More and more online stores offer CO2 compensation
What has long been standard for flights is now increasingly finding its way into online retail: CO2 compensation for purchases. Market leader Digitec Galaxus is also working on a corresponding offer.
As has long been the case with flights, it will soon also be possible at Digitec Galaxus to offset the CO2 footprint of products purchased. The company is working on such an offer and will introduce this option before the end of the year, says spokesman Alex Hämmerli. SonntagsZeitung. This involves not only the supply of products, but also their production.
iPhone 11 for less than 20 francs
According to Kai Landwehr from MyClimate, other Swiss companies are also looking into launching a voluntary CO2 offset. This would amount to a maximum of one to two percent of the purchase price for a smartphone. CO2 offsetting of an iPhone 11 would therefore be possible for less than 20 francs. However, the effort to calculate the climate effect down to device type and manufacturer would be too great, says Landwehr. MyClimate uses average values for individual product categories. Factors such as country of origin or weight also play a role.
Better than nothing
However, CO2 offsetting is generally not without controversy - whether for flights or online purchases. According to ETH climate researcher Reto Knutti, they are "better than doing nothing at all. However, there is a danger that consumers will buy even more because they think everything is now fine.
In addition, companies that do not otherwise have a sustainable reputation run the risk of appearing untrustworthy, says trend researcher Mirjam Hauser of the market research institute GIM Suisse to the SonntagsZeitung. The call for climate compensation so quickly comes across as a marketing strategy to give oneself a greener image as a company, warns Hauser.
Clean conscience for 30 centimes
Climate compensation has already been introduced at Zalando. Since October, the fashion online retailer has been offering customers the option of offsetting the emissions caused by delivery right at the time of ordering. The money is used to reforest forests in Ethiopia. The soothing of a guilty conscience is available at Zalando for little money: a pair of sneakers costs 30 centimes.
