Whether you are an agricultural producer, an enterprise, or a public institution — the environmental credit economy is about to change how you operate. Here is what you need to know.
An environmental credit is a certified unit that represents a measurable environmental benefit — typically one tonne of CO₂ removed from or prevented from entering the atmosphere.
When a farmer improves soil health through regenerative practices, the soil captures carbon from the atmosphere and stores it underground. This captured carbon can be measured, verified, and certified as a credit — a digital asset with financial value.
Companies that emit CO₂ purchase these credits to offset their emissions. This is not voluntary generosity — it is increasingly required by law.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) is the world's most widely used framework for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. It divides emissions into three categories called "Scopes."
Emissions from sources you own or control. Your factories, your vehicles, your heating systems. You can measure these directly.
Emissions from the electricity, heat, or steam you purchase. You don't burn the fuel, but the power plant does on your behalf.
Everything else — your suppliers, your customers using your products, employee commuting, waste disposal. Typically 70–90% of a company's total footprint. The hardest to measure. The most important to address.
The critical problem: most companies estimate their Scope 3 using industry averages and models. No company on earth knows all emission sources in its value chain. Physical measurement infrastructure changes this equation — instead of estimating, you measure. Instead of declaring, you prove.
Companies don't buy environmental credits because they want to. They buy them because they have to — or because they soon will have to. Every major economy is tightening the rules.
No jargon. No legal language. Just what each regulation requires and who it affects.
You must publish a verified sustainability report every year. It must include your carbon footprint across all Scopes. Auditors will check the data — estimates alone may not survive scrutiny.
You must declare the carbon content of your imports and purchase CBAM certificates to cover it. If you cannot prove the actual carbon content, the EU applies the default value — which is the worst-case scenario.
You must hold emission allowances for every tonne of CO₂ you emit. Allowances are capped and decrease each year. The price per tonne has ranged from €50 to €100+. If you don't have enough allowances, you pay penalties.
Airlines must offset emissions from international flights that exceed 2019 baseline levels. Offsets must come from approved programs with verified carbon credits.
The global standard for categorizing emissions into Scope 1, 2, and 3. Serves as the foundation for CSRD, CDP, SBTi, and most corporate climate commitments. Currently being revised to address weaknesses in market-based reporting.
You must reduce food waste by 50% compared to 2015 levels. Destruction of unsold food is prohibited. Surplus must be donated or valorized. Non-compliance triggers increasing penalties.
A credit based on an estimate and a credit based on physical measurement are not the same product. The market is learning this — and pricing accordingly.
From physical measurement to certified credits — the complete MRV infrastructure.
See the infrastructure