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18 • Green Project Management

component and an indirect component. Let’s look at your own home’s car-
bon footprint as an example. The direct component includes such things as
the output of your home heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
system, or the gas mileage of your car, for instance. The indirect compo-
nent includes items like the energy it takes to deliver the things you buy, the
transportation for your groceries, or the energy it takes to manufacture your
television set. It is also important because it can be somewhat mitigated—or
at least reduced—by actively reducing energy consumption, by specifying
products whose makers have reduced their carbon footprint or, when that
isn’t enough, by purchasing or trading carbon offsets, which is something of
a controversial subject: “Buying offsets for an energy-wasteful home or busi-
ness and calling it environmentally responsible is akin to buying a Diet Coke
to go with your double bacon cheeseburger—and calling it a weight-loss pro-
gram. Efficiency (and calorie reduction!) comes first” (Joel Makower). 1

Purchasing carbon offsets is a personal decision. Here are a few com-
panies that offer the service: terrapass (http://www.terrapass.com),
NativeEnergy (http://www.native energy.com), Carbonfund (http://
www.carbonfund.org), among others.

You may not think you have much control over the indirect component
of your carbon footprint, but you do. For example, you can mitigate the
transportation of your groceries by buying local products when you can,
utilizing farmers markets during the summer, or purchasing at an area
farm stand. Carbon offsets are another way to mitigate both direct and
indirect components of your carbon footprint. But, as mentioned earlier,
they are controversial in the fact that they can be perceived as being an
excuse to pollute. “I don’t have to reduce my carbon emissions. All I have
to do is buy carbon offsets to mitigate those emissions.” As a project man-
ager, your personal code of ethics, even if you are not a member of the
Project Management Institute and don’t necessarily adhere to their Code
of Ethics and Professional Conduct, would not allow such an argument.
Carbon offsets are effective when used as intended. It is the responsible
thing to do in situations where an organization or individual has a plan
for zero emissions, and is working toward that plan. Until they get to zero
emissions, the organization or individual can buy carbon offsets to fund
equivalent savings, or momentum toward those savings, elsewhere. Once