Volkswagen is working with non-profit Carbonfund.org to offset carbon emissions for the first year of ownership for every vehicle sold by the company from September 1 to January 2.

The project aims to do this by supporting the land acquisition and reforestation of 1,100 acres of habitat in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley in Lousiana. Each car's offset will be based on the government's expected average annual emissions for each VW model sold during that four-month period.

The Volkswagen website will also display the carbon footprint calculation of the various vehicles when visitors use the "Build a VW" feature.

Over the years Volkswagen has been touted as one of the Environmental Protection Agency's "fuel economy leaders," with the Golf, the Beetle and the Jetta showing up on the EPA's list for vehicles with highest overall fuel economy. But the company's vehicles were pushed off the chart for 2007 due to more hybrids on the market, which Volkswagen doesn't currently produce.

Even if the VWs don't still top the chart, offsetting their emissions is a close second.