What Terrapass Does, and How We're Different
A carbon offsetting advisor, not a trader.
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Terrapass is an environmental product provider and full-service program advisor. Founded in 2004 at the University of Pennsylvania, we supply carbon credits, renewable energy certificates (RECs) and water credits to individuals and organizations of every size.
We believe that customers need more than a transaction. We advise on standards, prepare carbon footprint reports, source custom project portfolios, retire credits on public registries, prepare climate disclosures, and run carbon offset programs for businesses and their customers. We also provide free carbon calculators for households, businesses, events, flights and shipping.
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Terrapass at a glance
- What we sell: carbon avoidance credits, nature-based removal credits, durable carbon removal (CDR) credits, Green-e® Climate Certified carbon offsets, Green-e® Energy Certified U.S. RECs, non-certified U.S. and Canadian RECs, international RECs (I-RECs and Guarantees of Origin), and BEF Water Restoration Certificates®.
- Quality basis: every carbon credit comes from an independently verified project on a registry approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) as CCP-Eligible, and every project we sell is published with links to its monitoring, calculation and verification reports. CCP-labeled credits are available on request.
- Who we serve: individuals, small businesses, mid-size companies, large enterprises, municipalities, universities and nonprofits.
- What sets us apart:
- Every purchase, online or direct, is covered by an annual independent audit of our sales and retirements.
- We source and sell to meet our customers’ needs.
- Businesses that work with our team directly also get a dedicated advisor, program management and disclosure support.
- Track record: serving customers since 2004, with customer offset programs for businesses since 2007.
Why we need environmental credits
We all create environmental impact in our businesses and our lives that we cannot avoid. However, we can take responsibility for our impact by supporting projects that help restore the environment. Environmental markets and environmental credits make this possible. They create a way for businesses and individuals to support projects that create positive impact.
Environmental credits like carbon credits, RECs and water credits are tools that capture the value of environmental benefits created by a project. Projects generate credits for the environmental benefits they achieve like carbon emissions removed, pollution reduced, or natural water flow restored. By purchasing the credits, we support these environmental benefits.
Leading sustainability frameworks are increasingly defining a role for carbon credits alongside emissions reductions, including the Science Based Targets initiative’s guidance on addressing ongoing and residual emissions.
What Terrapass does
Terrapass handles environmental product procurement and the work around it so customers don’t need to have in-house environmental product experts or their own registry accounts. That covers project evaluation, sourcing, contracting, registry account management, registry retirement, documentation, and communications. That also covers compliance assessment for different sustainability programs like GHG Protocol, CDP, SBTi, LEED, ILFI Zero Carbon, and more.
Environmental credits live in complex and tightly controlled registries each with their own rules that govern the performance of projects that generate credits on their platform. This includes carbon credits, RECs, water credits, and more. To hold and retire credits generated by projects, organizations must have their own account with each registry and pay the associated fees. For a business to have access to a wide range of carbon credit, REC and water credit projects globally, they need to have accounts with many different registries. Registry accounts also need to be managed by environmental product professionals who know how to follow the rules of each registry.
Within each registry, there are hundreds of projects that operate and generate credits on the platform. Credits are purchased separately for each project through a wholesale supplier, project developer or investor. The quality of any credit and its eligibility for different sustainability programs depends on a large number of factors including the quality of the registry, the quality of the project, and the characteristics of that specific credit.
Individuals and businesses of all sizes want to take responsibility for their impact by supporting environmental restoration projects. However, if your organization is not a large and frequent buyer of environmental credits, it just doesn’t make sense to have an in-house environmental markets manager and pay fees annually to have accounts with several different registries.
Instead, companies can come to Terrapass. We make it possible for buyers to participate in environmental markets and support high quality environmental restoration projects. We handle the cost and complexity of environmental markets on behalf of our customers so that they can focus on the environmental benefits needed to achieve their sustainability goals.
