Insetting and offsetting cultural emissions

Join us online to learn about insetting and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions and hear from our panel on if, when and how this approach is relevant for cultural organisations.

 The idea of offsetting emissions has been around since the 1990s, and is based on balancing the emissions we put into the atmosphere with removal through nature-based measures such as tree planting and peatland restoration, or in some cases through engineering methods. Insetting follows a similar principle but brings emissions removal within an organisation's own supply chain, for example through tree planting on land the organisation owns. While controversial for some, both are concepts that we need to learn more about, as we look ahead to a time when cultural organisations may find themselves with residual emissions to deal with after making all possible reductions. 

This session will consist of a range of presentations and a panel discussion considering whether and when we can ethically use carbon insetting and offsetting in culture. Our panel members for this event are Clare Wharmby, co-Director of Scottish Climate Intelligence Service at Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, Phoebe Golden, Woodland Carbon Code Coordinator at Scottish Forestry and Karen Ridgewell, Climate Emergency and Sustainability Lead at Creative Scotland.

The event will be facilitated by Green Arts Manager, Caro Overy, with the panel discussion chaired by Environmental Reporting and Data Manager, Matthew Belsey.

What's on the agenda?

The event will start with a short introduction, followed by a series of short presentations and a panel discussion, before opening to conversations and reflections with the audience.

While this session encourages some level of active engagement (eg asking questions to our panellists and participating in some collective quiet reflection tasks), it will be possible to simply listen in.

Time: 2pm-3.15pm

Date: Tuesday 22 September

Location: Online

The workshop will take place on Zoom (captions available).

The event will be recorded.

Why should I attend?

Learn about how carbon offsetting and insetting work, and hear reflections from our panellists on whether and how they might be relevant for the Scottish cultural sector. You will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the panellists and explore ways to think about the topic in relation to your cultural organisation. While the content is designed with Green Arts Initiative members and reporting organisations in mind, it is open to anyone working in culture in Scotland.

Do you need support to attend this event?

Culture for Climate Scotland is committed to ensuring that our events are accessible for everyone, regardless of their disability, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, economic status or caring responsibility.

We will make any necessary adjustments to our events so that no one is excluded. These adjustments will, most likely, differ from event to event and person to person, so we need your help to get it right. In the past, we have provided quiet spaces, British Sign Language interpreters and internet dongles for portable internet access. We now provide access packs including ear defenders, sensory supports and reading overlays at in-person events.

Some adjustments may take more time to arrange than others, so we appreciate you giving us as much notice as possible about what you need so that we can support you to get the most out of this event.

Please inform us of your accessibility requirements for this event during the registration process. If you have any questions or concerns, please send an email to caro.overy@cultureforclimate.scot or telephone +44 (0)131 243 2760 and speak to a member of staff.

This is part of a series of webinars designed for Scottish cultural organisations, especially our Green Arts Initiative members and signatories to the Green Arts Charter.

Previously, we hosted webinars such as communicating about your environmental actions and digital carbon emissions for Scottish cultural organisations.