5 easy ways to add carbon offsetting to your checkout
Blog | By Andrew McDonald
Adding carbon offsetting to your online checkout is a great way to show customers that you’re committed to sustainable business practices.
Practices like this can be a great differentiator when it comes to building your brand. According to Shopify’s The Future of Commerce in 2022 report, in 2021 “nearly half of customers chose to buy from brands that have a clear commitment to sustainability”.
What is carbon offsetting?
According to the Carbon Offset Guide, a carbon offset broadly refers to “a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – or an increase in carbon storage (for example, through land restoration or the planting of trees) – that is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere”.
Getting started with carbon offsetting
Listed below are five simple ways you can delight customers by adding carbon offsetting to your online store.
Carbon Neutral Orders
Carbon Neutral Orders by EcoCart is a Shopify app that allows you to help customers make their orders carbon neutral. This usually involves adding 1-2% to the total transaction amount. Check out this short video to see how it works.
Carbon Neutral Cart
Carbon Neutral Cart by CarbonClick is a Shopify app that allows you to help customers offset the carbon footprint of their order at checkout. Check out this short video to see it in action.
Carbon-Neutral Shipping
Carbon-Neutral Shipping by Cloverly is a Shopify app that allows you to help customers limit their carbon footprint. It does this by asking them if they would like to add a small amount for carbon-neutral delivery.
Reforest
Reforest allows businesses to help their customers easily plant trees to offset the carbon footprint of their order. It also allows the businesses to match their customer’s efforts.
Plant Trees with Ecologi
Plant Trees with Ecologi is a platform that allows businesses to automate the reforestation donation process. For example, you can plant a tree for every unit sold or for every $X in revenue. Subscriptions to the platform are also used to offset your carbon footprint through verified carbon offsets. Check out this short video to see how it works.
Learn more
We have only scratched the surface when it comes to options for carbon offsetting. If you think we should add any other options to the list, please let us know!
If you’re interested in learning more about carbon offsets generally, we recommend checking out The Conversation’s articles. If you would like to learn a simple way to add social impact to your checkout, take a look at Roundify.