Frequently asked questions

An action qualifies as carbon negative if the total carbon emissions attributable to that action are lower than the total amount of carbon dioxide that is removed as a result of the action.

For an individual person, the biggest causes of carbon dioxide emissions are the energy demands of our daily lives, our need for transportation, and our consumption of food. The best ways to reduce your carbon footprint are lowering the temperature in your home, switching to a more vegetarian-based diet, and driving and flying less. See Sitra’s tips to a more ecologically sustainable life here.

The term carbon footprint refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by a product, service or activity.

Radical reductions in our emissions is the primary way we can combat climate change. In addition, however, we must repair the damage that our lifestyles cause to the atmosphere and compensate for any consumption that we cannot avoid.

We need to radically reduce our emissions. At the same time, in the near term, even with our best efforts at reducing some emissions will remain unavoidable. Compensate encourages everyone to take responsibility for the damage we cause to the atmosphere. In addition to emission reductions, compensation for unavoidable emissions should be a fundamental part of responsible consumption.

Compensate ensures true climate impact, which means that at least the same amount of carbon dioxide is always removed from the atmosphere as what a product, service, or action causes. With Compensate's approach, we ensure true climate impact and mitigate the flaws of the current market by 1. scientific evaluation for projects, 2. in-built overcompensation, 3. impact beyond climate and 4. diverse portfolio of projects.

We only partner with companies that commit to further reducing their emissions. Compensation is in no case the only commitment our partnering companies have for the climate.

The primary way to fight climate change is to avoid and reduce emissions. But our lifestyles—living, eating, moving—are still inevitably causing emissions. Compensation enables us to either remove or prevent carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and with our built-in overcompensation, we ensure true climate impact and mitigate the flaws of the current market. This way at least the same amount of carbon dioxide is always removed as what a product, service, or action causes.

To meet our demand for sustainability, we independently evaluate all the projects we use. They are all certified with internationally recognized standards, but they must also pass strict criteria, which we've developed in collaboration with the independent Network of Scientific Advisors, consisting of top climate experts. There are thousands of carbon offsetting projects with international certifications around the world, however, only less than 10% of them pass our criteria. We purchase carbon credits only directly from developers of verified, ongoing carbon projects to ensure their impact.

You can explore our project selection criteria and evaluation process here

At the moment 40% of the compensation payments we collect are directed to forest conservation projects that protect crucial, existing carbon sinks (typically tropical forest) and preserve biodiversity. Another 40% are directed to projects where local communities plant and protect trees, or reforest areas that have suffered from deforestation. The remaining 20% of the compensation payments are used to fund innovative projects and technological solutions that capture and store carbon for centuries, such as biochar for instance.

You can view our current project portfolio in our project map

One carbon credit is equivalent to the removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide (1,000 kg CO2) from the atmosphere. Compensate purchases certified carbon credits from carbon capture projects. The price of the units is determined by the market and by the particular characteristics of different projects.

One thing to note though: at Compensate, we independently evaluate all the carbon capture projects we use. Because there are many uncertainties in these projects, we ensure those uncertainties are tackled. For example, if we evaluate that some risks are not rigorously taken into account or mitigated, we can’t be confident that 1 carbon credit equals 1 tonne of CO2 removed from the atmosphere. Many offsetters are ok with this, but we are not. That’s why we will then buy more credits than would technically be necessary to call what we’re doing compensation. You can read more on this in the next question, “What does overcompensation mean?”.

To ensure climate integrity and sustainability, we’re monitoring, following, and sometimes updating Compensate’s price for carbon. The price per tonne of CO2 is 35 euros/tonne.

At Compensate, we’re always looking for the most effective and sustainable means of carbon capture. In the spring of 2020, we created new criteria to evaluate the projects we use, going above and beyond international standards. Raising the price for CO2 enables us to keep on raising the bar on climate integrity. You can read more about our work for sustainability here .

Compensate’s in-built overcompensation mechanism mitigates risks related to carbon projects and uncertainties in carbon footprint calculations, providing a more robust compensation claim compared to standard carbon credits.

In theory, each carbon credit sold on the Voluntary Carbon Market is worth one tonne of CO2. However, due to the many uncertainties in carbon projects, which are not always rigorously taken into account or mitigated, Compensate can’t be confident that one standard carbon credit really equals one tonne of CO2 either as avoided emissions or as CO2 removed from the atmosphere. 

Current market standards also often allow for projects to overinflate their climate impact, and even the best projects available have their flaws. Furthermore, as the risks involved with each project differ, standard carbon credits emitted by different projects do not have the same climate value and are not interchangeable. Standard carbon credits are thus a poor metric to quantify the climate impact of carbon projects. 

Compensate’s strict evaluation process includes scoring projects in order to estimate the real climate impact of one carbon credit. This results in a project-specific climate impact score. For instance, for a project with an impact score of 0.7, one credit is equivalent to 0.7 tonnes of CO2. In order to provide a robust offsetting claim, Compensate overcompensates by purchasing enough credits to reach a real impact equivalent to one tonne of CO2.

In short, we define an overcompensation factor for each project to ensure true climate impact.

At the moment 40% of the compensation payments we collect are directed to forest conservation projects that protect crucial, existing carbon sinks (typically tropical forest) and preserve biodiversity. Another 40% are directed to projects where local communities plant and protect trees, or reforest areas that have suffered from deforestation. The remaining 20% of the compensation payments are used to fund innovative projects and technological solutions that capture and store carbon for centuries, such as biochar for instance. You can read more about this here .

We are constantly in search of the most sustainable and efficient ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. To meet our demand for sustainability, we independently evaluate all the projects we use. They are all certified with internationally recognized standards, but they must also pass strict criteria, which we've developed in collaboration with our independent Network of Scientific Advisors. You can read more on this here . We will always be open and transparent in our operations and make information on the use of compensation payments publicly available on our website.

The amount of carbon captured by each tree species is measured based on different characteristics, such as height and thickness of the tree and the hardness of the wood. For example, the harder the wood, the higher the carbon content of a tree. These carbon capture calculations are determined individually for each species of tree by independent, third-party verification experts. In turn, these calculations are then used by the operators of carbon capture projects.

Additionality is one of the most important criteria for carbon capture projects. Carbon capture projects must be ”additional” to other projects that would exist anyway. Another way of saying this is that carbon capture projects are ”additional” if they have expressly come into being because emission reducation units have been sold to fund them. A carbon capture project would not be ”additional” if it had been financed otherwise – for example, through government funding.

Compensate, together with the independent Network of Scientific Advisors, is constantly searching for a range of reliable and effective solutions for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Starting from summer 2020, we have allocated 20% of all carbon credit purchases to innovative solutions for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. You can read more about this here .

Forests are an extremely effective way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. There are also many other options available. Other kinds of natural carbon sinks, along with emerging solutions such as carbon negative land use, make it possible to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. New technologies and solutions for capturing and storing carbon are constantly being developed. Compensate allocates 20% of all carbon credit purchases to innovative solutions for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. You can read more about this here .