Environmental products
| Product | What it covers | Certification and registry |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon Credits | More than 25 project types in eight categories, from durable removal to super-pollutant abatement (see the table below). CCP-labeled credits available on request | Verra (VCS), Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve, Isometric |
| Green-e® Climate Certified Carbon Offsets | Credits that meet Green-e Climate's consumer-protection and verification requirements | Green-e® Climate. Verra (VCS), Gold Standard, American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve. |
| Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) | U.S. and Canadian wind, solar and hydroelectric generation | Dependent on project location (ERCOT, NAR, M-RETS, etc.) |
| Green-e® Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) | U.S. wind, solar and hydroelectric generation | Green-e® Energy Certified. ERCOT and NAR. |
| International Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) | Renewable generation outside the U.S. | I-RECs and Guarantees of Origin (GOs) |
| Water Credits | Water flow restoration projects that restore natural flows to rivers and wetlands | BEF Water Restoration Certificates® |
| Custom Environmental Products | Sourcing for specific needs | Renewable thermal certificates (RTCs), renewable natural gas (RNG) certificates, sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFc) and others |
Carbon project types and locations
Terrapass can source carbon credits from more than 25 project types across five continents. Credits come from our global network of suppliers, project developers and investors. Availability changes as credits are issued and sold, so your advisor will show you current options. Forward purchase agreements are available on request for some project types.
| Category | Project types | Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Durable carbon removal | Biochar; mineralization; biomass carbon removal; direct air capture | Available on request |
| Nature-based removal | Afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR); forest restoration; Mexico Forest Protocol forestry; improved forest management (IFM); blue carbon (mangroves); agricultural soil carbon | U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia |
| Nature-based avoidance | REDD+; avoided grassland conversion; IFM conservation | U.S., Canada, South America, Asia, Africa |
| Super-pollutants and industrial emissions | N₂O abatement at nitric acid and adipic acid plants; HFC reclamation and destruction; advanced refrigeration; ozone-depleting substance (ODS) destruction; methane leak reduction in natural gas systems; industrial process emissions; low-carbon cement; orphan oil and gas well closure; mineral production | U.S., Mexico, Asia |
| Waste and methane | Landfill gas capture; organic waste composting; waste handling and disposal; biogas to electricity | U.S., South America, Europe, Asia |
| Renewable energy | Wind; solar, including residential solar; hydroelectric; geothermal; biomass to energy | U.S., South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East |
| Energy efficiency and communities | Clean cookstoves; household energy efficiency, such as smart thermostats; transport energy efficiency; low-carbon construction materials | U.S., Canada, Asia, Africa |
| Water | Water flow restoration | U.S. |
Every project we sell is published, with links to its project reports, on our Projects We Support page.
Solutions by customer
Individuals and families. Free carbon footprint calculators, personal carbon offsets as monthly subscriptions or one-time purchases, and products that make it easy for families to address the carbon footprint of flights, driving, home energy and events.
Small businesses. Free business, flight and shipping calculators; one-time and monthly carbon credits; an employee-based offset plan that needs no footprint calculation; Green-e® Certified RECs or equivalent and Green-e® Certified Offsets for LEED and ILFI; and blog guidance on regulations and leading practices in sustainability for owners without a sustainability team. See the small business page.
Mid-size and large businesses and institutions. A dedicated sustainability advisor, custom project portfolios, flexible contracts, disclosure-ready project reports, sustainability communications review, and full program design and management.
Businesses that offer carbon offsets to their own customers. Program design, product messaging, co-branded carbon calculators, registry retirements, and annual deliverables. We have run customer programs since 2007.
What comes with your purchase
Every purchase, online or direct
- Credits from projects that passed our project review, issued on ICVCM CCP-Eligible registries
- A public project page with links to the project’s own reports
- Retirement on the public registry
- Coverage under our annual independent audit of sales and retirements
When you work with our team directly
- A named advisor to call when questions come up
- Retirements on the schedule set in your contract
- Project details for your reporting: location, type, methodology, vintage, and removal or avoidance classification
- Disclosure reports and claim-language review on request
Our multi-level quality standards
Every carbon credit Terrapass sells meets our standards: registry governance, project methodology, our own project review, an annual independent audit, public project disclosure, and purchase integrity.
