Does Buying a Carbon Offset for Your Laptop Really Help the Planet?

The next time you purchase a new laptop, you might find an option for additional guilt on the checkout page: Some laptop makers have started offering “carbon offsets” that claim to cancel out all the emissions that go into making your laptop. But unfortunately, it’s not that simple. We spoke to five experts to learn about offsets. We also dug deep into two available offset programs to find out whether they’re worth the money, and if not, to learn what you should do instead if you care about the planet but also need a new laptop.

Dismiss