For Tree-Nation sponsors, the main rule is simple:
You can communicate your company’s climate action, including tree planting and company-level offsetting. What you should not do is use offsetting to claim that a product or service itself is carbon neutral, lower-carbon or climate positive.
This article explains how to communicate your Tree-Nation activity clearly under the new rules.
Who does this affect?
The rules apply to environmental claims made to consumers in the EU.
For Tree-Nation corporate sponsors:
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You sell products or services to consumers: environmental claims used to promote them fall within scope.
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You communicate your company’s environmental commitments to consumers: you can talk about your tree planting, offsetting and other climate action. The important point is not to present offsetting as changing the climate impact of a specific product or service.
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You communicate only with other businesses or through mandatory corporate reporting: these activities generally fall outside this EU consumer-law framework. If the same information is later used in consumer advertising, these rules may apply.
Communicate your company’s climate action
You can tell customers what your company is doing for the climate.
Share the emissions you address, the projects you support, the trees you plant and the contribution your company makes.
For example:
✅ Company-level offsetting
“We retired certified carbon credits representing 500 tonnes of CO₂e as part of our 2025 climate programme.”
✅ Company tree-planting commitment
“We support reforestation with 200 trees every month. Follow our forest’s progress.”
When communicating about offsetting, explain what you did: the emissions covered, the reporting period and the carbon credits retired.
You can find these records in Tree-Nation’s forest impact page.
You can also introduce the projects you support: where they are, who plants the trees and what the project is trying to achieve. This information is available in the About section of each project.
Link tree planting to your products and services
You can connect a purchase, booking, delivery, ticket or other customer action to tree planting.
The rule is simple:
You can explain that a purchase triggers or finances a separate environmental contribution.
You should not use that contribution to claim that the product or service itself has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse-gas impact.
For example:
✅ Linking tree planting to a product
“We plant one tree for every product sold.”
❌ Claiming offsetting changes the product’s climate impact
“This product is carbon neutral because we offset its emissions.”
Messages to review
If your message is based on tree planting or carbon credits outside the product’s value chain, avoid using them to describe the product itself as “carbon neutral,” “climate compensated,” “climate positive” or “lower-carbon.”
Instead, say what your company actually does:
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❌ Avoid when based on offsetting |
✅ Describe your contribution instead |
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“This product is carbon neutral.” |
“We plant one tree for every product sold.” |
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“Your delivery’s emissions are compensated.” |
“We fund one tree for every delivery.” |
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“Enjoy a climate-positive trip.” |
“Every booking supports our tree-planting programme.” |
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“Your ticket makes this event carbon neutral.” |
“We plant one tree for every ticket sold.” |
The idea is simple: describe the action, not a climate benefit for the product.
Invite your customers to take part
A purchase can be the starting point of a tree-planting commitment.
For example:
Products: “One tree planted for every order. Discover our forest.”
Read more practices on How to communicate once you have installed ProductTrees
Events: “For every participant, we plant a tree. See the forest we’re growing together.”
Travel: “Every booking supports tree planting through Tree-Nation.”
Company planting: “We support reforestation with 200 trees every month. Follow our progress.”
You can also share a project you support, post updates from the field, celebrate milestones or link to your Tree-Nation forest so customers can follow your progress.
The principle is straightforward:
Say what you do. Say what you fund. Say what the customer helps trigger. Just don’t present offsetting as making the product itself carbon neutral, climate positive or lower-carbon.
Updated September 2026. This article provides general guidance and is not legal advice. Businesses remain responsible for ensuring their own communications comply with applicable laws, and specific claims or national requirements may require additional legal review.