Dual Mission & Tight Project Focus
COTAP’s dual mission puts global poverty alleviation on an equal footing with carbon sequestration and climate change abatement. “Poverty” is literally part of our organization’s name. Most offset providers offer a range of project types, we do not. We are focused on certified forestry projects in least-developed countries which create life-changing income for the world’s poorest people.
501(c)3 Public Charity
COTAP is a 501(c)3 public charity registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. This requires one of the highest possible levels of transparency, specifically about how much money we take in, where it goes, and how much top officers are paid.
The majority of carbon offset providers are privately-owned, venture-backed, or even publicly-traded. Some are “.org’s” like Carbonfund and Stand for Trees, which misleadingly position themselves as nonprofits.
Noone owns COTAP, and noone is looking to sell it or to do an Initial Public Offering in order to get rich. Further, our 501(c)3 status makes the entire amount of a COTAP carbon offset transaction tax-deductible for U.S. residents.
Transparency
With COTAP, all of the following are disclosed:
- How much credits cost.
- Our volumes.
- Our margins.
- When funds are transferred to projects.
- When carbon credits are retired.
Though the above combination of transparency factors might seem simple or like it would be a common practice, you simply will not find it anywhere else. Not even with other “.org’s” or with actual nonprofits. Not even with other 501(c)3 public charities. When compared to COTAP, the majority of carbon offset providers might seem to operate in an opaque and profiteering manner, like hedge funds.
Learn more about COTAP’s transparency and how it works in the Transparency and How It Works sections of our website.
Project Annual Reports
All of COTAP’s Projects submit detailed annual reports, detailing not only their successes and progress but also their challenges and imperfections. You can download our projects’ most recent annual reports on our Transparency page.
Volume-based Increases To The Poor
Whenever possible, COTAP seeks volume-based increases to the percentage of carbon revenues which projects share with their participating farmer communities, instead of a volume-based discount for ourselves.
No Middlemen
COTAP transacts directly with projects and for direct credit retirement. The counteraction of your carbon emissions is only made real when carbon credits are retired on your behalf. We don’t buy credits off of intermediaries who take a cut. COTAP does not speculate on carbon credits as an investment, and we do not “pass the buck” by re-selling any credits for which we have contracted.
Carbon Footprint Calculator
Our calculator is easy to use, accurate, and well-documented. It focuses on the clearest and biggest sources of your carbon emissions: car travel, air travel, and home/office energy use. Our data sources are easy to find, widely-recognized, and our methodology is thorough. Our calculator doesn’t apply vague, undocumented multipliers for the size of your family, the size of your home, or your income level. It tells you what your annual carbon emissions are, based on facts.
