopia updated its comprehensive ratings of the top Carbon Offset companies for mitigating personal climate impact produced by flying, driving, and from household energy consumption. Topping the list for the second straight year was TerraPass who received 4 Greenopia leafs.  Following TerraPass were Carbon Fund and Carbon Neutral.   

Carbon Offsets have been under fire in recent years due to questions surrounding their overall effectiveness and transparency to the public. With over a billion tons of offsets being purchased each year, consumers are looking for a company they can trust. The entire carbon offset rating results are available online for free at Greenopia.

The rankings were completed as part of Greenopia's mission to keep consumers informed on issues of importance to the environment and personal health.

”TerraPass and our other top performers should be extremely proud,” said Doug Mazeffa, Greenopia’s Research Director.  “There is a lot of confusion in the offset marketplace and the companies at the top of our list have made an incredible effort to educate consumers and provide the highest quality offset services.”

Greenopia used a comprehensive set of criteria to determine the rankings. Data was collected from the companies pertaining to the offset projects, the accuracy/relevance of their carbon calculator, whether or not the projects were audited by a third party, and the company's transparency. Weights were set based on the relative importance of the criteria to consumers when purchasing carbon offsets. Greenopia also tracked which standards each offset used and how each company approached the concept of additionality.

"The notion of additionality is often poorly understood when buying carbon offsets. It's often very difficult to determine whether or not the sequestration project would actually occur without the money raised from selling the individual offsets. Greenopia aims to help consumers find the highest quality offset services," says Gay Browne, Founder of Greenopia.