Colder weather appears to be here to stay in the northeast, and that means consumption of heating fuel is about to ramp up—along with the emissions from burning that fuel. Why does it matter? In short, consumer habits and preferences are changing. More and more consumers are considering sustainability when making decisions about products, services and the companies that sell them. More importantly, an increasing number of customers are willing to pay more for sustainable options.
While studies typically focus on consumer goods, where sustainability is reflected in recycled, natural or renewable materials and packaging, many consumers consider reducing their emissions footprint as a key part of living a more sustainable life. Addressing emissions associated with powering and heating homes is a great way to reduce that footprint, but options can be limited based on existing systems in the home. Making the switch to renewable electricity generation can be as simple as a phone call, but switching from heating oil to natural gas, for example, is much more involved and expensive. That’s where carbon offsets and renewable fuel blends can help.
Carbon offsets are an affordable and simple way to compensate or “offset” the emissions that come from burning fuels such as heating oil, propane, etc. Offsets are generated from efforts that avoid, reduce or remove emissions and can be applied on a unit-to-unit basis to balance out fuel-based emissions. And fortunately, compensating for emissions using offsets can be done at a modest incremental cost well below the 10% premium many consumers are willing to pay for sustainable products.
In addition to offsets, heating oil customers have another option to help reduce emissions–bio-blended heating oil that incorporates some percentage of biodiesel made from renewable feedstocks. When a portion of heating oil comes from renewable sources, the overall emissions footprint is lowered leaving less emissions to be compensated for with carbon offsets. You can read more about biodiesel in our overview post here.
Whether you’re looking for more sustainable heating options for yourself or would like to offer options to your customers, we’d love to hear from you. Our new Greener Heating Program provides flexible options leveraging carbon offsets and renewable fuel blends. Contact Guttman Renewables today to learn more about how we can help you bring more green to this winter season.
