Geneva, 15 September - ICROA, in cooperation with Imperial College London and the UNFCCC, has launched a global survey to investigate the drivers behind corporate engagement in voluntary carbon offsetting and climate change mitigation strategies. 

The survey aims to understand why corporate offsetters select particular kinds of carbon offsets, and which sectors of business and industry are most interested in offsetting to achieve their corporate social responsibility goals.

“A survey like this hasn’t been done for while,” said Niclas Svenningsen, Manager for Strategy & Relationship unit, UNFCCC. “It’s asking questions we all want to know the answers to. It should be of great value to anybody interested in understanding how voluntary offset use can benefit both the climate agenda and the sustainable development goals adopted last year”.

The partners also hope to understand what additional benefits offsetting provides, and whether demand is also driven by risk management concerns, such as the expectation that more widespread emissions reductions may be mandated at some time in the future.

Responses to the survey will be anonymous and will only be accessed by Imperial College London. 

Aggregated results will be incorporated in a final report which will be issued jointly by ICROA, the UNFCCC and Imperial College London. Publication is expected in Q1 2017.