EcoShare — Carbon Offsets

Use your electricity bill to lend support to conservation and environmental projects throughout Texas by signing up for Reliant EcoShare^SM. When you sign up for the EcoShare program, a small amount will be added to your monthly electricity bill. A portion of that amount will go to EarthShare of Texas, and a portion will go toward purchasing carbon offsets.¹

Learn more

You don't have to change your electricity plan to participate. Your EcoShare amount, either $5.95 or $3.95 per month, will simply be added to your monthly bill.

EcoShare participants have helped raise more than a million dollars to help EarthShare of Texas support dozens of local environmental groups. Learn more about the program, EarthShare of Texas, and carbon offsets below, and decide which level of participation works for you. We want to help keep Texas beautiful for decades to come, and we can do it together.

Levels of participation

Reliant EcoShare Gold

• A flat $5.95 monthly amount
• $2 will be donated to EarthShare of Texas
• Includes the purchase of 1,000 lbs. of carbon offsets

Reliant EcoShare Silver

• A flat $3.95 monthly amount
• $1 will be donated to EarthShare of Texas
• Includes the purchase of 500 lbs. of carbon offsets

EcoShare program details

• A simple, flexible way for you to contribute to a better environment
• Reliant will donate funds to EarthShare of Texas, which supports more than 30 local environmental programs
• Reliant will purchase carbon offsets 
• You can choose your level of participation
• You can cancel at anytime
• You do not have to change your current plan

Common questions

Who is EarthShare of Texas?

EarthShare of Texas provides funding to more than 30 environmental and conservation-focused charities active in Texas, such as the Children’s Environmental Health Institute, the Clean Water Fund of Texas and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation. When you donate to EarthShare of Texas, your funds are allocated to a wide array of environmental causes, all of which are vetted according to strict eligibility criteria. EarthShare of Texas reviews all member charities annually to ensure they continue to operate ethically and responsibly.

Focused on helping people contribute to the environmental health and restoration of local regions, EarthShare of Texas works with employers to facilitate voluntary giving through employee payroll contributions and has expanded to include programs like EcoShare, which allow people to contribute to EarthShare of Texas outside the workplace.

Thanks to very low overhead costs, more than 95% of all donations to EarthShare of Texas go directly to support environmental programs, and you can rest assured that those programs are doing some of the most outstanding work in the state.² For Reliant EcoShare, Reliant pays EarthShare's administrative costs for EcoShare funds to ensure that 100% of your money goes to Texas environmental organizations. A full list of organizations supported by EarthShare of Texas donations can be found on the EarthShare of Texas website. 

What is a carbon offset?

A carbon offset is the verified sequestration, avoidance of or reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, made specifically for the purpose of compensating for an emission made elsewhere. Basically, carbon offsets are used to fund projects that work to avoid or reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon offsets give financing to renewable energy, forest protection projects, reforestation projects and energy innovation programs around the world that can verify how much financing is required to avoid the release or reduce specific amounts of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

One carbon offset is equal to the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. The carbon offsets Reliant purchases have been verified as real and measurable. Buying carbon offsets has the same effect on climate change as directly reducing the carbon emissions associated with your electricity supply, travel and other activities. Projects receiving money from carbon offsets must prove that the reduction in emissions could not have occurred without the carbon offset funding, so carbon offsets truly do result in additional greenhouse gas reductions that would not have happened if you did not take action and donate.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint measures the amount of CO₂ emissions produced, directly or indirectly, by households, businesses or other activities. Direct emissions include those from travel and natural gas use; indirect emissions include those created by producing electricity, clothing, food and other goods and services used by the household or business. When you drive a gas-fueled car, use gas or electricity in your home or purchase items made in facilities that release carbon dioxide, you are adding to your carbon footprint. 

By helping purchase carbon offsets, you are effectively helping to reduce carbon emissions overall. A portion of the money you provide through EcoShare is used to reduce emissions where such reductions would not have been possible without additional carbon offset funding.