Carbon Offsetting Done Right: A Guide for Businesses Taking Climate Action Seriously
Net Zero Isn’t Just a Goal—It’s a Strategy
As businesses become increasingly aware of their environmental impact and their role in climate change, more companies are committing to reaching net-zero emissions.
What does this mean?
Net zero refers to balancing the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted with the amount removed from the atmosphere, resulting in no net increase in emissions. This concept is central to global climate action and a core objective of the Paris Agreement.
The most widely recognized framework is the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard, which requires companies to reduce emissions across all scopes by at least 90% by 2050, with the remaining 10% neutralized through permanent carbon removals. This standard aligns company strategies with the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
To achieve net zero, companies must significantly reduce CO₂ emissions across all three scopes:
Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, like company vehicles or factories
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy (e.g., electricity or heating)
Scope 3: All other indirect emissions across the value chain, such as those from suppliers or product use
The first big challenge on a micro level is that reducing emissions—especially Scope 3—often requires significant changes to operations, products, or supply chains. This isn’t something companies can do quickly—it takes time and considerable effort, regardless of the size of the business. Yet the climate crisis already affects millions of people across all continents and demands immediate and meaningful action.
Another challenge, on a macro level, is historical: since the Industrial Revolution, humanity has released so much CO₂ that emissions reductions alone aren’t enough to reverse the damage already done. To stabilize the climate, we must also remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. These removals must be highly durable, ensuring that once carbon is taken out, it doesn’t re-enter the atmosphere for hundreds or, ideally, thousands of years.
Achieving global net-zero goals will require a massive scale-up of carbon removal solutions—both nature-based (like afforestation) and engineered (like ocean alkalinity enhancement).
This is where carbon offsetting can play an important role—for companies with a decarbonization strategy in motion and those just getting started. For the latter, offsetting can be a valuable first step while deeper reductions are still being developed. It’s definitely better to offset your emissions than to do nothing. But to make a real difference, it’s essential to understand what offsetting is, what it isn’t, and how to deploy carbon offsetting initiatives effectively.
What Is Carbon Offsetting?
Carbon offsetting allows companies (and individuals, too) to compensate for their CO₂ emissions by funding projects that reduce or remove an equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere.
How It Works:
1. Calculate Your Emissions
This could include everything from manufacturing and shipping to employee travel and electricity use. You can calculate your footprint using a carbon accounting company, an environmental consultancy, carbon accounting software, a free online calculator, or even ask AI for help. At Carbonmark, we believe that imperfect data shouldn’t stop you from taking climate action. First, do it. Then do it right. Then do it better.
2. Buy Carbon Credits
These are issued by verified carbon projects that either avoid emissions (like renewable energy or methane capture) or remove CO₂ from the atmosphere (like mangrove reforestation or biochar production). These projects should be developed under trusted standards—such as Verra, Gold Standard, ICR, Cercarbono, Puro.Earth, and others—that ensure the impact is real, additional, permanent, and carefully measured.
Want to see some examples? Check out our Marketplace, which lists 160+ projects across 25+ countries and covers a wide variety of methodologies. Or reach out to our Solutions team for more information or to build a portfolio.
3. Receive the Retirement Certificate
Once a credit is used, it’s retired from the market (meaning it can’t be sold to anyone else), and the buyer receives a retirement certificate confirming that the emission reduction or removal is officially attributed to them. You can use this certificate in impact reports, CSR disclosures, or on social media.
One of the core features we’re most proud of at Carbonmark is that you’ll receive your retirement certificate instantly after payment, including the link to track the transaction on a public blockchain.
In essence, carbon offsetting doesn’t eliminate emissions at the source, but it helps balance them out by funding climate action elsewhere.
Carbon Offsetting Best Practices
For companies navigating their climate journey, the key question is how to offset carbon effectively. While it might be tempting to offset all emissions and claim carbon neutrality, this approach won’t deliver real climate impact—or credibility. Offsets must be used strategically and transparently, alongside serious efforts to reduce emissions at the source.