- Registry governance (ICVCM CCP-Eligible). We only source from registries approved as CCP-Eligible by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), the leading global governance body for carbon credit integrity. These registries meet ICVCM requirements for effective governance, tracking, transparency, and robust independent third-party validation and verification. Today 100% of our carbon credits are issued by Verra (Verified Carbon Standard), Gold Standard, the Climate Action Reserve, the American Carbon Registry or Isometric.
- Project methodology (ICVCM Core Carbon Principles). Registry methodologies require additionality, permanence, robust quantification of emissions benefits, no double counting, and sustainable development benefits and safeguards. We are also growing the share of projects that use methodologies ICVCM has approved under the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) as approvals are issued.
- Terrapass project review. Before a project enters our portfolio, we confirm its registry record, approvals, additionality, permanence, leakage, issued credit records and standing, and review community relations. The full checklist and how we use independent ratings are in the next section.
- Annual independent audit (agreed-upon procedures). Each year, an independent auditor runs agreed-upon procedures under AICPA attestation standards and issues a report.
- Public project transparency. Every project we sell to clients is published on terrapass.com with a project summary and links to the project's own reports on its history, additionality, monitored results, credit calculations and third-party verification.
- Purchase integrity. Except under forward purchase agreements, Terrapass only sells carbon credits for emission reductions and removals that have already occurred and been verified by an independent third party. If retired credits are reversed, Terrapass will replace them with credits of comparable quality. If a project fails to deliver credits under a forward purchase agreement, your Terrapass advisor will work with you to replace them with credits from a mutually agreed project.
Avoidance, reduction, removal and durable removal: what's the difference?
Different types of carbon credits help reduce global carbon emissions in different ways. We help customers choose the right mix.
| Credit type | What it does | Why buyers choose it | Project types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon avoidance | Prevents new sources of greenhouse gas emissions from happening | Supports the protection of natural carbon sinks like forests and grasslands; also delivers other sustainable benefits like protecting critical ecosystems and endangered species, community development, and many other UN SDGs | REDD+, avoided grassland conversion, IFM conservation, agricultural soil carbon |
| Carbon reduction | Reduces an existing source of carbon emissions | Supports near-term emissions cuts at scale, including high-impact super-pollutants such as N₂O, HFCs and methane; helps accelerate the transition to net-zero | N₂O abatement, HFC reclamation and destruction, advanced refrigeration, methane leak reduction, low-carbon cement, orphan well closure, landfill gas capture, composting, renewable energy, cookstoves, energy efficiency |
| Nature-based removal | Pulls CO₂ from the atmosphere into natural carbon sinks like forests, soils and coastal ecosystems | Removes carbon by protecting and restoring ecosystems for growth and expansion of carbon sinks; also includes biodiversity and community co-benefits | Afforestation and reforestation, forest restoration, improved forest management, Mexico Forest Protocol forestry, blue carbon, agricultural soil carbon |
| Durable carbon removal (CDR) | Extracts CO₂ from the atmosphere and stores it for centuries or longer (100+ years) | Advances net-zero progress by mitigating long-lived CO₂ emissions with long-lived CO₂ removal; follows SBTi guidance for addressing residual emissions | Biochar, enhanced rock weathering (ERW), biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), direct air capture (DAC) |
Some nature-based project types, including improved forest management and soil carbon, can generate both removal and reduction credits. Each project page states which kind its credits are.
Green-e® Certification
Green-e® is an independent certification program run by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. Standards like ICVCM and independent ratings address quality at the registry, methodology and project level. Green-e adds a layer most quality standards don't: it verifies that customers' purchases are fulfilled.
- Green-e® Climate Certified Carbon Offsets. These carbon credits meet Green-e Climate's standards for eligible projects. Your carbon credit purchase is verified in the annual Green-e® Climate Verification Audit.
- Green-e® Energy Certified RECs. These U.S. RECs meet Green-e Energy's standards for new renewable generation. Your REC purchase is verified annually under the Green-e Energy Verification Protocol.
How every Terrapass project is qualified and verified
A project reaches the Terrapass portfolio only after the registry, an independent third-party verifier, and Terrapass have each reviewed it.
