When purchasing CO₂ certificates, quality is crucial to ensure that your contribution to climate protection is effective. Important aspects are:

Additionality: The climate impact of the certificates would not have been realised without the project. Certificates are therefore issued for additional efforts that go beyond standard practice and legal requirements.

Permanence: The amount of CO₂ stored remains bound in the long term. Depending on the project type, 30-40 years. A solidarity buffer is used to protect against the reversal of the climate effect (‘reversal’), guaranteeing that purchased certificates remain valid in any case.

Double counting: A certificate and thus a tonne of CO2 cannot be issued or counted more than once. It can only ever belong to one natural or legal person and may not appear simultaneously in the national GHG balance of a country and that of a company.

Transparency: High-quality CO₂ certificates are based on precise data collection, continuous monitoring and independent audits. Projects are validated by external organisations and documented in publicly accessible registers.

Traceability: Reliable CO₂ certificates follow clearly defined standards and methods that ensure unambiguous traceability. Standardised processes and independent checks ensure that certificates have a real and verifiable climate benefit.

Find out here how Tree.ly implements these core aspects of high-quality projects: Our Methodology.

CO₂ certificates are an effective means of achieving climate neutrality, but they alone do not automatically make a company climate neutral. The decisive factor is a holistic climate strategy that includes both CO₂ reduction and investments in high-quality climate protection projects.

We help companies to make credible climate contributions - without the risks of greenwashing. Find out more here: Contribution Claims.