A carbon credit is a certificate representing the reduction of one metric ton (2,205 lbs) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions, the principal cause of climate change. Although complex in practice, carbon credits are fairly simple in theory. If you develop a project that reduces carbon dioxide emissions, every ton of emissions reduced results in the creation of one carbon credit. Project developers can then sell these credits to help finance the construction and ongoing operation of their projects.

Carbon credits can be used to offset carbon emissions from all activities that add to your carbon footprint.

We encourage individuals and organizations alike to first reduce their carbon footprint as best they can. Most of us can’t reduce our carbon footprint to zero, so carbon credits should be used to offset the impact of these remaining emissions.

For individuals, the three most common and measurable activities include:

(1) Car Travel: If you own a car, chances are that burning gasoline is a major source of carbon emissions.

(2) Home energy use: Heating, cooling, and using appliances can be a significant source of emissions for many people.

(3) Air travel: A round-trip flight between New York and Los Angeles uses about 120 gallons of jet fuel per passenger. This single trip creates CO2 emissions equal to about 2 months of driving.

Go to our calculator to calculate the emissions from these activities.

For businesses: Businesses engage in a number of activities that are carbon intensive and vary based on business type. In general, these activities include employees’ commutes, building energy use, servers and data storage, employee travel and shipping or other freight.  Our corporate carbon calculator can help you assess the major components of your business’ carbon footprint, or you can contact one of our advisors.

Carbon credits allow individuals and businesses to be accountable for their unavoidable carbon emissions. While reducing your carbon emissions is an important first step in fighting climate change, we need to do more to reduce greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. When you purchase carbon credits from Terrapass you are supporting emissions reductions projects in communities throughout the North America and the world.

For businesses, calculating your carbon footprint is an important measurement of resources. Knowing and offsetting your carbon footprint creates value for your business by:

Showing leadership and innovation. Taking action sends a strong message to your key stakeholders — employees, customers, and investors, many of whom will hold your business accountable for its contribution to climate change.

Involving your employees. A Terrapass employee program will help communicate your business’ dedication to the environment and infuse that commitment into your company’s culture.

Aligning with your customers’ values. People prefer to do business with companies whose values align with their own. Demonstrating your business’ commitment to addressing climate change with a carbon offset program will help attract and retain valuable customers.

There’s only one atmosphere. Unlike smog or acid rain, climate change is not limited to any specific region, and offsets offer a global solution to climate change. However, our projects do usually provide additional environmental benefits such as reductions in mercury, volatile organic compounds, and groundwater contamination, which are beneficial to the communities where the projects are based.

Please visit our Terrapass Standards page for the latest information on our product integrity standards.

Yes. To ensure maximum transparency and accountability, every Terrapass offset purchase is verified by an accredited and independent third party at the project level, when and where the offsets are being created. In addition, our total offset portfolio is subject to a separate periodic review by a different accredited and independent third party. Read more about our verification practices

When you purchase carbon credits from Terrapass, we source and retire carbon credits on your behalf from leading carbon reduction projects. By retiring carbon credits on your behalf, we ensure that the environmental benefits of the credits are yours and yours alone. The credits cannot be used by anyone else.

Your online purchase is confirmed with an order confirmation email and a certificate of purchase that can be displayed or shared to document your sustainability actions.

Refunds will be approved if requested within 90 business days of original purchase date. To request a refund for your Terrapass purchase, send us an email at [email protected].

Terrapass is a for-profit social enterprise. As a social venture, our growth is tied to our mission. We support projects that reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The more customers we attract, the more carbon dioxide we reduce.

Businesses should consult with their tax advisor. It is common for businesses to treat carbon credit purchases as a tax deductible operating expense. Carbon credits are not a tax deductible expense for individuals. While the contributions of our customers do support a greater good, carbon credits purchased through Terrapass are not a charitable contribution. This is due to an important features of carbon credits sold by Terrapass.  When you buy carbon credits from Terrapass, they are retired on your behalf to offset your carbon footprint.  This means that you are the recipient of the environmental benefit.  This gives you the ability to say that you have counter-balanced your carbon footprint.  While carbon credit purchases are important to the planet, they are part of your own sustainability actions and not a charitable contribution.

Terrapass has very high and very specific standards for the projects that it will support.  Learn more about our project standards and our principals here.  If you have a project that you think could qualify for Terrapass support, feel free to send us an email at [email protected]

Email us at [email protected]. We’ll get back to you within one business day.

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and carbon credits are both instruments that represent a quantifiable environmental benefit associated with an activity. A REC represents the environmental attributes derived from 1 megawatt-hour of renewable energy generation. A carbon credit represents the reduction or removal of 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. If you are interested in learning more about RECs or carbon credits, contact us to learn more.

Yes. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases officially recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a major cause of global warming, along with carbon dioxide and four others. Methane comes from a variety of sources both natural and manmade, such as farm waste and landfills. All six major greenhouse gases are typically converted into their “carbon dioxide equivalent” for ease of comparison. For example, methane is 84 times as powerful a warming agent as carbon dioxide, so we multiply methane reductions by a standard factor to calculate their carbon dioxide equivalent. The reduction associated with each Terrapass purchase is stated in pounds of carbon dioxide, but we’re really talking about carbon dioxide equivalents. In fact, all carbon credits are denominated this way.