How Carbon Offsetting Works, Step by Step

A carbon credit travels a long road. A project — say, a reforestation or biochar scheme — is designed against a methodology, then independently audited. Verified reductions or removals are issued as credits, one credit per tonne of CO₂e. A buyer purchases credits and retires them, meaning they are permanently cancelled so no one else can claim the same tonne.

Not all credits are equal. Avoidance credits prevent emissions that would otherwise happen — protecting a forest, replacing a dirty cookstove. Removal credits physically take CO₂ out of the air and store it, like biochar or direct air capture. Removals are generally higher quality because they address carbon already emitted — but they cost more.

The word “offset” implies a clean cancel-out that the market rarely delivers. We would rather you cut your own emissions first, then fund verified climate action for the rest. That framing is honest about what your money does — see our approach.