Guidelines for Claiming Carbon Neutrality

When your company plants trees and retires carbon credits through Tree-Nation, a natural question arises:

Can we say we've offset our emissions—or even that we're carbon neutral or carbon negative—immediately after the credits are retired?

The short answer is:

Yes, you can make that claim—provided that the volume of carbon you’ve offset exceeds your verified emissions, and that your public statements comply with your country’s advertising and environmental claim regulations.

Here’s why this is a valid position under internationally accepted standards, how Tree-Nation ensures transparency and integrity, and what to watch for when communicating your climate actions publicly.

🌱 How our offset model works

Tree-Nation uses an ex-ante carbon crediting model, which is aligned with standards such as Plan Vivo. This means:

Carbon credits are retired at the time of purchase, tied to trees planted usually within a six-month window.
These trees are expected to capture a defined quantity of CO₂ over the next 10 years.
Your funding enables that future carbon removal, making the climate action additional and immediate from a financial and operational standpoint.

This model is widely used in the voluntary carbon market—provided it is applied transparently, conservatively, and includes appropriate monitoring.

⚠️ What to be mindful of

Before making any public-facing claims, it’s important to consider a few key principles:

1. You must have a verified emissions inventory

Tree-Nation does not calculate or verify your company’s carbon footprint.
Your ability to claim that you are carbon neutral or carbon negative depends on your own emissions assessment. The claim is only valid if your retired credits exceed your audited emissions.

2. Tree-Based Offsets Involve Biological Uncertainty

While our credits are tied to real trees, nature can be unpredictable.
We account for this by:

Using conservative growth and survival assumptions
Monitoring and verifying project outcomes over time
Maintaining a buffer margin to offset risks like fire or underperformance

3. Regulations on Green Claims Are Tightening

Countries—especially in the UK and European Union—are enforcing stricter rules on what companies can say about sustainability. These apply to:

Advertising (websites, campaigns, labels)
Public reports and corporate disclosures
Environmental or social governance (ESG) communications

⚖️ Regulatory overview

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) require:

All environmental claims to be clear, specific, and evidence-based
Offset claims (like “carbon neutral”) to state:
- How offsetting is achieved (e.g. Tree-Nation ex-ante credits)
- When the offset occurs
- Where evidence can be accessed

🇪🇺 European Union

The upcoming Green Claims Directive (enforced by 2026) and broader anti-greenwashing rules state that:

Environmental claims must be verifiable and based on recognized methods
Claims like “carbon neutral” must not be made on products unless fully substantiated
For companies, offset claims must reflect the mitigation hierarchy (reduce first, then offset), with transparent reporting

✅ Suggested wording for public use

To stay both impactful and compliant, we recommend wording like the following:

“We’ve offset more than our annual emissions by funding tree planting through Tree-Nation. These trees are expected to capture [X] tonnes of CO₂ over their lifetime. The carbon credits were retired at the time of purchase, following internationally accepted ex-ante standards. Our internal emissions audit confirms that this offset volume exceeds our current footprint. Here is a link to our impact, where you can view the details of our reforestation activity and carbon offsets.”

This type of message ensures:

Clarity on timing and method
Acknowledgment of expected carbon capture
Compliance with UK and EU green claims guidelines

📌 Summary

✅ You can claim to have offset emissions using Tree-Nation’s ex-ante credits—at the moment of retirement
✅ You must have verified emissions data to support any “carbon neutral” or “carbon negative” claim
✅ Tree-Nation ensures conservative assumptions, long-term monitoring, and buffer mechanisms
⚠️ Green claims must be qualified, transparent, and aligned with regional regulations