Michigan’s nearly 4 million acres of forestland provides our state with clean air and water – and our communities with unlimited recreational opportunities. The thickest tree is nearly 30 feet around while the tallest tree stands at 155 feet. They’re both record setters, and they’ve both been contributing to Michigan’s clean air for decades.

Our planet deserves the best, and so do you.

Through MI Clean Air, our carbon offset program, we’re offering the opportunity for our customers to join us on our journey to reduce carbon emissions and preserve the natural resources we all know and love. You can reduce your personal carbon emissions, or your “carbon footprint,” by supporting carbon reduction projects – like forest preservation and reforestation – throughout Michigan and the Midwest.

What does that mean exactly?

It means that when you subscribe to MI Clean Air, you’re helping reduce the impact of your home’s everyday carbon output, like the emissions associated with natural gas use for things like heating and cooking.

Subscribing to carbon offsets doesn’t mean you’re using less or paying less for natural gas; it just means you are offsetting portions of your personal carbon output by supporting projects elsewhere that actively remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

How does MI Clean Air work?

Starting at just $6 per month, you can offset some (or all) of your home’s carbon output. Your subscription will help fund ongoing carbon reducing missions like the East Branch Forestry project we’re supporting in Luce County, Michigan.

Located in the Upper Peninsula just south of Lake Superior, funding for this project specifically:

  • Protects 3,700 acres of valuable forestland by preserving the soil, ensures the water that flows into the ponds and lakes is clean, and maintains the diversity of the forest which in turn creates a habitat for food plots and an array of wildlife including deer, black bears, moose, coyotes, wolves, bobcats and more.
  • Provides jobs for local foresters and timber companies through sustainable timber management.
  • And is projected to reduce emissions by approximately 230,000 metric tons of CO2 over the next decade.

But you’re asking me to pay more on my monthly energy bill?

Yes, and we get it. We’re inviting our customers to pay more each month to support a good cause, but we also know it’s a cause that is near and dear to many of your hearts. And like anyone, you want to know what you’re supporting is legit. The best carbon offset programs only work with projects that are certified by third-party organizations and meet the highest industry standards – which ours do and always will.

And here’s the thing, it’s totally optional. It’s not always easy to reduce your carbon footprint on your own so we want to ensure we’re providing a variety of options to help our customers leave Michigan better than we found it.

This is just one of the ways to help you achieve your sustainability goals – if that’s your thing.

Interested? Want to know more or enroll? Visit our website at ConsumersEnergy.com/MICleanAir.