2021 – My Carbon Offsets, Donations and Volunteering

2021 was another busy year working as a freelancer in Bristol. It kept feeling like work might tail off, but I ended up working on some interesting and diverse WordPress development projects.

Alongside work, my offsets, donations and volunteering continued despite lockdowns.

For some background, each year I offset my emissions, donate a minimum of 1% of my sales to environmental charities and volunteer part of my time in order to produce carbon neutral websites.

Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets clearly have their detractors but they are essential in the fight against climate change. My offsets this year were through Ecologi who help to fund environmental projects around the world. Their projects are certified Gold Standard, guided by their Climate Committee and follow the Project Drawdown framework.

Donations

For each web development project I completed in 2021 I donated to Trees for Life. This is an ongoing commitment which plants trees in my company grove in the Scottish Highlands.

Volunteering

2021 actually proved quite difficult for volunteering. Initially in the UK there was a lockdown for the first part of the year and then there were many volunteering events cancelled.

However, I continued to volunteer my time for environmental activist Rob Greenfield. I work with Rob to maintain his website to ensure that his work can be broadcast across the world.

 

Also, I have registered to volunteer with Avon Needs Trees, a Bristol-based charity working on environmental projects in the wider Bristol area. At the time of writing I am booked to undertake some tree planting with them in Hazeland, near Bristol, to protect and enhance 10 acres of ancient woodland.