1. Registry qualification
The project must be accepted by an ICVCM CCP-Eligible registry. That means:
- It follows a methodology developed through scientific consensus and public comment.
- It completes rigorous, transparent monitoring, reporting and carbon calculation procedures for every credit claimed.
- Every emission reduction or removal claimed undergoes independent third-party validation and verification.
2. Terrapass project review checklist
Before we offer a project, we confirm and document that:
- ☐ The project activity has been approved by the registry and by independent third-party review.
- ☐ Additionality tests have been completed.
- ☐ A permanence assessment has been performed, and a buffer pool has been established where needed.
- ☐ Project leakage has been assessed.
- ☐ The project is active and in good standing with the registry.
- ☐ The credits we purchase are issued, available and not yet retired on the registry.
- ☐ We review news and stakeholder reports for adverse community impacts.
3. How we use independent ratings
Ratings agencies such as BeZero, Sylvera and Calyx Global offer another view of project quality, and we review their ratings where they're available. We treat them as one input, not a pass/fail test. Each agency uses its own methodology and weighs factors like region and project type differently, so the same project can receive quite different ratings from different agencies. Many projects, especially smaller ones and newer project types, have no rating at all.
Our baseline is the registry and the methodology. We source only from ICVCM CCP-Eligible registries, and we're increasing our share of projects that use CCP-Approved methodologies as ICVCM approves them. Within that baseline, the right project depends on the customer. Location, project type, credit type, co-benefits, budget and claims policy all shape the choice.
4. Retirement on the public registry
We maintain accounts on ACR, CAR, Verra, Gold Standard and Isometric. We retire credits on the public registry on behalf of our customers. Consumer purchases are aggregated and retired annually as part of our consumer portfolios. Business clients who work with our team directly receive retirements on the schedule set in their contract.
5. Annual independent audit
Each year, an independent auditor runs agreed-upon procedures under AICPA attestation standards and issues a report for each of three programs:
| Program | What the auditor checks |
|---|---|
| All Terrapass Sales | Supply from all carbon credit projects, renewable energy facilities and water restoration projects, against sales to all online and business customers |
| Green-e® Climate Certified Carbon Offset Sales | Supply from all projects and sales to all customers, under the Green-e Climate Verification Protocol for the reporting year |
| Green-e® Energy Certified REC sales | Supply from all facilities and sales to all customers, under the Green-e Energy Verification Protocol for the reporting year |
6. Full project transparency
Our network of suppliers, project investors, and developers gives Terrapass access to credits supporting many projects worldwide. Every project we actually sell to a client is published on our Projects We Support page, not just a featured selection. Credits from projects not yet listed can be custom sourced. Each custom-sourced project’s disclosures are included in the sourcing proposal, and the project is published on our Projects We Support page as part of the transaction.
Each project page includes a project summary including location, project type, UN SDGs and more.
Each page also includes links to the project’s own reports, which document:
- Project history: how the project started, who runs it and how the site has changed
- Additionality: why the emission reductions or removals would not have happened without carbon finance
- Progress achieved: emissions actually reduced or removed, based on site monitoring data
- Ownership: who owns the project and who manages the project activities
- Credit type: whether its credits are removals or avoided emissions
- Calculations: the methodology and math used to convert monitoring data into carbon credit quantities
- Independent third-party validation and verification: an outside auditor's confirmation of the results
This level of disclosure lets buyers check a project themselves instead of relying on a label. It also gives business clients the source documents they need for California AB 1305, CSRD and CDP reporting, and for answering questions from their own customers.
