To put it simply, carbon emissions occur when the gas carbon dioxide (CO₂) is released into the air, mainly when we use energy sources like fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). Other greenhouse gases include methane or nitrous oxide. These gases can cause the Earth to get warmer (also known as greenhouse effect), which is a key driver of climate change.

A carbon credit is a unit of measurement used when carbon offsetting. It represents the avoidance or removal of one metric ton of CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Once a climate project is developed, monitored, verified and certified as a legitimate carbon offset project by a recognised standard such as the Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), carbon credits can be issued and sold. The price of carbon credits can vary depending on factors such as the project type and market demand. The revenue generated from the sale of carbon credits is used to finance and support these projects. It helps cover the costs of implementing and maintaining them. The funds go towards project development, operational expenses, or community initiatives associated with the project.

The purchase of carbon credits is a financial incentive for the continuation and expansion of these projects, allowing them to make a tangible and measurable impact on the environment.

All CarbonClick credits have been permanently retired and cannot be reused, ensuring a real, positive impact on the climate today.

Carbon offsetting is a form of climate action that is used to compensate or ‘give back’ for emissions that can’t yet be avoided. This is done by making a positive impact on the environment elsewhere, by investing in climate projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere or avoid emissions.

First, the amount of carbon that is emitted by a business, individual or activity is calculated. The result of this is called a carbon footprint. Once you know your footprint, you can purchase the equivalent amount of carbon credits. These credits represent avoidance or removal of greenhouse gases equal to your footprint.

The money from buying credits goes to projects that help tackle the climate crisis. These projects can be renewable energy initiatives, forest conservation, reforestation and others.

CarbonClick enables businesses and their customers to take meaningful climate action through high-quality, fully transparent carbon offsetting. CarbonClick has developed a rigorous auditing process to select the best climate projects and offers instant traceability to any contribution received. CarbonClick is a certified B Corporation, meeting the highest standards of social and environmental impact.

The money paid to CarbonClick for carbon credits goes towards certified carbon offset projects that have met high quality standards and passed their 7-Point Impact Check. The funds are distributed amongst carbon offset suppliers carrying out the projects and CarbonClick takes a small margin on the carbon credits for sourcing projects, quality assurance, administration and transaction fees.

CarbonClick is committed to making carbon offsetting tangible and transparent. We do this by providing full transparency on how we select our projects, our methodologies and the positive impact that is being made. Anyone offsetting with CarbonClick can instantly trace every transaction to the projects it supports. You can even see the retirement certificates for every kg of CO₂ offset. Relevant links to the retirement certificates of the projects are provided in purchase confirmation screens and pages, as well as our website.

In addition to selecting projects that are verified by a recognised registry, such as Gold Standard, CarbonClick reviews 7 criteria to ensure the project makes a real impact.

1. Additionality: This is the most defining criterion. Simply put, it means the emission reduction can only happen due to the project being implemented in the first place. And without carbon finance, it would not have happened.
2. Accuracy (over-crediting): The project’s emission removal or avoidance is accurately measured.
3. Permanence: The projects store or remove carbon for a long period of time.
4. Perverse incentives: The project or the income from selling the carbon credits issued by the project does not create a perverse incentive that leads to actions that could worsen the climate crisis (such as incentivising land owners to excessively harvest an existing forest if there is potential for its regeneration to qualify for the sale of carbon credits).
5. Double counting: Ensuring project credits are only issued and counted once.
6. Positive community impact: The project has additional co-benefits to improve social, economic and environmental outcomes in the local area. With this in mind, the project should align with at least three of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Common goals that projects contribute towards are No Poverty, Good Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Climate Action and Affordable and Clean Energy.
7. Monitoring and evaluation: The project has robust monitoring and verification policies to ensure it continues to meet requirements.

Learn more here.

How effective carbon offsetting is, depends on a range of factors. CarbonClick evaluates projects based on key criteria, such as:

• Reliance on carbon finance (would the project have happened without carbon finance?)
• How long will the positive impact last?
• Are there any additional emissions caused outside of the project boundary?
• Are carbon emissions being overestimated?
• Are incentives given that may lead to action that worsens the effects of climate change and double counting of credits?

A strong project selection methodology reviews all of these criteria and only invests in projects that stack up. These projects make a very real, measurable impact and benefit the people and planet.

A strong reduction strategy should be the priority for organisations. The correct process to follow would be to measure, reduce and offset residual emissions. While some reduction can be achieved through operational efficiencies, switching to renewable energy sources, reducing waste or reducing travel, some rely heavily on technological advancements. These advances are in development but will take years and decades to be widely accessible.

We don’t have decades to tackle the climate emergency. Therefore, high-integrity carbon offsetting is an important tool for any sustainability strategy. It offers a way to combat unavoidable emissions now.

A B Corp, also known as a Benefit Corporation, is a type of for-profit company that places equal emphasis on generating social and environmental benefits, alongside its financial goals.

The "B" in B Corp stands for "Benefit”. To become a certified B Corp, a company undergoes a rigorous assessment by the non-profit organisation called B Lab.

This assessment evaluates various aspects of the company's operations, including its governance, workers' rights, environmental practices, community engagement, and transparency. B Corps need to meet specific performance and legal requirements that demonstrate their commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

By becoming a B Corp, a company publicly declares its commitment to using business as a force for good. It shows a dedication to sustainable practices, ethical business conduct, and creating positive impacts beyond mere financial profit. B Corps are part of a global movement that aims to redefine the purpose of business and foster a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Our flight emissions calculator tool uses datasets of the Travel Impact Model which was developed by Google. The Travel Impact Model (TIM) has emerged as a leading standard for flight emission calculations and has been adopted by industry leaders like Google Flights, Skyscanner, Booking.com, Expedia, Sabre and Amadeus. The model combines flight origin and destination, aircraft type, cabin class and seat configuration, load factors and average aircraft utilisation to estimate CO2e emissions for each flight (per seat/passenger). For further information, read more.