Why Carbon Offsetting Alone Isn’t Enough
At the Company Level (Micro):
Offsets don’t reduce your actual footprint – Buying credits doesn’t improve your operations or lower your emissions.
Reputation risk – Offset-only strategies are increasingly seen as greenwashing. Stakeholders expect companies to lead with real reductions.
Rising costs – As demand for high-integrity credits grows, prices will rise. Companies that delay reductions may pay more later.
At the Global Level (Macro):
We need real reductions – Meeting the 1.5°C target requires halving global emissions by 2030—not just compensating elsewhere.
Offset supply is limited – Land and resources are finite, and many engineered solutions are still in early stages.
Delays slow progress – Overreliance on offsets can stall essential shifts like adopting renewables, decarbonizing supply chains, and scaling circular solutions.
So, What Is the Best Decarbonization Strategy?
Reduce emissions and invest in carbon credits at the same time.
Why Carbon Credits Matter Beyond Offsetting Emissions
Carbon credits aren’t just a stopgap. Even when we set aside their role in offsetting emissions, they remain a critical part of the long-term climate solution.
There are several reasons for that. To begin with, carbon credits often go beyond carbon—most projects deliver important co-benefits that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as supporting biodiversity, improving livelihoods, or protecting water resources.
But if we zoom back in on carbon: some emissions are unavoidable—at least for now—and we also need to deal with legacy emissions, many of which were released long before anyone alive today was born. That’s why we need large-scale investment in carbon removal solutions like biochar, afforestation, ocean alkalinity enhancement, and direct air capture—and these projects need funding to scale.
For those reasons, companies are encouraged to support climate action beyond their value chain as part of broader sustainability commitments. Even when credits aren’t used to meet a company’s official net-zero goals, they can help accelerate innovation, build climate resilience, and promote equity across regions.
Motivations for doing so vary:
Business risk – Even if a company didn’t cause the climate crisis, it will inevitably be affected—through supply chain disruptions, new regulations, or resource scarcity.
Consumer expectations – Research shows that climate-conscious consumers are increasingly backing brands that show real climate leadership, not just talk.
The truth is, every business faces climate risks—and more companies are becoming aware of it. So each one needs to start thinking about how to be part of the solution. And for many, carbon credits are the easiest way to start doing something meaningful.
Real-World Examples: Carbon Offsetting as Part of a Broader Climate Strategy
Here are some real-world examples of big companies taking carbon offsetting seriously—but not stopping there. These businesses are integrating offsets into broader, science-aligned climate strategies:
When Should You Offset?
Offsetting makes the most impact when it’s used:
As a bridge to close the gap between current capabilities and future reductions while cleaner technologies scale
To address residual emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors
As a way to channel urgent climate finance to underserved regions and underfunded solutions
Offsets should never be an excuse to delay decarbonization—they should be a signal that a company is taking full accountability for its emissions, including those that can’t yet be eliminated.
A Call to Climate Leadership
By aligning offsetting activities with SBTi guidance and focusing on verifiable avoidance and removal projects, companies can make carbon offsetting a core pillar of credible, ambitious climate action.
At Carbonmark, we’re here to support your decarbonization goals by offering a diverse portfolio of credits, spanning a wide range of methodologies—from nature-based solutions like mangrove reforestation to advanced engineered removals like Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement. Our platform makes it easy for companies and individuals to fund science-aligned climate action that benefits ecosystems, communities, and the climate—while ensuring long-term carbon storage.
Now is the time to lead. Reduce emissions aggressively. Invest in verified carbon avoidance and removals. Use offsetting not as a delay tactic, but as a bold commitment to climate accountability.
Visit our Buyers page and reach out to our Solutions Team for more details on how Carbonmark can help you build a high-impact, credible carbon offsetting strategy.