How we track evolving standards
Voluntary carbon and REC markets are governed by a fast-moving set of standards, frameworks and laws. Terrapass tracks them for our customers, updates our portfolio and guidance as they change, and explains what each change means for a specific program.
| Standard or rule | What it governs | How Terrapass helps |
|---|---|---|
| ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) | Integrity thresholds for carbon credits, registries and methodologies | We source only from CCP-Eligible registries and increasingly source CCP-labeled credits as ICVCM approves methodologies |
| SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) | Corporate net-zero targets and the role of carbon credits for ongoing and residual emissions | We match credit types to SBTi guidance, including durable removals for residual emissions, and provide claim language for ongoing emissions responsibility (OER) |
| GHG Protocol | Corporate emissions accounting, including market-based Scope 2 reporting with RECs | We supply Green-e Certified RECs, I-RECs, GOs and more suited to market-based accounting, and follow the Scope 2 guidance revision |
| VCMI Claims Code of Practice | How companies credibly claim carbon credit use alongside emissions reductions | We explain claim tiers and the evidence each one requires |
| Green-e® Climate and Green-e® Energy | Consumer-protection purchase certification for carbon credits and RECs | We offer certified products and are audited annually against both protocols |
| California AB 1305 (Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act) | Disclosure requirements for companies that sell, buy or make claims using carbon credits in California | We prepare project disclosure reports with the details AB 1305 calls for |
| U.S. FTC Green Guides | Environmental marketing claims in the U.S. | We review your sustainability copy against Green Guides best practices |
| EU CSRD and EU green-claims rules (including the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive) | Sustainability reporting and environmental claims in the EU | We provide project data for CSRD reporting and guidance on claim language |
| CDP | Annual environmental disclosure to investors and customers | We provide project details formatted for CDP responses |
| LEED and ILFI | Green building certification credits for renewable energy and carbon | We source Green-e® Energy Certified RECs or equivalent and Green-e® Climate Certified Offsets globally that fit building certification requirements |
How we keep customers current
- One-on-one advisor calls about the developments that affect your program, not a seat in a mass webinar
- Industry update webinars and Meet-the-Project webinars, open to all customers
- Regular blog analysis of major changes. Recent topics include the SBTi Net-Zero Standard revision, the VCMI Claims Code, EU rules on green claims, and the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
- Conference talks and published commentary on carbon credit integrity and policy
Terrapass guidance is a starting point for your program. It is not legal or regulatory advice, and your legal counsel should approve any public claim.
How Terrapass is different
Many providers of carbon credits, RECs and water credits compete on price. Terrapass focuses on service. We pair quality-verified credits at competitive prices with the advice, program support and reporting customers need to turn a purchase into meaningful impact.
We believe sustainability is about people first. Every purchase, from a one-time online order to a multi-year program, comes with our team behind it.
We connect high quality projects with the customers who support them
Terrapass exists to connect high-quality climate projects with the people and organizations who want to support them. We only sell to meet end customer needs: the businesses, institutions and individuals who use the credits, including our clients' own customers. Every carbon credit we sell is retired on the public registry on an end customer's behalf or, where a customer’s contract requires it, transferred to an account the customer designates.
Some carbon credit companies trade credits and RECs, buying and reselling to other traders to profit from price movements. Terrapass does not. We buy credits only to fill customer needs, so our success depends on matching customers with projects they value, not on market timing.
Our supplier, project developer and investor network
Terrapass has strategic relationships with suppliers, project developers and project investors around the world. These relationships enable our clients to form real connections with the projects they support, and know they played an important part in each project's life.
| Network benefit | What it means for customers |
|---|---|
| Access to a wide range of projects worldwide | More than 25 project types in over 30 countries, so portfolios can match your locations, industry and goals |
| Better availability, price stability and quality | Our relationships secure supply ahead of demand, support fixed-price contracts, and give us earlier visibility into project quality |
| Access to project teams | Project information, updates and engagement opportunities, including our Meet-the-Project webinars |
| Flexible contracting | One-time, month-to-month, 12-month and multi-year options that align project goals with your sustainability budget |
A purchase isn't the finish line
New rules on climate claims and disclosure now reach small and mid-size businesses, and most of them have no in-house sustainability team. They need more than a quote. They need someone to help them choose the right credits, document the purchase, and describe it accurately. While some providers are cutting back on service, Terrapass continues to invest in it.
