US carmarker General Motors has topped a global list of voluntary offset credit buyers, according to NGO Ecosystem Marketplace.

In a report drawing from company data disclosed via surveys to not-for-profit group CDP, Ecosystem Marketplace found that 265 companies bought offsets voluntarily over 2012-2013, typically from sectors not covered by carbon regulation such as transportation, banks, finance and insurance, services and technology.

This amounts to around 11% of the 1,882 companies that disclosed data to CDP over the period, buying some 16.5 million tonnes in 2013. This is a small portion of the 76 million tonnes of voluntary offset demand Ecosystem Marketplace tracked for 2013.

General Motors bought 4.6 million carbon offsets over the period from carbon-saving projects in the US as part of an initiative to offset up to 8 million tonnes by 2015 to match the emissions from its Chevrolet division’s US new car sales.

UK-based bank Barclays was the second biggest buyer, with US utility PG&E Corporation and Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura tied for third.

The list did not include the Livelihoods Fund, which is aiming to source 8 million tonnes over 20 years on behalf of 10 European companies- Danone, Schneider Electric, Credit Agricole, Michelin, Hermes, SAP, CDC Climat, La Poste, Firmenich and Voyageurs du Monde.

Ecosystem Marketplace is an initiative of industry, investor and NGO coalition Forest Trends that promotes market-based approaches to forest protection.

Below is a table of top 20 CDP-disclosed voluntary offset buyers (2012/2013):-

By Ben Garside – ben@carbon-pulse.com