Sustainable CO₂ projects and CO₂ certificates
Find out more about how CO₂ projects and CO₂ certificates work.
Our Current CO₂ Projects
Forest Conservation
Cookstoves for Africa
Wildlife Conservation
Biodiversity
How CO₂ certificates work
A voluntary CO₂ certificate is created through the implementation of a climate protection project that either reduces, avoids, or captures CO₂ from the atmosphere. Such projects can include, for example, reforestation initiatives, the construction of renewable energy facilities, or measures to improve energy efficiency. To ensure that these projects actually achieve the promised CO₂ savings, they are verified by independent organizations like the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).
After this verification, the achieved CO₂ reductions are issued as certificates. Each certificate typically represents the saving of one ton of CO₂. These certificates are then sold on the voluntary market, allowing businesses or individuals to offset their own CO₂ emissions by investing in a specific climate protection project. This way, the certificate is realized through the financing and support of the project.
Our selection criteria for projects
We only select VERRA-certified projects to ensure that our CO₂ offsetting is sustainable, verifiable, and transparent. The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) from VERRA is one of the world’s leading programs for verifying climate protection projects. It ensures that the projects meet strict criteria to achieve measurable and verifiable emissions reductions. Certification ensures that the projects are effective in the long term and transparently documented, which strengthens trust in the quality of the CO₂ certificates.
How the credits are retired
The “retirement” of a CO₂ certificate, also known as “cancellation” or “retirement”, occurs when a CO₂ certificate is permanently removed from trade to claim the associated emissions reduction. This process ensures that the certificate cannot be used or resold multiple times.
Here is the process:
Once a company or individual purchases a CO₂ certificate, they can use it to offset their emissions. To ensure that the offset emissions are not counted twice, the certificate must be officially “retired.” This process is documented in a publicly accessible registry managed by independent organizations. These registries, such as the Gold Standard Registry or the Verra Registry for the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), keep accurate records of which certificates have been retired and which are still in circulation.
Verification link under your name
Through our website, the CO₂ certificate is retired directly under your name “Display Name” (which you set during login). Once a certificate is retired, a verification link is created.
This link is visible on your personal CO₂ balance webpage as well as on the CO₂-neutral certificate, ensuring that the proof of retirement and compensation is publicly and transparently verifiable.
This procedure ensures that all steps of CO₂ compensation are traceable and certified.