What working with Terrapass looks like for businesses
| Transaction-only provider | Terrapass | |
|---|---|---|
| First conversation | A price quote | An introductory meeting about your organization, goals, budget and constraints |
| Point of contact | A support inbox | A dedicated sustainability advisor, backed by a client operations team that tracks your deadlines |
| Project selection | Whatever is in stock at the lowest price | A portfolio matched to your industry, locations, budget, UN Sustainable Development Goals and claims policy |
| Industry changes | A newsletter or mass webinar, if any | One-on-one calls about the changes that affect you |
| After the sale | An invoice | Project disclosure reports, communications assets, copy review and annual deliverables |
Built for every kind of customer
For individuals and small businesses, Terrapass has offered carbon offsets online since 2004. We make climate action easy for people who aren't sustainability experts.
Free carbon calculators, built and maintained at our cost
Measuring a footprint is the first step in climate action, and for most people and small businesses it's the hardest. Terrapass builds, maintains and updates a full set of carbon calculators and offers them free to everyone. Each one is purpose-built for a specific activity and uses published emission factors from sources including the U.S. EPA and its eGRID electricity database, the World Resources Institute, the Department of Energy and fueleconomy.gov, so anyone can get an estimate in minutes without hiring a consultant.
| Calculator | Who it's for | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon footprint calculator | Individuals and households | Vehicles (cars, electric cars, boats); public transit (train, bus, taxi, ferry); air travel by specific flights, miles flown, fuel or average trip length; and home energy by location, for the U.S. and many other countries |
| Business carbon footprint calculator | Small and mid-size businesses | Site energy by location; fleet vehicles (cars, pickups, vans, SUVs, delivery trucks, semi-trailers, boats, electric cars); employee air travel; employee commuting; shipping by air cargo, truck and train; and offsite servers |
| Event carbon calculator | Event and conference organizers | Attendee flights; attendee local travel by car, train, bus, taxi and ferry; venue energy by size, location and number of days; bottled water; and meals, including the share of vegetarian meals |
| Flight carbon calculator | Travelers and travel managers | Emissions by route, round trip and number of passengers, using World Resources Institute fuel-consumption factors |
| Shipping and freight carbon calculator | Shippers, e-commerce and logistics teams | Emissions by transport mode (air, ship or truck), shipment weight and distance, using U.S. EPA emission factors |
| Quick offset tools | Anyone | Simple, ready-made estimates for weddings, travel, personal footprints and small businesses |
Calculator results are estimates based on average emission factors from published sources. Factors are updated periodically and may not reflect the most recent published data. For formal greenhouse gas reporting, use your organization’s own activity data, or ask your advisor which factors fit your reporting framework.
For business clients, we also build co-branded carbon calculators that let their own customers measure and offset a rental, flight, shipment or event.
Building and maintaining calculators for flights, shipping, events, businesses and households takes ongoing investment: periodically reviewing and sourcing emission factors, updating methods as standards change, and supporting the people who use them. We make that investment because better measurement leads to better climate decisions, whether or not someone buys from us.
More free resources
- Purpose-built offset products for flights, personal footprints, business packages and more
- Regular blogs on sustainability topics for every kind of customer
- Meet-the-Project webinars with direct access to the teams behind our projects
- Industry update webinars open to every customer
For mid-size and large businesses, we provide custom sourcing, advisory, disclosure support and complete program management. Each service has its own page, listed in the next section.
Sustainability should inspire, not just comply
Today's voluntary carbon market offers projects across the world, each with different costs and benefits. We help customers find projects their employees and customers find meaningful, not just adequate. That can't be one-size-fits-all, which is why it takes real people with real expertise.
Business solutions
For mid-size and large organizations, Terrapass acts as a fractional environmental product manager. Each service has its own page with full detail.
| Service | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Custom sourcing and advisory | A dedicated advisor, custom portfolios by location, project type, budget and SDGs, and one-time, month-to-month, 12-month and multi-year contracts |
| Carbon offset program management | Corporate programs and customer offset programs since 2007: product design, co-branded calculators, registry accounts, quarterly retirements, annual deliverables |
| Disclosure and communications | Project disclosure reports for California AB 1305, EU CSRD, CDP and SBTi; claim-language review; marketing assets |
| Durable carbon removal | Biochar, mineralization, biomass carbon removal, and direct air capture credits, sized to your net-zero strategy |
Frequently asked questions
What does Terrapass do?
