Frequently Asked Questions

What does CarbonNeutral® certified mean?

CarbonNeutral® means that a business has followed The CarbonNeutral Protocol to be certified as CarbonNeutral®. The CarbonNeutral Protocol is the global standard for carbon neutrality, used by companies in 32 countries. It was first developed by The CarbonNeutral Company eight years ago and is reviewed and updated annually in order to ensure it reflects best practice in scientific developments and reduction activities.

The Protocol assures quality of offset projects, carbon footprint assessments and communication and is regularly reviewed by an Independent Advisory Group.

Permission to use CarbonNeutral® certification is only given to clients whose carbon reduction programmed is implemented in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. The scope of the carbon footprint is defined by the Protocol and will change according to the certification awarded. The reductions are likely to be delivered through a mix of internal actions within a business itself, as well as through carbon offsetting.

What kinds of carbon offset projects are used in your Zeroca™ CarbonNeutral® services?

We work primarily with the following types of projects which are selected according to published standards and criteria.

Projects include:
Renewable energy: including solar, hydro and wind as well as biomass and re-use of products like biogas.
Forestry: well-managed, long-term forestry which make a real contribution to local communities and biodiversity.

How does Zeroca and The CarbonNeutral Company guarantee the quality and integrity of its carbon offset services?

The CarbonNeutral Company has pioneered a complete end-to-end quality assurance process and infrastructure that guarantees the quality and integrity of all our carbon offset services from sourcing through to retirement.

The CarbonNeutral Company Quality Assurance Process includes:

  1. Performing an extensive and exhaustive due diligence check of every project from which carbon credits are purchased. Through the use of The CarbonNeutral Company’s proprietary methodology you can be assured that the project meets stringent standards
  2. Purchasing carbon credits from emission reduction projects which have been accepted by independent third party industry standard certifications such as the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Gold Standard
  3. Ensuring all emission reduction projects have their emission reductions validated and verified by a third party Designated Operational Entity (DOE) before being accepted for delivery by The CarbonNeutral Company
  4. Working with independent third party registries, such as APX and Markit, to ensure that each carbon credit contracted is unique and tracked from creation through to retirement
  5. Using one of the world’s largest independent auditing and accounting firms to check the carbon procurement, registration and retirement processes and controls to ensure The CarbonNeutral Company complies with the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) quality code.