How do you ensure that CO2 offsets are not double-counted or sold more than once?

All purchased offsets are periodically and systematically retired. Our Tree-Nation platform tracks each CO2 offset we manage and provide a unique record of its retirement. This ensures that each offset is unique and only sold once. The FOUNDATION standard goes one step further in making sure a tree and the CO2 of the same tree are accounted together.

To guarantee the integrity and uniqueness of the CO2 offsets we offer, we take the following measures:

Offsets are registered and retired on Tree-Nation’s platform: We record our offsets in our platform, which makes impossible to double-count.

For standards that also have their own official unique registry, the offsets also retired there. Retirement means that the offset is permanently removed from circulation, ensuring that it cannot be sold, traded, or claimed by another party.

Our platform act as a centralized, transparent, immutable and public ledger for tracking and managing the issuance, transfer, and retirement of CO2 offsets. Each offset is recorded with a unique ID that allows better tracking.

For large offsets, we ensure that the offsets are retired in the registry on behalf of the sponsor.

Note: While all standards easily avoid the problem of double-counting CO2 offsets thanks to their registries, it is less clear that the trees from which the CO2 is issued wasn’t already previously sold for an environmental benefit. To avoid any double-counting between the sponsoring of the tree and the sponsoring of the CO2, the FOUNDATION standards is the only standard to certify both the tree and its CO2 offset, making such double-sponsoring prohibited.