Terrapass provides carbon credits, renewable energy certificates and water restoration credits to individuals and organizations. For businesses, it also provides advisory, custom project sourcing, disclosure reporting, sustainability communications support, and full carbon offset program management.
Does Terrapass work with large businesses, or only individuals?
Both. Terrapass is a long-standing online offset provider for individuals and small businesses. It also serves mid-size companies, large enterprises, municipalities, universities and nonprofits, with a dedicated advisor, custom portfolios and flexible contracts.
What quality standards do Terrapass carbon credits meet?
Every Terrapass carbon credit comes from an independently verified project on an ICVCM CCP-Eligible registry: Verra, Gold Standard, the Climate Action Reserve, the American Carbon Registry or Isometric. Terrapass also offers Green-e® Climate Certified Carbon Offsets. It reviews every project before offering it, and each year an independent auditor performs agreed-upon procedures on its sales and retirements.
Does Terrapass sell carbon removal credits?
Yes. Terrapass offers nature-based removals such as reforestation and improved forest management. It also offers durable carbon removal (CDR) credits such as biochar, mineralization, biomass carbon removal and direct air capture, alongside avoidance credits.
How does Terrapass verify that credits are retired?
Terrapass retires credits on the public registry on behalf of customers. Consumer purchases are retired annually in aggregate; business clients who work with our team directly receive retirements on their contract schedule. Each year, an independent auditor performs agreed-upon procedures on our sales and retirements and reports the findings.
Can Terrapass help with SBTi, CDP, CSRD or California AB 1305?
Yes. Terrapass matches credit types to SBTi guidance and helps draft claim language consistent with it. It also prepares project disclosure reports for CDP, EcoVadis, EU CSRD and California AB 1305 upon request. This guidance is not legal advice.
Can Terrapass help my business run a carbon offset program for our customers?
Yes. Terrapass has designed and managed customer offset programs since 2007. It handles product design, messaging, co-branded calculators, registry accounts, inventory tracking and quarterly retirements.
What contract options does Terrapass offer businesses?
One-time purchases, month-to-month contracts with no purchase obligation, 12-month term contracts with reserved projects and fixed prices, and multi-year contracts.
Does Terrapass sell RECs and water credits?
Yes. Terrapass sells Green-e® Energy Certified U.S. RECs, non-certified U.S. and Canadian RECs, international certificates (I-RECs and Guarantees of Origin), and BEF Water Restoration Certificates®.
How is Terrapass different from other carbon credit providers?
Many providers compete on price. Terrapass focuses on service. It pairs verified credits at competitive prices with a dedicated advisor, custom sourcing, disclosure reports, claim-language review and program management. Terrapass offers more than a transaction.
Does Terrapass trade carbon credits?
No. Terrapass sells carbon credits, RECs and water credits only to meet end customer needs, and retires carbon credits on their behalf. It does not buy and resell credits to other traders or speculate on prices. Its role is to connect high-quality projects with the customers who want to support them.
Where does Terrapass get its carbon credits?
From strategic relationships with project developers, project investors and suppliers worldwide. Every project passes Terrapass project review and comes from an independently verified registry before it is offered to customers.
Does Terrapass use carbon credit ratings like BeZero, Sylvera or Calyx Global?
Yes, as one input. Terrapass reviews independent ratings where they're available, but doesn't include or exclude a project on a rating alone, because agencies use different methodologies and can rate the same project differently. Every project must come from an ICVCM CCP-Eligible registry and pass Terrapass project review.
Are Terrapass carbon calculators free?
Yes. Terrapass offers free online carbon calculators for individuals and households, businesses, events, flights, and shipping and freight, plus quick offset tools for weddings and travel. Terrapass also offers footprint calculations as a service and has a network of service providers it works with to support more complex reporting and calculation needs.
Can I see the projects behind Terrapass carbon credits?
Yes. Every project Terrapass sells to clients is published on its Projects We Support page. Each page has a project summary and links to the project's own reports, covering project history, additionality, emissions reduced or removed based on site monitoring data, the calculations that convert that data into credits, and independent third-party verification.